natural gas prices

Texas oil and gas producers turned in another month of production growth in February, according to preliminary data from the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC). Both oil and gas production were up from a year ago. March oil well completions were up sharply from a year ago, but gas well completions declined.

When the natural gas industry looks back on the winter of 2013-14, it will remember a number of extremes — the polar vortex, price spikes, a propane shortage, frozen wells shut in, very tight gas supplies and lingering concerns about replenishing gas storage.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) is dropping down to master limited partnership (MLP) El Paso Pipeline Partners LP (EPB) its 50% stakes in Ruby Pipeline and Gulf LNG and 47.5% interest in Young Gas Storage in a deal worth $2 billion including debt at Ruby and Gulf LNG.

Nine months after being confirmed to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Gina McCarthy took aim at critics that claim the agency relies on “secret science,” and promised it would deliver its contribution to President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.

The best financed explorers in North America — ExxonMobil Corp., BP plc, Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell plc and ConocoPhillips — present their earnings results this week, with speculation about whether natural gas development will return to the agenda in a bigger way this year, with storage at record lows and more export projects drawing overseas contracts.

The spot natural gas market was hit with a double whammy in Monday’s trading as temperatures were forecast to drop to as much as 15 degrees below normal at major eastern points, and the expired May futures surged higher.

Sunoco Logistics Partners LP has requested an exemption from the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code that, if granted by the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC), would give it the status of a public utility corporation.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved millions of dollars more for natural gas vehicle (NGV) transportation development and separately is starting the review process on a proposed 1,936 MW natural gas-fired, air-cooled generation plant on the site of an existing 2,000 MW gas-fired, water-cooled AES Corp. plant in Long Beach, CA.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP and Williams are no longer funding their Marcellus-to-Gulf Coast natural gas liquids (NGL) joint venture pipeline project, Bluegrass, as customer commitments have yet to materialize.