Appears

Hitting a $6/Mcf natural gas price after 2016 is “achievable,” but in four years a $5 gas price now appears more realistic, according to energy analysts with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH).

A decision by Range Resources Corp. to sell its Barnett Shale portfolio last year to devote more resources to the Marcellus Shale appears to have paid off handsomely, with unconventional output jumping 42% in 2Q2012 from the year-ago period. Natural gas, which makes up 80% of the producer’s total output, rose 48%.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs said Wednesday they expect natural gas prices will remain low this summer, but recommended buying longer-dated natural gas futures on the presumption that slower production, a declining rig count and a return to normal winter weather would boost prices in 2013.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has withdrawn the “imminent and substantial endangerment order” that it issued against Range Resources Corp. in December 2010 for alleged methane contamination of water wells in North Texas.

Proving that different shale plays have different economics, Southwestern Energy Co. plans to cut spending in the Fayetteville Shale and increase spending in the Marcellus Shale this year, the company said Tuesday.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin appears poised to call a special session of the legislature in mid-December to discuss, and hopefully pass, a compromise Marcellus Shale regulatory reform bill.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin appears poised to call a special session of the legislature in mid-December to discuss, and hopefully pass, a compromise Marcellus Shale regulatory reform bill.

Although the dogs are still barking in Pennsylvania, the caravan for imposing a fee on natural gas drillers in the most active shale gas state appears to be moving on.

Although the dogs are still barking in Pennsylvania, the caravan for imposing a fee on natural gas drillers in the most active shale gas state appears to be moving forward.