Feet

Opponents of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracing) who worry that the practice will contaminate drinking water thousands of feet underground should be more focused on what goes on above ground at natural gas drilling sites. There is a greater threat to water and the environment on the surface if proper safety practices are not followed, according to a new study of hydrofracing and gas shale plays.

Despite a recent winter-driven run-up in natural gas prices, it’s still a better thing to have one’s energy in the form of barrels than cubic feet, and that will remain so for a while, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report released last Tuesday.

Despite a recent winter-driven run-up in natural gas prices, it’s still a better thing to have one’s energy in the form of barrels than cubic feet, and that will remain so for a while, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report released Tuesday.

A billion cubic feet withdrawal in the West region helped the Energy Information Administration (EIA) report the smallest national storage injection since mid-April. The government agency reported that 66 Bcf was put into the ground for the week ending July 17, which somewhat surprisingly sent futures values scurrying lower on Thursday to close at $3.550, down 24.3 cents from Wednesday’s regular session.

The energy industry has to be ready to meet a resurgence in demand that will come once the global economy is back on its feet, BP plc CEO Tony Hayward said last week.

The energy industry has to be ready to meet a resurgence in demand that will come once the global economy is back on its feet, BP plc CEO Tony Hayward said Tuesday.

No one was injured by an unintended gas flare at Exelon Corp.’s Handley power plant in Fort Worth at about 7:30 a.m. Monday. A flame more than 100 feet high erupted when a safety relief valve was opened on a 24-inch diameter gas line and a spark ignited the gas.

El Paso said it has determined that a pipe anomaly between the Eunice and Pecos River Stations will require replacement of about 80 feet of pipe, which will begin at 8 a.m. MST Thursday and is expected to take 12 hours. The reduction in segment capacity will be about 200 MMcf/d out of a base capacity of 400 MMcf/d. The IPENNWELL interconnect will be completely shut in for the duration of the work, but based on current levels of throughput, El Paso expects minimal service impact.

While coming in below most industry estimates by a few billion cubic feet, the Energy Information Administration’s 77 Bcf storage injection reported for the week ended Sept. 22 was still significantly larger than last year’s 56 Bcf build and just topped the five-year average injection of 75 Bcf. The knee-jerk reaction in natural gas futures was to move higher, but November natural gas ultimately ended up closing at $5.392, down 27.7 cents on the day.