Expanded

Black Elk Energy last Sunday (Nov. 18) expanded its efforts to locate the last worker missing following an explosion and fire onboard a shallow-water Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production platform.

Black Elk Energy on Sunday expanded its efforts to locate the last worker missing following a Friday explosion and fire onboard a shallow-water Gulf of Mexico (GOM) production platform.

Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project in Louisiana could be expanded by 50% as global demand for U.S. LNG increases, a Cheniere executive said.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and a Silicon Valley maker of measurement instruments, Picarro Inc., have expanded their collaboration on a technology for detecting natural gas pipeline leaks. PG&E will deploy six of the vehicle-mounted Picarro Surveyor gas leak detectors. PG&E said it is the first utility in the nation to use the new technology (see Daily GPI, Feb. 3). Picarro and PG&E contend that the leak detection equipment is 1,000 times more sensitive than traditional leak detection equipment with capability to detect leaks down to one part-per-billion in ambient air while reducing false positives from naturally occurring methane.

Rex Energy Corp., which expanded its operations in Ohio’s Utica Shale earlier this year, said Wednesday it was pleased with the initial production results from its first Ohio Utica Shale well.

South Jersey Energy has bought the retail marketing book of Pennsylvania customers from CenterPoint Energy Services, acquiring “a strong book of business that fits well with its northeast footprint,” South Jersey said. The more than 1,000 commercial and industrial customers acquired are primarily retail natural gas sales within the utility service areas of UGI, Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, PECO Energy and Equitable.”This sale was made possible by significant changes in Pennsylvania’s competitive landscape,” South Jersey said. “Natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale has expanded dramatically, and the state’s electricity market is fully deregulated. This market supports [parent company South Jersey’s Industries’] existing wholesale gas sales efforts in the Marcellus Shale.”

Naturally occurring methane in New York water wells could serve as a baseline to measure the quality of the water supply if and when natural gas drilling is expanded and high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is allowed, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said in a new report. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce any day a decision about whether to allow more gas drilling to proceed.

The nation’s natural gas resources, which have grown with the expanded potential of shale plays — including as much as 20 years supply from the Marcellus Shale — can be used to cost-effectively generate electricity, and any environmental burdens will come primarily from combustion when the fuel is used, not when it is extracted, according to a report from the Department of Energy (DOE).

The nation’s natural gas resources, which have grown with the expanded potential of shale plays — including as much as 20 years supply from the Marcellus Shale — can be used to cost-effectively generate electricity, and any environmental burdens will come primarily from combustion when the fuel is used, not when it is extracted, according to a report from the Department of Energy (DOE).