Inching

Crude oil production from the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas was up by 74% in February compared with a year ago, reaching an all-time high of 471,258 b/d from the nine fields that comprise the majority of the play, according preliminary data from the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).

Onsite power with low emissions and maintenance is an increasing necessity for operators in burgeoning oil and gas shale plays, and a couple of Southern California-based manufacturers are seeking markets for their distributed generation devices (see Shale Daily, Dec. 28, 2011).

After inching higher to close last week’s action, May natural gas futures on Monday traded in a tight 9.8-cent range before closing out the regular session at $3.732, down 6.9 cents from Friday’s finish.

Carrying over Thursday’s bearish momentum into Friday, February natural gas futures put in a low at $5.423 in morning trade before inching higher late in the regular session to close at $5.516, down 6.7 cents on the day and 45.5 cents lower than the previous week’s close. Despite the bearish week, some market experts are still holding on to their bulls’ club membership cards, albeit a little less tightly.

After inching higher Monday and Tuesday, natural gas futures kicked it up a notch Wednesday as stronger cash market prices and supportive medium-range weather outlooks paved the way for short-covering by fund traders. The September contract advanced to a new one-week high, gaining 15.5 cents to close at $5.119 for the session. At 63,310, estimated volume was the highest this week, but still relatively light.

Avista Corp. and PG&E Gas Transmission-Northwest (PG&EGT-NW) are inching closer to adding a new gas storage field in thestorage-poor Pacific Northwest region and have petitioned FERC foran exemption from Section 7 certificate requirements in order tofurther test the site.

Avista Corp. and PG&E Gas Transmission-Northwest (PG&EGT-NW) are inching closer to adding a new gas storage field in thestorage-poor Pacific Northwest region and have petitioned FERC foran exemption from Section 7 certificate requirements in order tofurther test the site.

California regulators are scheduled to move natural gas industryrestructuring a few more notches forward this week, but not withoutmaking still more modifications as suggested by additional commentsfiled last week.

California regulators are scheduled to move natural gas industryrestructuring a few more notches forward this week, but not withoutmaking still more modifications as suggested by additional commentsfiled last week.