Currently

In the wake of oil and gas drilling becoming permissible on state-owned land throughout Ohio, industry supporters are forming the Ohio Shale Coalition (OSC) to tout the economic benefits of developing the Marcellus and Utica shales while also countering the claims of detractors.

As the summer recess approaches, Pennsylvania is flooded with proposals to tax the Marcellus Shale industry.

With a 16% worldwide market share, Russia’s Gazprom remains the “undisputed leader” of global natural gas producers, followed by ExxonMobil Corp., with a 4% share, according to a new report by Societe Generale (SG).

Houston-based Marathon, which is the fourth largest integrated producer in the United States, began leasing acreage in the DJ Basin in 2010. It currently is acquiring 2-D and 3-D seismic data and expects to participate in eight to 12 gross exploration wells by the end of the year.

Louisiana’s Mineral and Energy Board collected more than $11.5 million in bonuses in its March lease sale in which buyers heavily favored tracts in South Louisiana as opposed to the northern part of the state.

A seemingly on- and off-again project to build a new interstate pipeline connection for the Portland, OR, metropolitan area is currently very much on and eyeing market and regulatory milestones in the first half of this year, according to senior executives at NW Natural.

Shale development currently accounts for about half of the total rigs targeting natural gas development in the United States, a top executive with ICF International said.

A seemingly on- and off-again project to build a new interstate pipeline connection for the Portland, OR, metropolitan area is currently very much on and eyeing market and regulatory milestones in the first half of this year, according to senior executives at NW Natural.

While the impacts of shale gas and lower overall natural gas prices could eventually alter the status quo, gas storage in the West currently looks adequate, according to sources at Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E), a partner in the Gill Ranch near Fresno, CA, the region’s newest underground storage facility (see NGI, Oct. 11, 2010).