Level

FERC Friday gave Empire Pipeline Inc. the green light to place into service a major interconnection on its Tioga County Extension Project to transport Marcellus Shale production in Pennsylvania to the U.S.-Canadian border.

The average natural gas futures prices for the upcoming heating season will be less than $4/MMBtu, the lowest level entering the winter months since 2001-2002, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

Marcellus Shale natural gas pipeline takeaway capacity will jump to 8.5 Bcf/d by 2013, more than double its current level, according to Bentek Energy LLC.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has called on FERC to withhold approval for Empire Pipeline Inc. to begin service on its Tioga County Extension until it has complied with state soil disturbance and stabilization requirements.

Marcellus Shale natural gas pipeline takeaway capacity will jump to 8.5 Bcf/d by 2013, more than double its current level, according to Bentek Energy LLC.

After expressing initial reservations, a group representing county governments in Pennsylvania is now supporting a county-level impact fee proposed by Gov. Tom Corbett.

Domestic natural gas production, bolstered by shale plays, continued a five-year upward trend, increasing by nearly 5% in 2010 over the level in 2009, almost matching a nearly 6% hike in demand. Gas production was bolstered by a nearly 30% jump in shale play output, according to statistics published in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Energy Review for 2010.

Natural gas wells in the booming Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas will use significantly less amounts of water for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) compared to municipalities and farmers in the region, a water expert said.

Domestic natural gas production, bolstered by shale plays, continued a five-year upward trend, increasing by nearly 5% in 2010 over the level in 2009, almost matching a nearly 6% hike in demand. Gas production was bolstered by a nearly 30% jump in shale play output, according to statistics published Wednesday in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Energy Review for 2010.