Declining

Mixed cash market action set the tone for the day Monday with points declining in the gulf Coast and Midcontinent regions while Northeast, Rockies and West Coast points managed moderate gains. The expiring March futures finished on a soft note as the technical environment continued to deteriorate. At the close March had settled at $2.446, down 10.4 cents and April shed 9.2 cents to $2.603. April crude oil dropped $1.21 to $108.56/bbl.

Wyoming is facing a potential budget shortfall exceeding $100 million due to rapidly declining natural gas prices in a state highly dependent upon the shale boom and its related economic drivers, Gov. Matt Mead said Tuesday in Cheyenne.

Range Resources Corp. CEO John Pinkerton said he believes 2012 will be “a breakout year” for the company as it ramps up production in the Marcellus Shale and develops assets in other plays to replace those in the Barnett Shale that were sold in April.

Texas keeps getting hotter and drier, and aquifer water levels keep declining as homeowners, farmers and oil and gas drillers keep pumping water for their various uses. However, one water watcher told NGI he does not expect curtailments on water use for drilling/hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Eagle Ford Shale.

Texas keeps getting hotter and drier, and aquifer water levels keep declining as homeowners, farmers and oil and gas drillers keep pumping water for their various uses. However, one water watcher told NGI’s Shale Daily he does not expect curtailments on water use for drilling/hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Eagle Ford Shale.

The abundance of gas coming out of the Marcellus Shale is contributing to a situation on Columbia Gas Transmission that is pinching the pipeline’s storage operations in northern Ohio and creating oversupply on the western portion of its system, according to a recent rate adjustment filing at FERC.

The federal government is losing more than $4.7 million a day due to declining production at existing oil and natural gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and “bureaucratic delays” with issuing permits for wells in the Gulf offshore, according to a recent report by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).

The federal government is losing more than $4.7 million a day due to declining production at existing oil and natural gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and “bureaucratic delays” on issuing permits for wells in the Gulf offshore, according to a recent report by the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).

Unconventional natural gas and liquids plays account for a larger slice of the gas-directed rig count pie than they did just a short time ago. More horizontal drilling and the emergence of the second generation of shale plays characterize the market today, according to analysts at Barclays Capital.