Almost

CenterPoint Energy Field Services LLC (CEFS) has begun assessing routing for a proposed gas gathering and processing system in the Mississippi Lime of north-central Oklahoma and south-central Kansas.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Information Administration (EIA) Monday cut its estimate of the U.S. shale gas resource base almost in half, based on a dramatic drop in Marcellus Shale estimates.

Henry Hub spot prices will average $3.53/MMBtu in 2012, a decline of almost 50 cents/MMBtu from the 2011 average spot price, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Short-Term Energy Outlook.

Henry Hub spot prices will average $3.53/MMBtu in 2012, a decline of almost 50 cents/MMBtu from the 2011 average spot price, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Short-Term Energy Outlook.

Tight natural gas and shale gas boosted British Columbia’s (BC) reserves numbers to record levels from 2009 to 2010, and more gains are expected as development continues, according to the province’s energy regulator.

Air Liquide Industrial US LP plans to build an air separation unit in northwestern North Dakota to supply nitrogen to industrial customers, specifically those involved in growing Bakken Shale operations. The unit is expected to be operational by the end of 2012. The French company supplies gases that include nitrogen and carbon dioxide to North American producers to support drilling operations and increase resource recovery. “We are positioning ourselves to better serve existing customers and to capture new business opportunities in North Dakota, especially in the Bakken oil reserves,” said Air Liquide’s Mark Lostak, president of the company’s U.S. arm. “The potential throughout this region is significant, and we are prepared to meet the growing demand for nitrogen to develop these important domestic energy resources.”

December futures continued their relentless retreat Wednesday as traders calculated that spot futures may have almost 18 cents more room to the downside and weather forecasts moderated again. At the close December had dropped 6.0 cents to $3.344 and January had shed 5.9 cents to $3.483. December crude oil vaulted $3.22 to $102.59/bbl.

For nearly two straight years U.S. natural gas output has climbed almost continuously — and 2012 could see even stronger growth, according to the energy team at Raymond James & Associates Inc.

A study by the Global Labor Institute at Cornell University counters recent claims by TransCanada Corp.’s CEO Russ Girling that the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline from the Alberta-U.S. international border to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) region could create as many as 20,000 new jobs.