Instruments

Gas and oil reside in the shales, but how much, and at what price, are questions researchers at the University of Oklahoma (OU) hope to answer at a new oil and gas “center of excellence.”

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and a Silicon Valley maker of measurement instruments, Picarro Inc., have expanded their collaboration on a technology for detecting natural gas pipeline leaks. PG&E will deploy six of the vehicle-mounted Picarro Surveyor gas leak detectors. PG&E said it is the first utility in the nation to use the new technology (see Daily GPI, Feb. 3). Picarro and PG&E contend that the leak detection equipment is 1,000 times more sensitive than traditional leak detection equipment with capability to detect leaks down to one part-per-billion in ambient air while reducing false positives from naturally occurring methane.

Staff of the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (AOGC) has recommended the permanent shut-in of saltwater disposal wells in an area north of Conway, AR, in the Fayetteville Shale where a recent earthquake swarm is thought to have resulted from waste injection activities.

Systematic regulatory reform with the objective of “weeding out” financial instruments that do not contribute to long-term economic growth is needed to put the world economy on steady footing, according to a report released Thursday by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Systematic regulatory reform with the objective of “weeding out” financial instruments that do not contribute to long-term economic growth is needed to put the world economy on steady footing, according to a report released Thursday by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) has extended its energy market dominance into the over-the-counter (OTC) market by clearing $1.5 billion in OTC instruments since starting OTC clearing at the end of May. As of Nov. 1, Nymex has cleared 441.1 trillion Btus of gas and 152,800 MWh of power.