Contracts

The natural gas industry is more bullish about the Utica Shale than ever before, but several geologists remain skeptical until more data is publicly available about the play.

It’s no secret that weak prices have made natural gas a stepchild to oil and natural gas liquids (NGL), but perhaps nowhere else is the clean-burning stuff more out of favor than in the halls of Houston-based EOG Resources Inc., where CEO Mark Papa can’t seem to distance himself from the Mcfs fast enough.

The promise of continued production growth from unconventional gas plays — shales in particular — has been repeated yet again in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest production forecast. While the overall gas-directed rig count has fallen, the number of rigs targeting unconventional plays (gas and oil) has increased from last year.

FERC Friday issued a favorable environmental assessment of Inergy subsidiary Central New York Oil and Gas Co.’s (CNYOG) MARC-I Hub Line Project that would allow for the delivery of additional Marcellus Shale and Trenton Black River natural gas to Northeast markets.

Laser Northeast Gathering Co. LLC’s wait to learn whether it can construct a gas gathering pipeline with “public utility” status in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale country was extended Thursday when the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted to remand the case to an administrative law judge (ALJ).

Characterizing the rapid rise in shale gas as a surprise to the entire industry, Sempra Energy’s top executive heading its liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations cautioned that the industry’s current game-changer needs to be viewed from both global and historical perspectives. Darcel Hulse, Sempra LNG CEO, told NGI’s Shale Daily that the whole shale gas story still needs to play out.

The former chief of the New York Department of Conservation (DEC), whose ouster in October was criticized by producers and environmental groups alike, told state lawmakers last week that massive cutbacks in commission staff have become a “shell game” that didn’t take into account the consequences for stakeholders.

Houston-based Swift Energy Co.’s 2011 capital budget includes an accelerated drilling program to increase production and reserves, primarily targeting its liquids-rich acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale and the Olmos Sands in South Texas, the company said.

Nearby futures gained modestly and more deferred contracts posted narrow losses Monday as traders squared their books prior to Tuesday’s options expiration and Wednesday’s futures termination.