Increasingly

The debate over taxing shale gas production in Pennsylvania is increasingly focusing on where the money would go, as two Philadelphia-area Republican lawmakers proposed severance taxes last week designed to ease the tax burden on individuals.

Due to the expanding shale gas development that has lowered prices, gas-fired generation has become increasingly competitive with coal-fired generation in some eastern U.S. markets, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Tuesday.

Natural gas prices are increasingly uniform across the country and “we are very, very close to having a national type of gas market,” Federal Energy Regulatory (FERC) officials said during a discussion Thursday of the FERC’s Summer 2010 Energy Market and Reliability Assessment.

Natural gas prices are increasingly uniform across the country and “we are very, very close to having a national type of gas market,” Federal Energy Regulatory (FERC) officials said during a discussion Thursday of the FERC’s Summer 2010 Energy Market and Reliability Assessment.

With a general perception that it is a cleaner industry relative to individual motor vehicles, the mass transit industry is increasingly the competitive battleground for transportation fuel providers — traditional gasoline and diesel, along with the upcoming alternatives, such as natural gas, biofuels and hybrid electric technology. Within the sector, some options are cleaner than others, according to a research report by Boulder, CO-based Pike Research LLC.

North America’s strong natural gas supply outlook is thanks to what has taken place below ground: horizontal drilling with long laterals and hydraulic fracturing well stimulation. However, what is happening above ground will determine to what extent these efforts will benefit the country’s energy security.

Pennsylvania may be water-rich, but factors like permitting and geography make water increasingly difficult to come by for drilling operations, several Marcellus Shale players told a Pittsburgh-area audience last Wednesday and Thursday.

Pennsylvania may be water-rich, but factors like permitting and geography make water increasingly difficult to come by for drilling operations, several Marcellus Shale players told a Pittsburgh-area audience on Wednesday.

Liquids production — both crude oil and condensate — is rising significantly at several shale plays in the United States as operators increasingly target the liquids-bearing portions of these formations, according to Austin, TX-based HPDI LLC, a supplier of data on the oil and natural gas industry.