Comparison

ExxonMobil Corp. continues to reign supreme as the world’s top energy enterprise and has regained its title as the largest domestic publicly traded entity.

With its oil and liquids-rich play, the Bakken Shale in North Dakota keeps attracting prospective drilling operations even as the formation’s overall rig count has declined slightly since January, according to the state’s latest monthly statistics at the end of August.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. closed out 2011 averaging 600 MMcf/d from the Marcellus Shale, including one day where the Houston company produced a record 606 MMcf.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued 277 permits for Marcellus Shale drilling and operators reported drilling 226 wells into the play in August, according to recently released figures.

The Pittsburgh City Council voted 6-3 on Monday to add a referendum to the fall ballot that, if approved by voters, would amend the city charter with a ban on all commercial natural gas extraction inside the city limits.

While the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) natural gas storage report of a 66 Bcf injection for the week ended June 23 paled in comparison to historical figures, the number was larger than the expectations of many in the industry. After trading as high as $6.290 on Thursday morning, August natural gas — in its first regular session action as prompt month — dropped significantly lower following the report before settling at $6.135, down 2.5 cents for the day.

While this year’s Atlantic hurricane season is expected to pale in comparison to last year’s extraordinary display, the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Monday it still is expecting “a very active hurricane season” in 2006, adding that individuals should make preparations to better protect their lives and livelihoods.

The Northeast differentiated itself from the rest of the marketyet again yesterday. Contrary to Friday’s results when manyNortheast points gained more than 20 cents, however, theNortheast’s attention-grabbing price activity yesterday felldecidedly on the bearish side as Transco Zone 6-NY fell $1 andTetco M3’s average dropped from the high $3.20’s to $3.