Inventory

Natural gas for delivery Friday rose a penny overall on average Thursday. Most traders elected to get their deals done ahead of the release of inventory data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), and weakness at eastern and Northeast points was countered by strength in California and firm quotes in the Gulf Coast and Midcontinent.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is probing a chemical emergency at an oil well facility in January, where an inventory of chemicals wasn’t available to first responders as required under federal law.

Dover, OH-based Dennison Disposal LLC has applied for a permit to drill a Class II wastewater injection well in Union Township in Tuscarawas County, OH, to support oil and natural gas drilling in the Utica Shale. The well would be drilled to a depth of 7,900-9,000 feet, according to the permit application with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) The well, classified as a saltwater injection well, would have an average disposal capacity of 5,000 barrels a day of wastewater, and a maximum disposal capacity of 8,000 barrels a day. An ODNR spokesman said a public comment period on the proposed well is to end April 24. Last July, Gov. John Kasich signed an executive order temporarily giving the ODNR power to regulate injection wells (see Shale Daily, July 13, 2012). Specifically, the chief of the Division of Oil Gas Resources Management, currently Rick Simmers, has the authority to enact rules for injection wells, including requiring additional testing before drilling and possibly setting a maximum allowable injection pressure. The ODNR currently has an inventory of 151,000 Class II injection wells, including saltwater injection, enhanced oil recovery and annular disposal wells.

Rosetta Resources Inc. has raised its 2013 guidance for spending and production and increased its borrowing base in light of its pending acquisition of Permian Basin assets announced last month.

Like many, but not all, producers, Houston-based Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. has shifted to oil because that’s where the profits are.

Domestic natural gas production will be at an all-time high this year and is expected to break that record for a third consecutive year in 2013, thanks in large part to the nation’s booming shale plays, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short Term Energy Outlook for September.

After a second quarter of strong production growth in the Bakken Shale and Anadarko Woodford, Oklahoma City-based Continental Resources Inc. said it is ahead of schedule on its five-year plan to triple production.

Support is growing for the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) — a state government entity that controls an 8,000-square mile watershed covering about one-fifth of the state — to sell water for natural gas drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shales, albeit on a temporary basis.

Natural gas production in the Lower 48 states was 71.76 Bcf/d in March, a 0.26 Bcf/d (0.4%) decrease compared with 72.02 Bcf/d in February, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Monthly Natural Gas Gross Production report.