Drill

With natural gas prices as low as they are, one would think there is no good reason to drill for the stuff. Actually, there are several reasons to pursue gas; but they’re pretty much going away, according an analysis by Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

Less than three months ago, Norse Energy Corp. ASA was the first company in line seeking permission to drill unconventional gas wells in New York’s portion of the Marcellus and Utica shales.

Less than three months ago, Norse Energy Corp. ASA was the first company in line seeking permission to drill unconventional gas wells in New York’s portion of the Marcellus and Utica shales.

Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) has launched a campaign to prevent Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania’s state parks. The campaign was unveiled by John H. Quigley, a special adviser to PennFuture and former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

As of last Friday Enterprise Products Partners was awaiting a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform a directional drill at a pipeline crossing of the Missouri River at Decatur, NE, to enable inspection and repairs of two natural gas liquids pipelines that were shut in Aug. 13 following damage caused by flooding on the river. The eight-inch diameter pipelines — one carrying propane and one carrying natural gasoline — run from Conway, KS, to Minnesota and are expected to be out for at least two months. The pipelines are on the western leg of the Conway North System, which is part of Enterprise’s Mid-America Pipeline.

Three Wyoming producers — Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., Noble Energy and ConocoPhillips — eventually will seek permission from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to drill up to 4,200 natural gas wells over 265,000 acres in the state.

Although Norse Energy Corp. ASA has applied for a permit to drill an unconventional gas well in New York’s portion of the Marcellus Shale, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said the company’s application is premature.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has taken steps to lease the rights to drill for natural gas in the 43,000 acres of waterways that run through the Marcellus Shale region and to grant licenses for access to water.

The New York Assembly’s Environmental Conservation Committee this week reported out of committee legislation to suspend until June 1, 2012 the issuance of new permits to drill that use hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) to extract natural gas or oil.