Headed

A group of North American exploration and production (E&P) companies, which traditionally have mirrored the overall U.S. natural gas output trajectory directionally, is guiding toward an output decline this year, with the large caps forecasting the biggest drop, according to a review by Barclays Capital.

Three-quarters of oil and natural gas professionals, with on average 20 years of experience, believe the United States is headed toward natural gas independence within a decade, but it still will rely on foreign oil, according to a new Deloitte LLP survey.

Three-quarters of oil and natural gas professionals, with on average 20 years of experience, believe the United States is headed toward natural gas independence within a decade, but it still will rely on foreign oil, according to a new Deloitte LLP survey.

A proposal to place a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in California (AB 972) passed out of a state senate committee Tuesday and is headed for further consideration, but the bill faces stiff opposition by industry.

California’s five-member state regulatory commission is showing some cracks in its usual solid consensus after 10 years of being headed by a former utility senior executive. This became apparent Thursday when a proposal by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) to invest utility ratepayer funds in a solar demonstration facility was rejected on a 3-2 vote.

While gasoline prices are headed towards a perilously high level, Obama administration officials Monday delivered to President Obama a report that was relatively rosy about the progress the country has made in the past year on the energy front.

Physical natural gas prices Tuesday bounded higher, led by expectations of significant drops in temperatures and stout power prices. Futures headed south as traders factored in expectations of storage data expected to swell the surplus still further. March slumped 7.8 cents to $2.472 and April skidded 11.0 cents to $2.628. March crude oil rose $1.50 to $98.41/bbl.

Dave Neslin, who has headed the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) for five years and who helped to shape and then implement more stringent statewide natural gas and oil regulations, said he is resigning effective March 1 to join Denver law firm Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP. Neslin, who joined the COGCC on an interim basis in late 2007, was instrumental in implementing the controversial regulations that increased scrutiny of gas and oil production in the state in 2009. Neslin was appointed to his current position in April 2009. Prior to joining the commission Neslin, an attorney, had been a partner in Denver law firm Arnold & Porter. No replacement has been named by the commission.

Less than 14% of Americans believe the United States is headed in the right direction on energy, according a poll released on Wednesday by the University of Texas at Austin (UT).