Developed

A “golden age” is on the horizon for natural gas across the globe, but only if the world’s unconventional resources, including shale, tight gas and coalbed methane, are developed profitably and in an environmentally acceptable manner, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a sweeping report on Tuesday.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. said in a regulatory filing Friday that it may have to delay some of the planned oil and natural gas asset sales this year, which could up be to $14 billion, because low natural gas prices may stretch its ability to comply with credit covenants.

Shale talk and action are both picking up in Illinois as oil/gas exploration and production (E&P) companies and state officials are getting more involved in the fields and in the state capital in Springfield. As the energy companies seek more leases from farmers, the lawmakers have a proposed state law (SB 3280) covering hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Canadian producers are riding shale gas technology imported from the United States to complete an about-face in drilling targets next year by switching over to tight oil formations.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp and Stone Energy Corp. said Monday they plan to jointly develop Marcellus Shale acreage in West Virginia. Separately Stone agreed to commit its share of output from the contract area to a Magnum Hunter pipeline subsidiary.

Contrary to previous reports, the opening of a 1 Bcf/d liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal developed by a Korean-Japanese consortium has been delayed until early 2012, according to business news reports Friday south of the U.S. border. A variety of “setbacks” are being dealt with, an ICIS Heren report indicated.

Calgary independent Paramount Resources Ltd., better known for its natural gas exploration, saw its stock price jump by nearly 5% in midday trading Monday after the company said it was creating a subsidiary to house its growing oilsands and bitumen businesses.

A unit of General Electric (GE) has developed a new natural gas-fired 50 MW generation turbine that operates without water. GE claims its FlexAero (LM 6000-PH) turbine is highly efficient and provides a faster, more flexible source of electricity to businesses and communities alike with onsite power generation needs. It is aimed at both utilities and large industrial/commercial customers, a GE spokesperson told NGI. FlexAero represents a multi-million-dollar investment in research and development by GE, the spokesperson said. GE also said that it has passed the $1 billion mark in orders received for both aeroderivative and heavy duty gas turbines for projects in North America. GE touts its new turbine as “leveraging” the use of clean-burning natural gas in a quick-start context.

Forced pooling is critical to ensuring that the Marcellus Shale is developed to its fullest, but crafting those laws will be difficult because of the unique nature of shale and the slim legal history of pooling in Appalachia, a natural resources legal expert told a Pittsburgh audience last Tuesday.