Dramatically

Shale natural gas has dramatically transformed the outlook for U.S. energy supplies and is having “profound” economic impacts on creating jobs and stimulating growth, as well as bolstering tax revenue and reducing consumer energy costs, according to a study by IHS Global Insight.

Safety and outage risks would climb dramatically if added pressure reductions are implemented on parts of the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) natural gas transmission pipeline system, the utility told the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) as part of an ongoing state proceeding following last September’s fatal pipeline rupture in San Bruno, CA, 10 miles south of San Francisco.

Safety and outage risks would climb dramatically if added pressure reductions are implemented on parts of the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) natural gas transmission pipeline system, the utility told the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) earlier in May as part of the ongoing state proceeding following last September’s fatal pipeline rupture in San Bruno, CA, 10 miles south of San Francisco.

Southern said Friday its market-area forecast called for warmer temperatures Saturday “and then turning dramatically colder for Sunday and even colder into [this] week.” It was extremely likely that storage withdrawal requirements would exceed system capability coming out of the weekend, Southern said, so an OFO Type 6 for short imbalances will take effect Monday until further notice. Tiered penalties will apply to negative daily imbalances exceeding 2% or 200 Dth, whichever is greater. Southern added that it will not be accepting nominations for due-shipper imbalance makeups and will evaluate on each scheduling cycle nominations for interruptible services that rely on storage withdrawals.

The horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques used to tap natural gas production from shales is beginning to “transform” the oil industry, according to a market analysis issued on Monday by Bentek Energy LLC.

Energy industry insiders appear to be more optimistic this year, but they expect 2010 natural gas prices to average about 10% below Wall Street expectations, according to the results of an informal survey by analysts with Raymond James & Associates Inc.

Energy industry insiders appear to be more optimistic this year, but they expect 2010 natural gas prices to average about 10% below Wall Street expectations, according to the results of an informal survey by analysts with Raymond James & Associates Inc.

With the U.S. natural gas rig count down dramatically, domestic gas supplies should fall by 2 Bcf/d or more, or by 4%, by year’s end, setting up a peak-to-trough decline of almost 5 Bcf/d, or 9%, by the middle of 2010, analysts with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey/the Gerdes Group (STRH) said last week. Barclays Capital analysts, however, said it would take colder-than-normal winter weather to bring storage to a neutral level.

With the U.S. natural gas rig count down dramatically, domestic gas supplies should fall by 2 Bcf/d or more, or by 4%, by year’s end, setting up a peak-to-trough decline of almost 5 Bcf/d, or 9%, by the middle of 2010, analysts with SunTrust Robinson Humphrey/the Gerdes Group (STRH) said Monday.