Killing

Not surprisingly, the modest rally of the previous two days came to an end Thursday as generally moderate weather, prior-day futures weakness and a demand-killing hurricane ganged up to cause spot prices to decline across the board.

A 12-inch diameter high-pressure natural gas main ruptured in a northeast Philadelphia neighborhood Tuesday night, killing one Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) employee and critically injuring three others.

Authorities were searching for clues to determine what caused a helicopter to crash Sunday afternoon near Houma, LA, killing eight men being transported to an oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The Lafayette, LA-based PHI Inc. helicopter was taking the men to Shell Oil Co.’s Cougar platform from Amelia, LA, said Shell spokesperson Robin Lebovitz. Amelia is 80 miles southwest of New Orleans. A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board said the Sikorsky S-76C helicopter is thought to have crashed about seven minutes after it took off. A PHI pilot and a copilot died in the crash along with employees of The Moreno Group’s Dynamic Industries and MMR Offshore Services Inc. Dynamic Industries and MMR perform contract work for Shell. A single survivor was being treated for severe injuries at the Ocshner Foundation Hospital in Jefferson, LA.

The natural gas boom in Fort Worth’s Barnett Shale has brought a raft of out-of-towners to the area looking to make a killing in what many believe is the hottest gas play going. But the locals who’ve worked in the energy patch all their lives also are benefiting from a boom the likes of which many have never seen before.

The natural gas boom in Fort Worth’s Barnett Shale has brought a raft of out-of-towners to the area looking to make a killing in what many believe is the hottest gas play going. But what about the locals who’ve worked in the energy patch all their lives; are they benefiting from all the activity?

A tug boat and two barges apparently struck a natural gas pipeline in Louisiana Thursday, killing two people and critically injuring at least two others. Three other people were confirmed missing by state police. The accident occurred near Gulfport Energy Corp.’s West Cote Blanche Bay production facility, located near Baldwin, LA.

The deadly explosion that occurred on El Paso Natural Gas’pipeline Aug. 19 in Carlsbad, NM, killing 12 people who werecamping nearby provided enough incentive for the Senate to swiftlypass pipeline safety legislation last week. However, critics saythe legislation fails miserably by doing nothing to improve theterrible track record of the government agency in charge ofoverseeing pipeline safety.

The deadly explosion that occurred on El Paso Natural Gas’ pipeline Aug. 19 in Carlsbad, NM, killing 12 people who were camping nearby provided enough incentive for the Senate to swiftly pass pipeline safety legislation last week. However, critics say the legislation fails miserably by doing nothing to improve the terrible track record of the government agency in charge of overseeing pipeline safety.

The section of the El Paso Natural Gas South Mainline systemthat failed last weekend, killing 11 people and critically injuringone, had not been “properly inspected” in the 48 years since it wasfirst installed, said the chairman of the National TransportationSafety Board (NTSB) Thursday.