Move

WPX Energy Inc., the exploration arm of Williams, will move into the S&P 500 at the close of trading on Friday, according to Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

As a Northeast marketer had predicted the day before, prices continued to move higher Friday (including several spikes) at citygates in his region, but moderate softness reigned in the rest of the market. The Northeast was bracing for a cold blast with temperatures bottoming out around freezing or lower. But although similarly frigid conditions were in the forecasts for the Midwest as far south as the Midcontinent and for the Rockies, those areas failed to find enough heating load to lift prices.

In the latest move to build demand for North America’s burgeoning natural gas supplies, industry and government officials met in Ottawa, Canada last Friday to launch what they are calling a roadmap for market development of natural gas as a transportation fuel throughout the nation.

A moderate majority of points were up again Tuesday as a mix of rain and snow is expected to move into the Northeast and parts of the Mid-Atlantic before fading Thursday, and except for the eastern end of the South most regions can expect bottom-end temperatures ranging from the vicinity of freezing to much lower. Monday’s 12.3-cent screen dive had only a moderate impact on the softening locations.

Inergy subsidiary Central New York Oil & Gas Co. LLC (CYNOG) is ready to move forward with construction of the MARC I Hub Line project in northeastern Pennsylvania — a project that is expected to give northern markets greater access to Marcellus Shale gas — following a FERC order this week granting the project a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

The Pennsylvania Senate approved a 3% impact fee on oil and natural gas drillers on Tuesday night, moving the Keystone State one step closer to possibly generating revenue from Marcellus Shale development. Meanwhile the state House of Representatives, after three days of tacking on amendments, is poised to pass its own competing bill Thursday (Nov. 17).

As Pennsylvania lawmakers move to increase the bonding requirements for shale operators, a new Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) study questions whether bonding adequately ensures reclamation.

AltaGas Ltd. has agreed to buy Vancouver-based Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) for C$36.75/share (approximately C$230 million), a 20% premium based on the C$30.50 Oct. 28 closing price for PNG shares, the Calgary-based company said.

Officials with Inergy subsidiary Central New York Oil & Gas Co. LLC (CNYOG) have called on FERC to quickly issue a certificate so the company can begin construction of its MARC Hub Line project in northeastern Pennsylvania, saying failure to do so “would have significant adverse commercial consequences for CNYOG and its shippers.” The project would give northern markets greater access to Marcellus Shale gas.