Happy

The pipeline industry is a bit behind the times in capitalizing on the Williston Basin shale oil boom, but railroads like BNSF Railway are happy to accommodate oil producers with a means to get their product to market.

The pipeline industry is a bit behind the times in capitalizing on the Williston Basin shale oil boom, but railroads like BNSF Railway are happy to accommodate oil producers with a means to get their product to market.

Erie, CO, officials voted 6-1 Monday night to end a six-month moratorium on new oil and natural gas drilling after securing agreements with producers that place stricter regulations on their operations.

One day after HB 401 — also known as the Natural Gas Horizontal Wells Control Act –garnered overwhelming support in both houses of the West Virginia legislature (see Shale Daily, Dec. 15), advocates for the shale gas industry, surface owners’ rights and the environment told NGI’s Shale Daily on Thursday that the bill isn’t all they had hoped for.

The overwhelming Republican takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives last week pasted happy faces on natural gas and oil industry execs and spurred President Obama to mention natural gas as a possible area of compromise with the new Congress. The president, however, appeared to be the only one talking compromise.

It appeared that many North American residents were destined to experience a “White Christmas,” but likely many wouldn’t be very happy about it as blizzard-like conditions were expected to cause major transportation snarls. Despite the usual softness associated with an extended holiday weekend, prices were up strongly at virtually all points Thursday due to projections of widespread harsh winter weather.

Natural gas producers, especially those active in shale basins, could be in for a rough ride in 2009 and beyond if the current turmoil in the financial markets and the downturn in commodity prices continue unabated, producers told FERC Friday. And while industrial customers see lower gas prices as good news, they say now is not the time to relax.

Natural gas producers, especially those active in shale basins, could be in for a rough ride in 2009 and beyond if the current turmoil in the financial markets and the downturn in commodity prices continue unabated, producers told FERC Friday. And while industrial customers see lower gas prices as good news, they say now is not the time to relax.

It’s not happy post-holiday news for natural gas bulls when a pair of analysts write in their first market note of the year that their 2007 outlook “has deteriorated substantially from what we were expecting just a few months ago.”