Focused

With prices languishing at their lowest levels in a decade, there’s been lots of hand wringing among supporters of natural gas-focused independents as they drop dry gas rigs or shift to more liquids-rich plays. But don’t expect to see any of those types of worry lines on the top guns of ExxonMobil Corp., the biggest gas producer in the United States.

DCP Midstream LLC plans to build a 75 MMcf/d gas processing plant in Glasscock County, TX, and an associated low-pressure gathering system to service producers focused on the Wolfberry play in the Permian Basin of West Texas.

California regulators on Thursday remained focused on utility infrastructure safety for natural gas and electric transmission systems to lower the risks of pipeline tragedies in recent years.

The Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) is seeking requests for proposals (RFP) for its Small Producer Program and its Unconventional Resources Program.

If its Keystone XL oil pipeline is the foundation, major U.S. oil and natural gas shale plays will be the drivers for TransCanada Corp. greatly expanding its North America footprint, the Calgary-based company’s senior executives said during recent investor conferences in Toronto and New York City.

Despite “a major supply glut,” the natural gas-directed rig count has crept up, and oil-focused drilling in shale plays also is yielding natural gas, so analysts at Bank of America Merill Lynch (BofA) have raised their 2012 forecast for production growth and cut their price forecast.

Despite “a major supply glut,” the natural gas-directed rig count has crept up, and oil-focused drilling in shale plays also is yielding natural gas, so analysts at Bank of America Merill Lynch (BofA) have raised their 2012 forecast for production growth and cut their price forecast.

December natural gas inched higher Monday as traders focused less on trading and more on the latest failure of a prominent energy trading firm. Trading volume was light. At the close December had gained 1.1 cents to $3.934 and January had risen 1.4 cents to $4.056. December crude oil fell 13 cents to $93.19/bbl.

ConocoPhillips is facing some takeaway issues for its liquids in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, but that’s only a minor blip on the screen and has done nothing to reduce the company’s enthusiasm for unconventional plays, executives said Wednesday.