Environment

Prices acted as expected in an environment of little heating load, flagging air conditioning demand in the South and a 14-cent screen drop on the preceding day. All points were united in declines Thursday.

Sen James Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, introduced two energy-related bills this week, one that says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing under existing law, and a second that clarifies congressional intent in the 1987 amendments to the Clean Water Act that uncontaminated storm water discharges from oil and gas exploration, production, processing and treatment sites are exempt from the costly EPA storm water program.

Acknowledging the possibility that a new oil and gas pricing environment could be in the offing, ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva, nevertheless, is betting that current high prices probably are not sustainable. Mulva said the company has decided not to increase its current $6.2 billion a year exploration and production budget.

Acknowledging the possibility that a new oil and gas pricing environment could be in the offing, ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva, nevertheless, is betting that current high prices probably are not sustainable. Mulva said the company has decided not to increase its current $6.2 billion a year exploration and production budget.

The current gas pricing environment is not an anomaly that is soon to vanish in a sudden market collapse. It’s a supply-driven predicament that’s going to stick around for years, according to consultants at Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. (EEA).

The current gas pricing environment is not an anomaly that is soon to vanish in a sudden market collapse. It’s a supply-driven predicament that’s going to stick around for years, according to consultants at Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. (EEA). The best thing large gas consumers can do in the short-term, EEA said, is be more efficient by using more combined heat and power generation, traditionally called cogeneration.

In a post-Enron market environment, interstate natural gas pipelines should be permitted to take into the account the creditworthiness of shippers when evaluating bids for transportation capacity on their existing systems, says the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA).

In a post-Enron market environment, interstate natural gas pipelines should be permitted to take into the account the creditworthiness of shippers when evaluating bids for transportation capacity on their existing systems, says the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA).

A dwindling number of attractive drilling targets in the United States and a tough financial environment were the leading reasons exploration and production (E&P) companies said they planned to spend less next year in the United States, according to an annual survey by Lehman Brothers.