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The New York Independent System Operator (NY-ISO) expects to operate “in an environment of expanded dependency on natural gas-fired generation, renewable generation and retirements of less efficient generation” over the next five years, the electricity grid operator said in its 2013-2017 Strategic Plan.

Less than a month after renewing its fight for the right to drill its leases at Hensley Field in southwest Dallas, ExxonMobil Corp.’s XTO Energy told the Dallas City Planning Commission to strike its request for specific use permits from the agenda for its Dec. 20 meeting.

Less than a month after renewing its fight for the right to drill its leases at in southwest Dallas, ExxonMobil Corp.’s XTO Energy told the Dallas City Planning Commission to strike its request for specific use permits from the agenda for its Dec. 20 meeting.

Portland, OR-based NW Natural received less than one-third of the general rate increase it had been seeking as the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) on Monday approved an $8.7 million annual increase, or 1.28%, for the state’s largest natural gas utility.

The Utica Shale holds an estimated 38 Tcf of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas, or less than half that of the Marcellus Shale, according to the first assessment of the Appalachian Basin play by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). An estimated 940 million bbl of unconventional oil resources and 9 million bbl of natural gas liquids (NGL) also are trapped in Utica rock, said scientists.

The Utica Shale holds an estimated 38 Tcf of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas, or less than half that of the Marcellus Shale, according to the first assessment of the Appalachian Basin play by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). An estimated 940 million bbl of unconventional oil resources and 9 million bbl of natural gas liquids (NGL) also are trapped in Utica rock, said scientists Thursday.

In the current commodity price environment, the best thing about a natural gas rig might be that it can stop drilling for gas, move somewhere else and start drilling for oil.

If there is a “bet-the-farm” opportunity in natural gas infrastructure, it lies in the potential production growth in the Utica and Marcellus shale formations, according to Mark McGettrick, CFO of Dominion Resources in Virginia.

San Diego, CA-based Osage Exploration and Development Inc. reported Monday that it has spudded its fourth horizontal oil well in the Mississippian Lime formation and the rock quality appears promising. The well — the McPhail #2-18H in section 18-18N-3W of Logan County, OK –. is in the 30,000-plus acre Nemaha Ridge project, which is owned by Osage in conjunction with its partners, project operator Slawson Exploration Co. and U.S. Energy Development Corp.