Inspired

Shale-inspired historic low prices for natural gas are reconfiguring the electricity generation sector, particularly for renewable or clean power, according to Sacramento, CA-based consultant/independent power entrepreneur Mark Henwood. The market is beginning to notice what Henwood called “this rapid shift in natural gas economics.”

Inspired by pioneering legislation in Texas, a Pennsylvania state lawmaker is proposing a bill that would require Marcellus Shale operators to disclose all the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) operations.

Natural gas liquids (NGL) production from the Woodford Shale, Cana-Woodford Shale and Granite Wash, as well as NGL market developments in the Gulf Coast, have inspired ONEOK Partners LP to announce plans to spend $910 million to $1.2 billion between now and late 2013 on new liquids infrastructure.

In yet another side story to a toxic contamination and natural gas transmission pipeline saga that spans decades and inspired an Academy Award-winning motion picture, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) made local news just before the Thanksgiving holiday by offering to buy up to 100 properties in the town of Hinkley, CA, about 130 miles northeast of Los Angeles. That move comes in the wake of residents and the local board for state water regulators expressing new concerns about PG&E’s handling of ongoing toxic mitigation work corralling a 2.5-by-1-mile plume of groundwater tainted with hexavalent chromium, which was previously used by PG&E in its gas transmission pipeline operations in the Hinkley area (see Daily GPI, Nov. 16). A report in the Los Angeles Times quoted a utility spokesperson confirming that if residents in the plume zone want to sell, PG&E will be willing to buy the properties. Meanwhile, the regional water board is still investigating PG&E’s work in containing the plume and is considering options proposed by the utility. Tests have shown elevated — albeit not necessarily dangerous — levels of hexavalent chromium in domestic and agricultural water supplies. The utility and more than 600 residents reached a $333 million settlement in 1997.

Hurricane Alex-inspired precautionary production shut-ins in the Gulf of Mexico last week proved inconsequential to U.S. natural gas supply as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Thursday morning that a larger-than-expected 78 Bcf injection was made into storage for the week ending July 2. Natural gas futures values plunged on the news.

Natural gas bulls shouldn’t pin their hopes on a hurricane-inspired rally given the abundance of gas in storage and the diminished relevance of offshore natural gas supplies to the North American market, an analyst said Thursday.

Threats to the Gulf Coast — hurricanes and coastal erosion among them — have inspired energy industry leaders, environmentalists and conservationists to launch a sustainability initiative to protect the region, which is an energy breadbasket for the nation.

Threats to the Gulf Coast — hurricanes and coastal erosion among them — have inspired energy industry leaders, environmentalists and conservationists to launch a sustainability initiative to protect the region, which is an energy breadbasket for the nation.

British Columbia, formerly notorious for erecting rigid regulatory barriers inspired by environmental critics, is now vowing to keep its promise to make its gas-rich northeastern corner more accessible. The BC Oil and Gas Commission is inaugurating a new era of “performance-based” regulation this fall, initially with liberalized procedures for pipeline projects.