Change

Energy infrastructure giant Williams, whose pipeline partnership holds a bundle of huge natural gas and liquids operations in the Northeast, expects to see “full ethane rejection” through 2015, which will lead to “near-term headwinds” for the unit, CEO Alan Armstrong said Wednesday.

TexStar Midstream Services LP has acquired Tierra Pipeline LP from The Tierra Companies, and the companies said they have tentatively agreed on the sale of trucking operator Tierra Transportation to Black Creek Well Services, a TexStar sister company, with closing expected by July 1.

President Obama’s $3.77 trillion budget for fiscal year (FY) 2014, unveiled Wednesday, for the fourth time seeks to repeal tax breaks for oil and natural gas producers. It also would tack on new fees for operations on federal lands and increase oil and gas royalties to fund renewable fuel development.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said last week natural gas production in Pennsylvania increased 69% in 2012, despite a reduction in drilling activity.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said natural gas production in Pennsylvania increased 69% in 2012, despite a reduction in drilling activity.

Natural gas production from unconventional sources in Pennsylvania hit a record 2.04 Tcf in 2012, as the state’s Marcellus/Utica shale gas for the first time edged ahead of the granddaddy Barnett Shale in Texas.

A petroleum geosciences professor said hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can be performed safely in New Brunswick, and believes that Canadian province and others will eventually establish appropriate regulations to govern the practice.

So far, it looks like another mild winter is underway, but that is likely to change in a couple of weeks. A sudden warming of the stratosphere — six to 30 miles above the ground — in the North Pole is going to push cold air southward, according to AccuWeather.com.

So far, it looks like another mild winter is underway, but that is likely to change in a couple of weeks. A sudden warming of the stratosphere — six to 30 miles above the ground — in the North Pole is going to push cold air southward, according to AccuWeather.com.