Impact

Shareholders once again are urging ExxonMobil Corp. to report how its natural gas operations in shale formations impact the environment. The oil major once again is recommending the proposal be defeated.

President Obama’s nominee for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) easily sailed through her confirmation hearing Thursday, fielding softball questions from Democrats. The issues raised by Republicans were more pointed, but not by much. Gina McCarthy was not pressed on hydraulic fracturing (fracturing).

Fresh off an asset streamlining and an Eaglebine joint venture (JV) formation with EOG Resources Corp. (see Shale Daily, March 26), Houston-based ZaZa Energy Corp. executives are touting their heavy weighting to the emerging stacked South Texas play and said what’s learned from the JV will add value to the company’s 100% owned acreage.

Operators of horizontal oil and natural gas wells in Ohio face a bevy of regulatory changes — including quarterly production reports, a $25,000 per well impact fee, and new testing and disposal requirements for drilling waste — under Gov. John Kasich’s biennial budget proposal.

Operators of horizontal oil and natural gas wells in Ohio face a bevy of regulatory changes — including quarterly production reports, a $25,000 per well impact fee, and new testing and disposal requirements for drilling waste — under Gov. John Kasich’s biennial budget proposal.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead submitted his slate of agency, board and commission appointments to his state Senate, including 10 that impact the energy sector. Mead reappointed Todd Parfitt as head of the state Department of Environmental Quality and Bill Russell as one of the three-member Public Service Commission (PSC), along with adding a new PSC nominee, Kara Brighton. For the 12-member Energy Resource Council at the University of Wyoming, he reappointed Carl Bauer, a private-sector consultant; resubmitted two earlier appointments from last year, Martha Wyrsch from Vestas American Wind; and Jeane Hull from Peabody Energy; and added two industry representatives, Tom Botts, a retired Shell Oil executive, and David Emery, CEO at Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. Among the other agency/commission appointments are Mark Doelger to the Oil/Gas Commission, and Bill Hawks who was reappointed to the Wyoming Pipeline Authority. The state Senate has five days to approve or reject the appointments.

Natural gas prices have been due for a shot in the arm, and they’re going to get one, actually more than one. But producers will have to wait until the impact of drilling declines is felt, lifting gas to $4.00/MMBtu, and then until power generation load growth gains traction and lifts prices to $5.00/MMBtu after 2015, according to consultant ICF International.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP has been feeling the impact of shifting market fundamentals as shrinking basis differentials make recontracting capacity on some of its pipelines more challenging. However, more demand from new power generators is waiting in the wings to take up the slack.

Gas prices have been due for a shot in the arm, and they’re going to get one, actually more than one. But producers will have to wait until the impact of drilling declines is felt, lifting gas to $4.00/MMBtu, and then until power generation load growth gains traction and lifts prices to $5.00/MMBtu after 2015, according to consultant ICF International.