Later

A rebound in U.S. natural gas prices? That could be the “biggest surprise” later this year, FBR Capital Markets analysts said last week.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman plans to sue the federal government if it does not commit within 30 days to conduct a full environmental review of regulations proposed by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) that would allow natural gas development projects — with conditions — in affected areas of the Marcellus Shale.

A bill filed last Friday by the Republican chair of the Texas House Committee on Energy Resources to require disclosure of the contents of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) fluid has bipartisan support as well as industry and environmentalist fans.

The West Virginia Legislature’s House Judiciary Committee is expected to vote Thursday on a bill that would make several changes to the state’s regulation of Marcellus Shale drilling, including instituting dramatic increases to horizontal permitting fees to fund a larger staff at the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Growing producer demand for well services to support development of North American shale natural gas plays is a main driver behind GE’s planned acquisition of the well support division of John Wood Group plc for $2.8 billion, the company said.

Following the market’s recent tradition of following a large spike with a similar collapse a day or two later, January natural gas futures answered Wednesday’s 21.3-cent jump with a 17.1-cent drop Thursday to close at $4.435.

A Barnett Shale well operated by Chesapeake Energy Corp. produced on average 17.824 MMcf/d for the month of September, surpassing any of the 14,000-plus wells drilled to date in the North Texas play.

As the president and executive director of the two-year-old Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), Kathryn Klaber is charged with addressing the needs and wants of the gas industry, the affected communities and stakeholders, as well as the different governing authorities across an area that extends 95,000 square miles over five states.

Robert Dudley, who takes the helm at BP plc later this week, on Wednesday ousted the long-time exploration and production (E&P) chief and launched a global safety division as part of a sweeping restructuring of the company’s safety and risk management practices.