natural gas prices

Five days after announcing it was scuttling a proposed merger, Houston-based Dune Energy Inc. voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to request approval of $10 million in debtor-in-possession financing from its pre-bankruptcy lenders.

Larry Persily, former federal coordinator for Alaska natural gas pipeline projects, has accepted a position with the Kenai Peninsula Borough government in Alaska and has similar duties, including sharing information with the public about the Alaska LNG project and oil and gas issues in general. He will continue distribute his twice-a-week topical summaries in his new capacity. The update service will continue free of charge to readers. The news updates, formerly hosted by the federal coordinator’s office will now be hosted by the Kenai Peninsula Borough government. The federal coordinator’s office recently closed; it was eliminated by budget cuts in December (see Daily GPI,March 6).

Calgary-based Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. said its proved plus probable (2P) reserves grew 18% to 250 million boe at the end of 2014, as its annual production increased 74% — from 8.0 million boe at the end of 2013 to 13.9 million boe.

The collapse of oil prices has created headwinds for large liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction projects, but the developer of two smaller-scale projects on the Texas coast sees a silver lining in declining project costs and the advantages of a Henry Hub index. One of its projects is being up-sized, in fact.

Natural gas forwards basis markets were generally lower the first week of March as forecasts for warmer weather trumped strength in Nymex gas futures.

Sunoco Logistics Partners LP is no longer seeking public utility status for its Mariner East pipeline project, withdrawing the last of its requests with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) for exemption from local zoning ordinances along the proposed route.

Oil and natural gas drillers in Pennsylvania would likely face more red tape under a comprehensive package of environmental regulations that top officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said Monday should be implemented by the Spring of 2016.

Whiting Petroleum Corp. isn’t confirming Wall Street talk about a sale being afoot, and an analyst at BMO Capital Markets isn’t convinced that the Denver-based Bakken Shale producer is up for sale within three months of closing a $6 billion acquisition of Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp.

The Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects has closed due to lack of funding (see Daily GPI,Dec. 29, 2014). Its website,arcticgas.gov, is being maintained, but not updated, by the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, with assistance of Alaska Resources Library & Information Services at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Much of the office’s work also can be accessed online atThe Pipe Files, a searchable digital library of hundreds of Alaska gasline project documents going back to the 1970s. Congress created the Office of the Federal Coordinator in 2004 to help expedite and coordinate federal permitting for construction of a pipeline to move Alaska North Slope natural gas to North American markets. The current project under consideration by North Slope oil and gas producers involves piping the gas to a liquefaction plant in Southcentral Alaska for liquefaction and export of LNG (see Daily GPI,March 4).