Corresponding

A private firm hired by Chesapeake Energy Corp. has determined that drinking water sources tested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Bradford County, PA, show no signs of any adverse impact from Marcellus Shale operations.

Ten years on, drilling in the Barnett Shale has expanded the economy of the 24-county region in North Texas by 38%, according to a new study that said cumulative economic benefits of the Barnett from 2001 to 2011 include $65.4 billion in gross product for the region and $80.7 billion for the state.

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.

The number of rigs actively searching for oil and gas in U.S. unconventional plays dropped by 1% for the week ending April 8, wiping out the 1% gain recorded for the segment during the previous week, according to NGI’s Shale Daily Unconventional Rig Count.

Northwest reported encountering numerous difficulties due to terrain conditions in the rerouting of its 22-inch diameter mainline near Boise, ID. As a result, the corresponding outage has been moved from Wednesday of this week to Nov. 18, and in an effort to reduce customer impacts, Northwest has also rescheduled a Lava Hot Springs Compressor Station engine exchange to Nov. 18-19. Anomaly investigations between the Cisco and Moab compressor stations are still under evaluation, the pipeline said. At this time Northwest does not anticipate any customer impacts related to this project but said that if this outlook should change, it will notify customers as soon as possible.

While it was a quiet holiday for much of the energy industry, natural gas futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange showed no corresponding slow down. Amid reports of colder temperatures, November natural gas pushed to a high of $6.800 before coming back down to close at $6.429, up less than a penny on the day.

Despite a bullish storage report (111 Bcf withdrawal) and a corresponding price spike at mid-morning, the natural gas futures market dropped lower for the third session in a row Thursday. While bulls still have plenty of ammunition left at their disposal, Thursday’s price action was a strong endorsement for the bears and traders look for modest softness ahead of the weekend.