Minimize

Chevron Corp. has not shut in any natural gas wells within its U.S. onshore portfolio, but it is “working to minimize dry gas as much as we possibly can,” CFO Pat Yarrington said Friday.

A regional approach to siting drilling infrastructure in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale is needed to help minimize development in core forest and productive agricultural lands and to decrease potential risk to waterways, according to researchers at Pennsylvania State University. A study conducted by the university’s College of Agricultural Sciences found that shale gas development is causing rapid landscape change. “The development of new roads to support drilling could affect forest ecosystem integrity via increased fragmentation,” said Patrick Drohan, assistant professor of pedology. Drohan estimated that slightly more than half of the well pads in Pennsylvania are on agricultural land and most of the rest are on forestland. The study found that drilling is competing with food production for space on the landscape.

In an attempt to minimize safety risks, the secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT) should direct the administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to collect information from operators of federally unregulated onshore natural gas gathering and hazardous liquid pipelines, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report Thursday.

In an attempt to minimize safety risks, the secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOT) should direct the administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to begin collecting information from operators of federally unregulated onshore natural gas gathering and hazardous liquid pipelines, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a new report. The DOT should establish an online clearinghouse or other resource for sharing the information on pipeline safety practices that is collected, said the GAO. It noted that the data should be similar to what PHMSA collects annually from operators of regulated gathering pipelines (mostly located in non rural areas), such as fatalities, injuries, property damage, location, mileage, size, operating pressure, maintenance and the causes of incidents and consequences. The nation’s pipeline network includes an estimated 200,000-plus miles of onshore gathering pipelines, many of which have not been subject to federal regulation based on their generally rural location and low operating pressures.

Although Pennsylvania could eventually lease additional state forest land for natural gas drilling, it will likely be in small doses, according to the state’s top land manager.

The unfolding story of Lower 48 shale gas supply and the buildout of the nation’s natural gas pipeline grid have done a lot to beat down gas prices and minimize volatility. So much so that one academic suggests in a new paper that some utilities and their regulators are out of step with the latest in price-risk hedging strategies.

The unfolding story of Lower 48 shale gas supply and the buildout of the nation’s natural gas pipeline grid have done a lot to beat down gas prices and minimize volatility. So much so that one academic suggests in a new paper that some utilities and their regulators are out of step with the latest in price-risk hedging strategies.

The unfolding story of Lower 48 shale gas supply and the buildout of the nation’s natural gas pipeline grid have done a lot to beat down gas prices and minimize volatility. So much so that one academic suggests in a new paper that some utilities and their regulators are out of step with the latest in price-risk hedging strategies.

May natural gas futures gained ground in active trading Wednesday as traders covered short positions in seeking to minimize exposure over the upcoming three-day weekend and not get caught on the wrong side of what could be a developing market trend. At the end of the day May had risen 4.8 cents to $4.310 and June gained 4.7 cents to $4.357. May crude oil vaulted higher $3.17 to $111.45/bbl.