Importance

Favorable price spreads for U.S. produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) will continue for some time creating an opportunity for LNG to grow in importance in the long-haul trucking sector and other stationary operations, such as oil/gas drilling operations, according to Pace Global, a Fairfax, VA-based energy management consulting business that is part of Siemens.

U.S. natural gas prices for 2013 will be lower than predicted in late October because winter weather so far has been missing in action, Raymond James & Associates’ energy team said this week. Analysts with Goldman Sachs also have reduced their price forecast but said they remain bullish on the market.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has launched a television and print ad campaign in Washington, DC, and in several states to drive home the importance of a favorable tax code in developing domestic domestic oil and natural gas and creating jobs. “Taxes on the industry are a key energy issue, and, as our Election Day polling showed, voters are skeptical about targeting the industry for higher taxes. To encourage members of Congress who are part of that conversation with voters, we’re launching new television and print advertising inside the [Washington, DC] beltway and in selected states,” said Khary Cauthen, API senior director of federal relations. Both the print and television ads will run for two weeks in the DC area, as well as New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, Alaska, Colorado and Louisiana. President Obama has proposed eliminating $4 billion annually in tax breaks for oil and gas producers. “Raising our taxes is not the answer. We already are taxed at a higher rate than [many] other industries,” an API spokesman said.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) launched a television and print ad campaign on Wednesday in Washington, DC, and in several states to drive home the importance of a favorable tax code in developing domestic domestic oil and natural gas and creating jobs.

The challenges of developing oil and gas resources in unconventional plays and in the deepwater have raised the bar for geosciences and petroleum engineering professionals and heightened the importance of human resource (HR) management at exploration and production (E&P) companies, according to the latest survey from Schlumberger Business Consulting (SBC).

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Friday reiterated the importance of natural gas to the Obama administration’s energy and job-creation programs. Salazar said his department is very active in efforts to boost gas development both on and offshore in the United States.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Friday reiterated the importance of natural gas to the Obama administration’s energy and job-creation programs. Salazar said his department is very active in efforts to boost gas development both on and offshore in the United States.

In what is becoming a standard give and take in Pennsylvania, the Marcellus Shale industry released a study last week showing how its economic importance in the state is growing and critics dismissed the findings as overstated.

A Pennsylvania think tank believes a recent study inflates the economic importance of the Marcellus Shale.