Natural gas prices trending up nationally were cited by Minnesota-based Xcel Energy for its latest higher retail gas charges at its Colorado combination utility as part of its quarterly price adjustments for retail electric and gas rates. Overall, Xcel said total utility bills in Colorado will be lower in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, but on an annual basis, “a national trend in higher natural gas commodity prices” will continue to put upward pressure on utility bills. Under the quarterly gas cost adjustment, the cost of natural gas in the third quarter will be slightly higher than the second quarter, but because of a “significant drop” in use expected in the summer quarter, residential bills will be about $8 lower/month, compared to the current quarter, Xcel said. Residential gas bills in the third quarter will still be $3.15 more than they were in the third quarter last year. “Much of 2012 was marked by historically low gas prices,” Xcel said. Typical monthly residential and small business gas bills during the third quarter are expected to be $21.98 and $81.73, respectively, compared to average bills of $18.83 and $68.81, respectively, in the third quarter of 2012.
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WPX Gas Discovery in Piceance Could ‘More Than Double’ 3P Reserves
With an average production rate of almost 10 MMcf/d in the first quarter, a discovery well in the Piceance Basin may produce in the first few months what a typical well in the Niobrara formation has done over 25 to 30 years, WPX energy CEO Ralph Hill said Thursday.
Hearing Scheduled for D&L Energy Shutdown Appeal
The Ohio Oil and Gas Commission has scheduled a hearing for D&L Energy Inc.’s motion for stay of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) decision to shut the company down after oilfield waste was dumped illegally in late January.
Apache Feeling the Love in Permian, Midcontinent
Apache Corp. is taking no prisoners in the Permian Basin nor in the Midcontinent after building output from the combined regions by almost 24% in 2012 from 2011. By themselves, the two regions represented 25% of total global production at 197,000 boe/d.
Anadarko’s Onshore Experimentation Lowering Costs, Lifting Output
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is doing “a lot” of experimentation in the U.S. onshore to determine how best to drill unconventional wells to ensure optimized estimated ultimate recoveries (EUR). What the management knows for sure is that the bigger the hydraulic fractures (fracks) the more a well can recover, said CEO Al Walker.
Apache Breaks Production Records in Permian, Anadarko Basins
Higher rig counts and new infrastructure contributed to record production from the Permian and Anadarko basin operations, Apache Corp. said Thursday.
EPA Fines Talisman $62K for Chemical Disclosure Violations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Wednesday a subsidiary of Talisman Energy Inc. will pay more than $62,000 in fines to settle charges that the company violated hazardous chemical reporting requirements for the past three years at 52 natural gas drilling sites in Pennsylvania.
Encana Sees Red on Natural Gas Writedowns
Encana Corp. last week reported a net loss in 2Q2012 of $1.5 billion, nearly all from one-time charges on falling 12-month average natural gas prices. The Calgary-based producer earned $383 million in the year-ago period.
Arkansas Tax Hike Backer Appeals to SEC
The backer of an initiative to raise the severance tax Arkansas charges natural gas producers has appealed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to scrutinize two energy producers for their indirect funding of anti-tax hike groups and what those groups are telling voters.
Arkansas Tax Hike Backer Appeals to SEC
The backer of an initiative to raise the severance tax Arkansas charges natural gas producers has appealed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to scrutinize two energy producers for their indirect funding of anti-tax hike groups and what those groups are telling voters.