Shortly after Idaho local government and oil/gas associations agreed on a proposed state law to cover regulation of the state’s fledgling natural gas exploration and production (E&P) sector, a conservation group raised concerns about local authorities ceding their authority to the state.
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Traders Mull Another Storage Miss; January Gains
January natural gas advanced Thursday as traders anticipating a further increase in gas storage had to scramble to cover short positions when the government announced an inventory decline. January gained 9.8 cents to $3.648, and February posted a gain of 9.7 cents to $3.675. January crude oil slipped 16 cents to $100.20/bbl.
Marcellus Shale Costing More Time Than Money, Report Finds
Marcellus Shale development is not bringing much money into local governments, but also not taking much money out of local governments, according to a recent study of two prolific Pennsylvania counties.
Chesapeake Agrees to Finance West Virginia Road Repairs
Chesapeake Energy Corp. has agreed to spend millions for repairs to roads in four counties in the West Virginia Panhandle, in order to mitigate damage done to the roads by trucks hauling equipment and water to its wells sites in the region.
Barnett, Horn River Boost Quicksilver Q1 to Record
Quicksilver Resources Inc. set a production record in the first quarter, thanks mainly to the company’s Barnett Shale and Horn River activities. However, the company posted a net loss for the quarter due to one-time items and lower natural gas prices.
Quebec to Enact New Royalty Regime for Shale Gas
Quebec said Thursday a new royalty regime for shale gas will take effect in the province once it concludes a two-year strategic environmental assessment of the industry.
Traders Take Few Chances and Cover Shorts; February Gains
February natural gas futures rose Friday as traders showed little appetite for risk and elected to cover short positions prior to the long holiday weekend. Short-term traders see little likelihood that the market will continue higher. At the close February futures rose 7.3 cents to $4.480 and March gained 7.1 cents to $4.490. February crude oil added 14 cents to $91.54/bbl.
Eagle Ford Drilling Sparks Broadband Buildout
By the middle of this year most of the Eagle Ford Shale region in South Texas will be blanketed with high-speed terrestrial wireless broadband provided by ERF Wireless unit Energy Broadband Inc., the company said.
Gastar Shares Fall on Public Offering News
Shares of Houston-based Gastar Exploration Ltd. plunged Tuesday after the company said it intends to offer 12,000,000 common shares in an underwritten offering.
Industry Brief
Xcel Energy filed with Colorado regulators for approval of a $52.7 million rate increase to cover the utility’s updated forecast of fuel and purchased energy prices for the second quarter of this year and an undercollection for the first quarter. It asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to make the increase effective April 1. Minneapolis-based Xcel said the electric commodity adjustment (ECA) filing is estimated to drive up residential and small business customer bills an average of 8%. The ECA portion of Xcel customers’ electric bills would increase to 3.73 cents/kWh in the second quarter, compared to 2.93 cents/kWh currently. For the typical residential customer, bills would increase by about $5.18 monthly to around $71.53. Small businesses face a monthly increase of $9.21, taking the average bill to more than $122. Costs associated with increase or decreases through the ECA are passed through on a dollar-per-dollar basis.