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Production from North American shale plays will continue to keep natural gas prices from increasing significantly any time soon, Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser told financial analysts in London Thursday.

Production from North American shale plays will continue to keep natural gas prices from increasing significantly any time soon, Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser told financial analysts in London Thursday.

In the midst of continued oil/natural gas production growth, albeit at a slower pace, North Dakota’s drilling activity has slowed significantly and the amount of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) even more so, according to the state’s top oil/gas official. Activity is projected to increase again next year, however, with continuing technology advances.

Following a steady increase in North American exploration and production (E&P) spending both in the onshore and offshore, operators may “take a breather” and keep upstream capital expenditures (capex) relatively flat, according to a survey by Barclays Capital.

Although it will take another year or more to fully assess the value, Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. is staking a lot of its long-term oil and natural gas value on its Mancos Shale acreage in both the Piceance and San Juan Basins, CEO David Emery said during a 3Q2012 earnings conference call Thursday.

In Montana in a “forgotten corner of the Williston Basin,” a Texas company is gathering up acreage with the expectation that it can turn what some call the False Bakken into a true gem. And if that doesn’t work, northeast Montana has more to offer in and near the Bakken Petroleum System.

Boulder County, CO, officials may need to keep in place longer than expected a moratorium on the processing of development plans for oil and gas permits. County Planning Commission members said Wednesday they need more time to complete new regulations meant to address potential public health and environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration in unincorporated areas of the county, according to news reports. In February Boulder County commissioners passed a resolution that placed a moratorium on accepting applications until Feb. 4, 2013. The Planning Commission asked the Board of County Commissioners to extend the moratorium by three to six months. Government officials from around Colorado have challenged the state’s authority to regulate energy operations (see Shale Daily, Sept. 24; Aug. 17). The state maintains exclusive jurisdiction in this area under the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

Seneca Resources Corp. is proceeding with drilling operations in the Marcellus and Utica shales, and has established positions in oil fields in Kansas and California, the National Fuel Gas Co. (NFG) subsidiary said Thursday.

Moving natural gas from Western Canada and the Bakken Shale through new and existing pipelines will keep Calgary-based Alliance Pipeline LP as busy as it has ever been in its 12-year history. FERC last Thursday approved the pipeline’s proposal to build a lateral out of the Bakken Shale to Alliance’s mainline, allowing producers to meet the growing gas demand in Chicago.