Continued

An investigation continued Thursday in the natural gas explosion that destroyed most of a city block in a shopping district Tuesday night in Kansas City, MO. A snow storm that blanketed the region Wednesday night had slowed progress, officials said.

Devon Energy Corp.’s North American onshore oil production jumped year/year 20% in 2012 as it continued to makeover its natural gas-weighted portfolio to higher margin liquids and oil targets, but more still needs to be done to squeeze the value of its portfolio, CEO John Richels said Wednesday. Oil appears to be the answer, and dry natural gas development still is off the table.

Cash prices overall lurched higher Wednesday as weather forecasts continued to call for bone-chilling winds across major Midwest and eastern market centers. Without the multi-dollar gains posted at a handful of Northeast points, the average national gain was 8 cents, but with those gains factored in, the average rose to 21 cents.

Production from North American shale plays will continue to keep natural gas prices from increasing significantly any time soon, Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser told financial analysts in London Thursday.

Natural gas drilling continued to decline in 4Q2012, despite an uptick in exploratory gas drilling for the period, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said. “In the year-to-date comparison, gas well completions have decreased 26%” to 9,752 wells in 2012 from 13,128 wells in 2011, said API, which represents major oil and gas producers. At the same time, oil drilling rose in the period, with exploratory and development wells up 15% and 16% respectively from year-ago figures. “The oil and natural gas industry expanded oil drilling in 2012, thanks in large part to access on private and state lands,” said API statistics director Hazem Arafa. A year-to-date comparison of oil wells drilled yields a 25% increase in total well completions between 2011 and 2012 (26,213 to 32,652).

Physical natural gas prices continued their volatile ways Wednesday with eastern points continuing higher prompted by pipeline outages and below normal temperatures, while locations west of the Eastern Seaboard were declining. Overall, the national average gain was 95 cents, but taking out volatile eastern points revealed an overall average loss of 8 cents. At the close of trading February futures were 0.4 cent lower at $3.554 and March was down 0.5 cent at $3.553. March crude oil slipped $1.45 to $95.23/bbl.

Natural gas drilling continued to decline in the fourth quarter, despite an uptick in exploratory gas drilling for the period, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said in a report on well completions for the quarter.

Natural gas drilling continued to decline in the fourth quarter, despite an uptick in exploratory drilling, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said in a report on well completions. “In the year-to-date comparison, gas well completions have decreased 26%” to 9,752 wells in 2012 from 13,128 wells in 2011. At the same time, oil well drilling rose, with exploratory and development wells showing a 15% and 16% increase respectively from 4Q2011 numbers. “The oil and natural gas industry expanded oil drilling in 2012, thanks in large part to access on private and state lands,” said API Statistics Director Hazem Arafa. A year-to-date comparison of oil wells drilled yields a 25% increase in total well completions between 2011 and 2012 (26,213 to 32,652).

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. late Tuesday said for the first time in its history the Marcellus Shale operations surpassed 1 Bcf/d gross of natural gas production, primarily because of new wells and additional infrastructure.