Another

Next year already is shaping up as another growth spurt for natural gas as a transportation fuel, based on recent announcements. American Honda will be coming off a record sales year for its compressed natural gas (CNG) Civic models, which will have added styling and features next year, but those 2013 cars will not be on the market until all of the 2012 CNG Civics are sold, the company said at the end of November. Ford F-450 and F-550 trucks are being converted for utility and other fleet work by Seattle, WA-based World CNG and by Vancouver, BC-based Westport Innovations. World is providing dedicated CNG conversions and new F-550 Ford trucks, using a bodymaker, Caseco Manufacturing and its Oklahoma City-based installation partner, Clear Sky CNG. Westport said by mid-2013 it will have converted F-450 and F-550 CNG bifuel trucks outfitted at its Kentucky Integration Center, a Ford-qualified NGV modifier. Separately, the city of El Paso, TX, has contracted with Mansfield Gas Equipment Systems to design, build and operate three CNG fueling stations on city property to fuel city-owned and leased vehicles.

Marathon Oil Corp.’s $5.2 billion capital, investment and exploration budget for 2013 is about 65% targeted toward liquids-rich areas, particularly the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas.

An infrastructure development slowdown across the Marcellus Shale region over the next 12 months will sharply reduce the rate of production growth, to 1.3 Bcf/d from growth of 2.3 Bcf/d in the last 12 months, according to FBR Capital Markets.

Initial tests of a process used in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota indicate that up to 80% of the water used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) may be recycled successfully, according to the state’s chief oil and natural gas official.

Although it will take another year or more to fully assess the value, Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. is staking a lot of its long-term oil and natural gas value on its Mancos Shale acreage in both the Piceance and San Juan Basins, CEO David Emery said during a 3Q2012 earnings conference call Thursday.

CF Industries Holdings Inc., an agricultural fertilizer manufacturer and distributor, reported record third quarter earnings on Tuesday and said low natural gas costs were part of a favorable outlook for 2013.

The overall cash market advanced another 6 cents on average with only a minority of points in the loss column and some locations sporting double-digit gains. Rockies and northern California points were strong as well as the Gulf Coast and the Midcontinent. Much to the delight of market technicians, futures put in a new high, and at the close November was 3.0 cents higher at $3.617 and December had added 4.3 cents to $3.947. November crude oil followed slumping equity markets and dropped $2.05 to $90.05/bbl.

Six weeks after Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) reported its first deepwater discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, the producer said it has struck another big gusher nearby.

As another sign that the vision of a “natural gas highway” for long-haul trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles is taking shape, Southern California-based Applied Natural Gas Fuels Inc. said it plans to double the output capability of its Topock, AZ, liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility.