Devices

A moratorium on natural gas well permitting in Flower Mound, TX, is to end Friday, but those applying to drill in the affluent Barnett Shale town from now on will face some tough new requirements recently approved by the Flower Mound Town Council.

Prompted by the booming natural gas drilling industry in his district, Pennsylvania state Senator Gene Yaw (R-23rd) said he will introduce a series of bills that address issues related to the growing Marcellus Shale industry. Yaw’s district includes Bradford, Susquehanna and Lycoming counties, which are some of Pennsylvania’s top Marcellus producing areas.

With no guidance coming from Tuesday’s neutral screen action, cash market traders were left to their own devices on Wednesday. Some Midwest averages and almost all western averages continued Tuesday’s run higher with additions of a few pennies to a little more than 15 cents, while the rest of the country saw small pullbacks of up to a nickel.

Equitable Gas Co. said it will install 260,000 electronic meter reading devices in its southwestern Pennsylvania utility service territory to gain efficiencies and cut long-term service costs. The implementation and installation process will begin later this month and will be completed by September 2006.

Texaco bought a 20% equity stake in hydrogen storage specialistand fuel cell developer Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) lastweek for $67.3 million. While the major producer has not lost sightof the importance of its upstream and downstream businesses nor thesurge in mergers among its major competitors, it has chosen tofocus on a variety of new technologies that it believes willdetermine the future of the automobile and electric powerindustries.

Texaco bought a 20% equity stake in hydrogen storage specialistand fuel cell developer Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD)yesterday for $67.3 million. While the major producer has not lostsight of the importance of its upstream and downstream businessesnor the surge in mergers among its major competitors, it has chosento focus on a variety of new technologies that it believes willdetermine the future of the automobile and electric powerindustries.