Marking

A unit of Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. is buying an undivided 25% interest in the Barnett Shale assets of Quicksilver Resources Inc. for $485 million, marking a milestone for the debt-laden Fort Worth, TX-based producer, which has long sought a Barnett partner.

Marking the end of a more than year-long transition from becoming a coal-fired power plant to one fueled by natural gas, Georgia Power reported Monday that the third and final of the company’s 840 MW natural gas combined-cycle units at Plant McDonough-Atkinson in Smyrna, GA, became operational Oct. 28.

Last year saw an increase in domestic gas production of 4.3 Bcf/d, or 7.5%, over 2010, marking the largest year-over-year production jump in the last 25 years, according to Bentek Energy LLC.

Last year saw an increase in domestic gas production of 4.3 Bcf/d, or 7.5%, over 2010, marking the largest year-over-year production jump in the last 25 years, according to Bentek Energy LLC.

A unit of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) player BG Group has agreed to buy domestic LNG from Cheniere Energy Partners LP’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC, marking the first sales contract for the company’s U.S. Gulf Coast facility and the first for export of LNG from the Lower 48. The reservation charge to be paid to Cheniere is worth $8.2 billion over the 20-year life of the contract.

Natural gas utility rates in Nevada have dropped again, marking a 30% decrease since January 2009. Electric rates also decreased, and NV Energy attributed both retail utility rate drops to a combination of factors, with lower wholesale natural gas costs being a major one. With a 10.72% decrease in retail gas rates for its northern Nevada customers, the utility said the average monthly gas bill for residential customers will be more than $22 less than it was in 2009. “Adding today’s decreases will roll back total natural gas prices to 2001 levels and total electric utility prices to 2004,” NV Energy said. Factors driving the downward trend besides lower wholesale gas prices are a new state-of-art combined-cycle gas-fired generation plant, a broader, more gas-fired utility owned generation fleet and a decline in energy costs generally.

Consol Energy Inc. has proved gas reserves of 3.7 Tcf as of the end of last year, marking an increase of 1.8 Tcf, or 95%, from the 1.9 Tcf reported at year-end 2009. Coalbed methane (CBM) and a “nice jump” in the Marcellus Shale were credited for the growth.

A unit of Japan’s ITOCHU Corp. is to acquire a one-quarter interest in Niobrara oil shale acreage in southeastern Wyoming, marking the first time a Japanese company is participating in a U.S. oil shale project.

The number of rigs activity exploring for natural gas in the United States continued to climb last week, marking the fifth week in a row for an uptick, said three oilfield service firms that keep track of U.S. drilling.