Declined

Santa Fe Petroleum Inc. announced Thursday that it had acquired additional leased acres in North Central Texas for oil and natural gas drilling, expanding its position in the Barnett Shale.

California air quality officials reported that for the fourth consecutive year carbon emissions from power plants in the state have declined dramatically. A full-year figure for 2012 is still being calculated, according to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which is the lead agency implementing the state’s precedent-setting 2006 climate change law (AB 32). As measured by CARB, power plant carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions in 2011 totaled 34.9 million metric tons of CO2e (MTCO2e), compared to 52.3 million MTCO2e four years earlier. Subsequently, the totals dropped to 49.3 million MTCO2e in 2009 and down further to 44.6 million MTCO2e in 2010. Power plants are the biggest stationary source of MTCO2e emissions, followed by refineries and hydrogen plants, whose total emissions are also down compared to 2008 but have steadily risen during the last three recorded years (2009-2011).

The number of original drilling permits issued in Texas during November declined from one year ago, as did the amount of natural gas produced from Texas wells during October compared to a year ago, according to Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) figures.

The number of original drilling permits issued in Texas during November declined from one year ago, as did the amount of natural gas produced from Texas wells during October compared to a year ago, according to Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) figures.

For 2013, Southwestern Energy Co. is dialing down spending by $100 million but expects to increase net natural gas and oil production by 11-13% from this year. Drilling is increasing on the eastern side of the Fayetteville Shale, and new pipeline infrastructure is taking more gas to market from the Marcellus Shale, the company said.

Schlumberger Ltd. and Baker Hughes Inc. said they plan to report lower-than-expected profits for the final quarter of 2012 because of a slowdown in North American drilling activity and overcapacity in pressure pumping services.

Physical gas prices declined on average by 9 cents Thursday as Northeast traders had to deal with constraints and cold weather, but there were milder conditions in the East and Gulf Coast region. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that inventories increased 4 Bcf, but the market was expecting a modest draw, and futures prices took a double-digit beating. At the close January had fallen 15.3 cents to $3.648 and February was down 14.8 cents to $3.668. January crude oil added $1.58 to $88.07/bbl.

Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. grew its natural gas production by 31% and its liquids production 61% during the third quarter compared to year-ago levels, the company said. It credited much of the growth to the Marcellus Shale, where infrastructure constraints that delayed some wells during the second quarter have been overcome.

Baker Hughes Inc., the industry’s third-largest oilfield services provider, said Friday the slump in U.S. natural gas activity weighed heavily on its latest quarterly profits. However, the No. 1 oilfield services provider, Schlumberger Ltd., managed to avoid the carnage in North America’s onshore by accelerating activity overseas.