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Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell told attendees of a Philadelphia clean energy conference that he believes hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can be done safely, but added that he supports the de facto moratorium on drilling in the Delaware River Basin and would even back a genuine one.

A recent series of regional technical conferences made it clear that there is plenty to be done to address coordination issues between the gas and electricity markets, but a rulemaking from federal regulators may not be the way to address those issues, according to FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff.

Williams plans to invest $1.34 billion and create 100 jobs between now and 2014 in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle to take advantage of unconventional natural gas growth, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Thursday.

Officials from North Dakota’s Health and Mineral Resources Departments were busy over the weekend as part of the clean up following a fatal oil well blowout that occurred last Tuesday night, spewing about 400 barrels of crude over surrounding agricultural fields. A health department environmental scientist was assessing the risks of contamination to crops and local water supplies, and the Department of Mineral and Resources coordinated the cordoning off and management of the site itself. New Mexico-based Black Hawk Energy Services was in the process of putting production pumping equipment into place at the partially completed well. One worker was killed when he was run over by a truck being relocated away from the well site. The Williams County Sheriff’s Office told local news media in Williston that the incident is still under investigation. Two parts of the well’s pre-production work had been done, but it was not ready to begin commercial production, state officials told local news media.

As he has done with hydraulic fracturing and other environmental regulatory issues, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead Tuesday urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to defer to his state in regulating regional haze, which ties directly to the state’s oil, natural gas and power generation industries. Mead wrote to EPA’s air quality program director to head off the mandate of a federal implementation plan (FIP).

The physical gas market overall rose about a penny Thursday as traders scrambled to get deals done before the release of a key government report. Maintenance on a Northeast pipeline prompted double-digit gains at several points in New England. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an inventory build of 67 Bcf, which was significantly less than market expectations, and prices surged. At the close of futures trading July had soared 31.0 cents to $2.495 and August had advanced 30.5 cents to $2.541. July crude oil added $1.29 to $83.91/bbl.

The North Carolina Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to legalize hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and begin the process of creating a regulatory framework for the practice.

A bill that would legalize hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in North Carolina and lay the groundwork for its regulation tentatively was scheduled for a second reading Wednesday in the state Senate, one day after clearing a key legislative committee.

Regulators with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said permit applications for oil and natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale are taking about four months to process — about three months longer than they should take compared with past permitting.