natural gas prices

Physical natural gas for next-day delivery was largely mixed in Monday’s trading, but at the end of the day overall prices were a dime higher at $2.53 as gains in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Rockies easily outpaced lower quotes in the Gulf region.

Natural gas basis markets remained in a lull for the second week of March, with prompt-month prices shifting less than five cents at most market hubs, amid forecasts for mostly mild weather across the United States.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) shareholders would be on the hook for $850 million worth of safety upgrades to the utility’s natural gas system under a new settlement proposal from California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) President Michael Picker. It addresses gas system mismanagement discovered after a 2010 pipeline rupture and explosion in San Bruno.

Two weeks after divesting all of its East Texas and non-core Louisiana assets to its master limited partnership (MLP), executives with Memorial Resource Development Corp. (MRD) said their company is now a pure-play exploration and production (E&P) outfit focused on redeveloping a legacy oil and gas field in Louisiana.

BP plc extended its dominance over other North American natural gas marketers with a gain in 4Q2014, continuing its trend for the year, but for many other marketers, both the quarter and the full year resulted in declines compared to previous periods.

Rex Energy Corp. said Monday that it has placed another six Marcellus Shale wells into sales in its core Butler Operated area in western Pennsylvania, with longer laterals and higher sand concentrations that it believes will lead to improved type curves in the play.

Spending cuts by domestic producers and the swift decline in the onshore rig count could signal a drop in U.S. oil production by the end of the year, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said Monday. Meanwhile, analysts with Raymond James & Associates also see a substantial risk for even lower U.S. oil prices in the months ahead.

An organization that originated in South America wants to create a set of voluntary standards for the oil and natural gas industry to follow for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and other shale development activities in the United States.

Just hours before concluding this year’s first regular legislative session, the West Virginia House of Delegates on Saturday rejected a bill that would have allowed exploration and production companies drilling the Marcellus Shale and other shallower formations to pool landowners into units.