Course

The United States needs “a major course correction” in its approach to conservation, according to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, who on Tuesday outlined a long-term overview and plans for the rest of the year which include reviews of previous land use decisions.

U.S. natural gas exporters are on course for a seventh straight record year for northbound sales, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) trade scorecard.

For industry and government officials in North Dakota hungry for new ways to reduce the nearly 30% of the state’s associated natural gas that is flared, it is unclear if an innovative approach from a Louisiana-based oil/gas field services firm using converted military helicopter jet engines will prove to be a panacea anytime soon.

The dismal days of 2009 are behind the chemical industry, and while the global recession isn’t completely gone, there are brighter times ahead. Much of that is because of the revolution in shale natural gas and oil, speakers at the IHS World Petrochemical Conference said Wednesday in Houston.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) said it has reversed course and now plans to conduct a docket review of two completed natural gas transmission line projects in northeast Pennsylvania, but it is resisting calls from an environmental group to reexamine a third pipeline.

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to fine an energy company for a 2010 fire could be the first time federal and state regulators have levied fines for the same incident in the Marcellus Shale.

Tropical Storm Isaac altered its course on Friday and could move closer to the central Gulf of Mexico (GOM) by Monday and Tuesday than previously expected — and have grown to hurricane status by then — prompting some companies to suspend drilling operations and evacuate workers from some platforms.

December natural gas fell Monday as pervasive forecasts of near-term warming prompted traders to follow the course of funds and managed accounts and market bulls were kept on the defensive. At the close December had fallen 8.7 cents to $3.696 and January had dropped 8.9 cents to $3.803. December crude oil gained $1.26 to $95.52/bbl.

Reversing course from late last week when nearly all cash market points fell, gains were predominant in most regions on Monday, despite the fact that the tropical storm radar got a lot less crowded over the weekend. Much of the country except for the West saw upticks from a few pennies to about a dime.