Administration

Independent oil and natural gas producers Monday called on the Obama administration to meet with them face-to-face to discuss their concerns with the federal government’s proposed rule on hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Natural gas production from the Lower 48 states during May was essentially unchanged from April, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, while consumption during the month set a record.

Tropical Storm Debby made her presence felt in June monthly production figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) as natural gas production from the federal offshore Gulf of Mexico (GOM) was off 6.8% from May (see NGI, Aug. 6).

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) issued its first two nonbinding advisory opinions on local drilling ordinances, part of its new responsibilities to ensure that localities are in compliance with Act 13, the state’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law.

Tropical Storm Debby made her presence felt in June monthly production figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) as natural gas production from the federal offshore Gulf of Mexico (GOM) was off 6.8% from May (see Daily GPI, Aug. 2).

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited Plains Gas Solutions LLC in Eunice, LA, for one “willful” and seven “serious” violations involving OSHA’s process safety management standards following an explosion and fire that severely burned a worker earlier this year.

Physical gas overall Thursday finished fractionally lower with eastern points higher and California locations softer. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory increase of 47 Bcf, much higher than the market was anticipating, and futures prices initially plunged before erasing most of an 11-cent deficit by closing.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed several changes to its Part 190 procedural rules that would broaden its enforcement powers as called for in a pipeline safety bill that President Obama signed into law earlier this year (see Daily GPI, Jan. 4).

Working natural gas inventories remain at historically high levels for this time of year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short Term Energy Outlook for August. While it said inventory levels at the end of October will set a new record of 3,954 Bcf, that’s a small walk-back from the 4,000 Bcf EIA predicted last month.