Four

Over the next four to five years, about 70-80 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction capacity will be coming online, thanks mainly to Australia, expanding the global market for LNG by about one-third, Malcolm Johnson, a director at eMJay LNG Ltd. and industry consultant told NGI. Where all the LNG goes and at what price remains to be seen, he said.

Physical gas prices overall averaged four cents higher Monday with most points reporting nominal temperature-driven gains. Eastern points averaged gains of about a nickel, and Midwest locations gained close to a nickel as well, as chilly and stormy conditions were expected to prevail nearterm.

Another four groups are considering entries into the lineup to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals on the northern Pacific Coast of British Columbia, BC Energy Minister Rich Coleman has confirmed.

Another four groups are considering entries into the lineup to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals on the northern Pacific Coast of British Columbia, BC Energy Minister Rich Coleman has confirmed.

A lawsuit filed by a several Barnett Shale mineral owners accuses Chesapeake Energy Corp. of selling natural gas to an affiliate for a reduced price and basing royalty payments on those sales, which violates the terms of the lease agreements.

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc.’s Colorado combination utility said Thursday that it has reached a settlement with WildEarth Guardians on a four-year-old lawsuit by the environmental group involving emissions at the Cherokee Generating Station north of Denver. Under the agreement, Xcel’s Public Service Company of Colorado will fund several environmental and community projects in the area impacted by the 611 MW coal-fired generation plant. The settlement will not be final until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Justice Department have reviewed it and made comments, an Xcel spokesperson said. Since the 2009 lawsuit, Xcel has decided to convert the Cherokee plant by 2018 as part of the Colorado Clean Air, Clean Jobs Act, which has prompted more renewables, efficiency and natural gas-fired generation in the state. Cherokee will remain a “vital resource,” but as a natural gas-fired plant. The conversion process began last October, the spokesperson said.

North American oil and natural gas producers are in the “middle to latter stages of the land grab” for unconventional properties, but there still will be opportunities down the road for others to pitch a claim, said Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Inc.’s (TPH) Bobby Tudor.

Natural gas prices may not be attractive enough for some producers, but Encana Corp.’s management team said it’s possible to make enough money in the Haynesville Shale to justify a five-rig program this year.

Four environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to reduce the amount of natural gas drilling approved for Gasco Energy Inc. in Utah’s Uinta Basin.