Doubled

ZaZa Energy Corp. more than doubled its proved Eagle Ford Shale oil reserves between the end of last year and Sept. 1; however, proved Eagle Ford gas reserves declined by more than half with the dissolution of a joint venture (JV) the company had with Hess Corp.

Shale gas is a doubled-edged sword for power generators in the Mid-Atlantic region, supplying them with abundant, low-cost gas while at the same time putting pressure on an already over-taxed pipeline infrastructure, generators said Thursday at the fifth and final FERC conference on gas-power coordination issues.

A new completion design doubled initial production (IP) rates from the Marcellus Shale in southwestern Pennsylvania for Range Resources, the Fort Worth, TX-based company said Thursday.

A new completion design doubled initial production (IP) rates from the Marcellus Shale in southwestern Pennsylvania for Range Resources, the Fort Worth, TX-based company said Thursday.

Marcellus Shale development in Pennsylvania continued to remain level in February.

The number of fatalities stemming from natural gas pipeline accidents in 2010 more than doubled to 21 from nine in the prior year, according to estimates released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The number of fatalities stemming from natural gas pipeline accidents in 2010 more than doubled to 21 from nine in the prior year, according to estimates released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Natural gas pipelines accounted for all but one of the total 22 pipeline deaths in 2010, the NTSB said. One death was attributed to hazardous liquid lines last year. In contrast the NTSB reported a total of 13 pipeline-related fatalities in 2009. The deadly natural gas pipeline accident in San Bruno, CA, which killed eight people and was investigated by the NTSB, contributed to the rise in pipeline fatalities in 2010, the board said (see Daily GPI, Sept. 17, 2010). The five fatalities from a pipeline explosion in Allentown, PA, were not included in the NTSB count since the blast occurred earlier this year (see Daily GPI, Feb. 11).

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that although natural gas production in North Dakota has more than doubled since 2005, so far more than 35% of that production for 2011 has been flared or otherwise not marketed because of insufficient infrastructure in the Bakken Shale.

National Fuel Gas Co.’s Seneca Resources Corp. more than doubled fiscal fourth quarter production from its activities in Appalachia. This contributed to better Seneca results and for National Fuel overall during the quarter and fiscal year.