Late

Just as a report from Morgan Stanley (MS) was declaring natural gas vehicles (NGV) as the energy market “wild card,” U.S. NGV suppliers continued in late April to roll out more products.

TransCanada Corp. has applied to Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) for review and variance of the board’s late March decision on the pipeline company’s 2012-2013 restructuring proposal for tolls and service on its Canadian Mainline.

An ExxonMobil Corp. oil pipeline spill late last month in Mayflower, AR, has left many questions in its wake for regulators and state officials about what the accident may mean for future pipeline projects from, including the controversial Keystone XL project that would carry oilsands crude to Gulf Coast markets.

Physical gas prices were mostly down Tuesday except for in the Northeast, where traders dug in and bought necessary volumes to see them through late-season cold and a series of storms.

California oil/natural gas officials will hold two day-long public workshops on draft discussion rules on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) established late last year. The first session conducted by the Division of Oil/Gas Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) is set for Wednesday in Bakersfield, CA, dividing the draft rules into seven basic components and holding discussion and question-answer sessions on each during the day. A second session with a similar format will be held in Sacramento March 21. An initial workshop was held in Los Angeles Feb. 19 as part of DOGGR’s attempt to get widespread industry and general public input ahead of the start of the formal process for establishing a set of rules and guidelines for pre-fracturing well testing; advance notification; monitoring during and after fracturing operations; disclosure of materials used in fracturing fluid; trade secrets; and storage and handling of fracking fluids. Additional workshops are slated for the Santa Barbara and Monterey areas. The formal rules are not expected before next year.

The top officials of Springfield, MA, plan to ask Columbia Gas Co. of Massachusetts for $1 million to cover damages tied to the explosion on its natural gas system in late November.

Cash natural gas on average added 14 cents Monday as a late-winter storm carrying high winds ripped through the Midwest and Plains, making travel difficult and prompting double-digit gains at virtually all pricing points.

After a short-lived lull in late fall, North Dakota’s oil and natural gas production set new records at the end of last year, and the issuance of new drilling permits in January surged, the state’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) reported Friday.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (APUC) is assuming Laclede Group Inc.’s right to buy New England Gas Co. (NEG), Laclede said late Monday.