Early

NiSource Inc. on Friday said it is proceeding with its East Side Expansion project on its Columbia Gas Transmission system to carry Marcellus Shale gas to the East Coast and mid-Atlantic region.

Results from recent U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) water quality testing in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitoring wells in Pavillion, WY, “raise serious questions about the adequacy of EPA practices in drilling monitoring wells and testing water samples,” said Erik Milito, American Petroleum Institute (API) upstream director.

Even as a number of Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act regulatory rules remain in limbo, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) said early last week that it has completed the transition on its exchange of cleared over-the-counter (OTC) energy swaps to futures.

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.

A flash fire erupted early Wednesday morning, injuring four contract workers doing maintenance work at a ConocoPhillips natural gas processing plant in Fremont County in Wyoming. The plant had been idle since Aug. 1 for planned maintenance, officials at the scene told local news media.

As the deadline for moving proposed bills out of finance committees came and went Thursday, the California state legislature again gave up on measures designed to more closely regulate hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Marcellus Shale gas will push out some gas traditionally imported from Dawn, ON, later this year as new pipeline expansions come online, Bentek Energy LLC said in a market note.

Global oil production capacity increases, especially from unconventional U.S. oil, are accelerating so quickly that output could jump almost 20% by 2020, which could dramatically reduce and possibly collapse oil prices, according to an analysis by a Harvard Kennedy School researcher and former oil industry executive.

Lower prices for oil and natural gas liquids have led to softening in drilling services markets and caused Pioneer Drilling Co. to dial down its operations guidance for the second quarter, the company said Monday. However, the Permian Basin of West Texas and the Bakken Shale offer some bright spots.