Gas

Carlyle Group plans to raise $7 billion for energy funds over the next two years, with more than half — $4 billion — targeting North America, executives said during an investor presentation in New York City.

The Texas arm of activist group Public Citizen on Tuesday called for a halt to the scheduled start of TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL oil pipeline’s southern segment from Oklahoma to the Texas Gulf of Mexico. It is slated to begin operations before the end of the year.

After 70 years as a Mexican government-owned monopoly, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) may be ready to accept allowing energy investors in, Raymond James & Associates Inc. analysts said in a report.

Tesoro Corp.’s two refineries handling Bakken crude in North Dakota and Washington state were not affected by the company’s controversial pipeline spill late in September in a wheat field northeast of Tioga, ND, Tesoro CEO Greg Goff said last Thursday during a quarterly earnings conference call.

The dawn of the “Golden Era of Gas,” touted two years ago by the International Energy Agency (IEA), has become “more rapid and more pronounced,” but it won’t necessarily create an oil era, according to the 2013 World Energy Outlook (WEO).

Executives at Continental Resources Inc. said the third quarter of 2013 was a “milestone” for the company, with record total net production and the first of four density tests completed in the Middle Bakken/Three Forks formation.

Relatively low natural gas prices and regional environmental initiatives are leading natural gas-fired generators to provide a greater portion of the electricity in the northeastern United States, and the region’s two regional transmission organizations — the Independent System Operator of New England (ISO New England) and the New York Independent System Operator — have seen a dramatic shift away from petroleum- and coal-fired generation since 2001, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Onshore powerhouse EOG Resources Inc. expects to ramp up 2014 activity and capital spending in the Eagle Ford and Bakken shales, assuming oil and natural gas prices are similar to current New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) prices, outgoing Executive Chairman Mark Papa said last week.

Physical natural gas for Wednesday delivery continued to advance in trading Tuesday, gaining approximately 12 cents on average nationally, with New England points the biggest winners, posting gains upwards of a dollar on some lightly traded pipes.