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The U.S. natural gas markets likely face demand growth of more than 14 Bcf/d between now and 2020, and while there appears to a surplus of gas still in the ground, demand may be capped by operators’ ability to deliver supply, Barclays Capital analysts said Monday.

To support rapidly expanding drilling programs in the Utica Shale’s southern core, MarkWest Utica EMG LLC on Friday agreed to construct a third 200 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processor at the Seneca complex in Noble County, OH.

Crude oil from the Bakken Shale will be Delaware-bound under an agreement between leading Bakken producer Continental Resources Inc. and PBF Energy Inc. Crude is to be delivered by rail to PBF’s double-loop track at its refinery in Delaware City.

Pacific Northwest water flows, which can influence summer energy supplies throughout the West, are likely to differ greatly between the northeasterly and southeasterly parts of the four-state and far western Canada region, according to the latest analysis from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NPCC). Below-average steam flows can be expected in the Snake River basin and eastern Oregon in the southern part of the Columbia River Basin, but flows are expected to be near or just slightly below normal in the upper Columbia and main Columbia River this spring and summer. “The highest runoff forecast in the basin can be found in the upper Columbia in British Columbia,” NPCC Manager Jim Ruff told the NPCC board. He also concluded that with an only slightly below-normal snowpack as of April 1, it is likely there will be a good summer runoff at near-normal levels in the main Columbia River this spring-summer season. NPCC’s latest analysis follows the Northwest River Forecast Center predicting that river flows for the first seven months this year will be about 89% of normal, and the fact that they are that high is attributable to much higher-than-normal precipitation last fall (see Daily GPI, April 8).

A Harris Interactive poll found that most registered voters in Ohio are opposed to higher severance taxes on oil and natural gas, believing such increases would destroy job creation and harm the economy.

A Harris Interactive poll found that 60% of North Carolina voters support the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in their state, and 74% support the Tar Heel State moving forward with offshore oil and natural gas exploration and production.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday showed that for the first time, Republican voters in New York State have an unfavorable opinion of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who took office two years ago and who is at the forefront of the debate over hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) on Tuesday responded to a collision between a tug pushing a barge and a Chevron Pipe Line Co. liquid propane gas (LPG) pipeline near Bayou Perot, 30 miles south of New Orleans.

In some cases operators just aren’t drilling and in others they are leaving the state for greener pastures as 2012 continued to be another year for declining natural gas production in Northwest New Mexico’s San Juan Basin, according to the latest state statistics that showed the region produced 780 Bcf last year.