Arrival

Workers have returned to most oil and gas production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), but more than a quarter of natural gas production that was shut-in ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Isaac last week remained shuttered Wednesday, according to the Bureau of Safety Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

Following lengthy public hearings and the arrival of thousands of written comments by experts and stakeholders, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said Wednesday it needs another month to complete an environmental review and proposed regulations for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state.

Operations at two Northeast Natural Energy (NNE) natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale near Morgantown, WV, have been delayed while the company awaits the arrival of a service rig.

Arrival of some heating load fails to offset recognition of generally weak weather fundamentals.

Dominion Cove Point LNG Inc. (DCP) is seeking long-term, multi-contract authorization from the Department of Energy (DOE) to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its import terminal in Lusby, MD, south of Baltimore. Export approval would boost activity at DCP’s terminal, ease constraints on northeastern pipelines and give Marcellus Shale gas producers an additional outlet for their supply, according to the company.

The recent arrival of a cold front from Canada will keep Northeast temperatures moving lower Friday, and southern mercury levels will continue to inch downward at many locations as well. Those factors, along with further impetus from the previous day’s nosedive of 14.6 cents by August futures based largely on expectations of a bearish storage report (which were realized in spades), resulted in cash market softness across the board Thursday.

Oil and gas companies with facilities in the Atchafalaya Basin of Louisiana are bracing for the arrival of floodwaters, but industry officials believe that the impact will be minimal and the recovery will be swift.

November natural gas futures on Wednesday posted gains for a second straight day on what could be a round of technical buying, despite the arrival of natural gas storage injection data Thursday morning that is expected to be larger than both year-ago and five-year average comparisons for yet another week.

Encana Corp. and ExxonMobil Corp. on Thursday separately suspended operations at two natural gas prospects that are offshore Nova Scotia (NS) to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Earl.