Ground

Natural gas futures gained ground ahead of weekly government storage figures Wednesday, but cash market participants saw prices ease by mostly less than a dime, ecept for a few Northeast points which dropped by less than 15 cents. At the close of futures trading March rose 1.7 cents to $2.643 and April added 0.2 cent to $2.775. April crude oil gained 3 cents to $106.28/bbl.

On the ground, the shale boom is a mixed bag as rural landowners weigh the alternatives of securing lucrative royalties at the cost of their land being part of an oil/gas industrial push that critics contend is threatening local environments and public water supplies. The Los Angeles Times last Sunday profiled the dilemma through a feature on two brothers with dairy farms in the rich Marcellus Shale in western New York.

February natural gas managed to gain ground Friday as weather forecasts showed impending cooler conditions in eastern and north-central states. At the close February had risen 8.2 cents to $3.062 and March had added 8.1 cents to $3.098. February crude oil eased 25 cents to $101.56/bbl.

Windsor Energy Corp. has found itself on shaky ground in New Brunswick after it allowed a contractor to conduct seismic testing in a town without its consent, violating the province’s Oil and Natural Gas Act.

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) chemical disclosure is spreading throughout the Ark-La-Tex as Louisiana — home of most of the Haynesville Shale — is weighing new disclosure requirements modeled in part on those in place in Arkansas and recently mandated in Texas.

A voluntary first-of-its-kind groundwater sampling program was launched this month by Colorado’s energy industry to “proactively” address concerns associated with drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

September natural gas ground lower as traders saw no additional risk premium resulting from a strengthening Hurricane Irene and predicted that the market would continue to trade in a narrow range. At the close September futures had fallen 5.1 cents to $3.889 and October had retreated 7.2 cents to $3.869. September crude oil rose $1.86 to $84.12/bbl.

Among those midstream players scurrying to put assets on the ground is Enterprise Products Partners LP, which posted record earnings for the second quarter. During an earnings conference call COO Jim Teague enthused about growth in the Eagle Ford and Haynesville shales, as well as plans to move liquids out of the Marcellus.

Laser Northeast Gathering Company LLC broke ground on the New York portion of its proposed gathering system Wednesday and also announced a $60 million expansion of the Marcellus Shale midstream project.