Dent

Energy efficiency continues to make a dent in the national energy markets, with more states than ever formally measuring the annual impact of utility driven energy savings programs, according to two reports from the independent nonprofit American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Twenty-four states have implemented energy efficiency resource standards (EERS) in the past six years, following the lead of Texas and Vermont, and 13 of the 19 states with EERS policies in place for two years or longer achieved 100% or more of their goals; three states reached 90%; and the remaining three achieved 80%, according to ACEEE’s first report, “Energy Efficiency Resource Standards: A Progress Report on State Energy Saving Targets.” The second report documents how utilities are planning to increase their efforts to hit these higher energy saving levels. Six states with reportedly the largest and most successful efficiency programs — California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Vermont — are highlighted in some detail in terms of their ongoing and planned programs. Another six states among the next tier are also highlighted — Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Natural gas only has to make a small dent in the energy market shares of coal and oil to score major gains, say Canadian boosters of the cleanest fossil fuel — and they are picking up hammers with apparent government support at least in Ontario, where plans to phase out coal-fired power are speeding up.

Natural gas only has to make a small dent in the energy market shares of coal and oil to score major gains, say Canadian boosters of the cleanest fossil fuel — and they are picking up hammers with apparent government support at least in Ontario, where plans to phase out coal-fired power are speeding up.

Lower natural gas prices in the last three months of 2006 made a dent in the earnings of three of the top oil and gas majors, but ExxonMobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron Corp. still reported record annual earnings in 2006. Gas production at ExxonMobil and Shell fell last year, but Chevron recorded a 9% boost to its U.S. output following restorations in Gulf of Mexico (GOM) infrastructure following the 2005 hurricanes.

Warmer-than-normal temperatures and an increase in nuclear power output last week put a dent in gas demand that could lead to another net gas storage injection in the weekly storage report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), according to a number of industry experts.

After making little more than a dent in natural gas supplies from the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Claudette was downgraded to a tropical storm late Tuesday afternoon and slipped into a tropical depression overnight into Wednesday as it made its way west/northwest toward Mexico. Gulf producers continued to repopulate platforms and rigs in the Western and Central Gulf, but about 2.2 Bcf/d of gas production remained shut in Wednesday, according to the Mineral Management Service (MMS).