Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a division of the Commerce Department, said it plans to conduct a supplemental environmental review of the incidental taking of marine mammals, specifically whales, dolphins, sea lions and seals, by the oil and gas industry incidental to exploration activities in Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a division of the Commerce Department, announced that it plans to conduct a supplemental environmental review of the incidental taking of marine mammals, specifically whales, dolphins, sea lions and seals, by the oil and gas industry incidental to exploration activities in Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

The Marcellus Shale, among other regions, could see persistent ethane rejection until the market comes back into balance, according to analysts at Raymond James & Associates Inc.

Producers lined up on one side and large consumers on the other in the political countdown to an Obama administration decision on whether to allow unrestricted exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the world market.

The U.S. energy pipeline sector’s oil contingent is expressing concerns about the studies used by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to develop new safety requirements for natural gas pipelines.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Region 6 office in Dallas is holding a volunteer effort through Feb. 28 to train exploration and production workers about health and safety issues at sites in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The National Service, Transmission, Exploration & Production Safety Network, commonly known as STEPS, is participating. Participating companies may choose to hold training events at their work sites with OSHA materials. A commitment form and training tools to conduct job site inspections is available online through the OSHA Education Center at the University of Texas Arlington website.

Pennsylvania’s new auditor general, Eugene DePasquale, will conduct a performance audit of the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) water testing and waste disposal programs to assess their effectiveness in regulating shale gas development.

In its first forecast for 2014, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said it expects natural gas prices to “gradually rise but still remain relatively low” over the next 24 months, with Henry Hub prices averaging $3.74/MMBtu this year and $3.90/MMBtu in 2014, compared with $2.75/MMBtu in 2012.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects total domestic marketed natural gas production to increase to 69.8 Bcf/d in 2013 from 69.2 Bcf/d in 2012, and to drop slightly to 69.5 Bcf/d in 2014. Growth in Lower 48 onshore production, driven largely by the Marcellus Shale and other shale plays, will continue through 2014, although it will be offset by Gulf of Mexico declines, EIA said.