natural gas prices

In a setback for shale development in New Brunswick, voters returned the Liberal party to power in the Canadian province and sent the pro-shale Progressive Conservative (PC) party to defeat. The election was marred by problems with vote tabulation machines.

Canadian and U.S. pipeliners have won an unexpected ally for their plans to expand the northbound freeway for natural gas from the eastern United States — the Alberta government.

EOG Resources Inc. said a flash fire in one of its natural gas storage tanks in western Wyoming during maintenance operations on Tuesday afternoon has resulted in the death of one worker and injuries to three others. The incident, first reported as an explosion, occurred in a desert region about 30 miles northwest of Green River, WY.

Tulsa-based private Bravo Natural Resources LLC is spending $250 million to buy a batch of natural gas-heavy Arkoma Basin reserves and operating wells in southeastern Oklahoma.

Two deals announced Wednesday show that the liquids-rich Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas can hold its own among the Bakken and Marcellus shales when it comes to drawing in the dollars.

The Heritage Foundation’s chief economist Stephen Moore kicked off this year’s Shale Insight conference in Pittsburgh by telling an audience that without advances in the onshore oil and gas industry there would be no economic recovery in the United States.

Singapore-based Pavilion Gas Pte Ltd., a unit of of Pavilion Energy, has secured a total of 0.4 million tons per year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply from BP plc for a tenure of 20 years beginning in 2019. Some of the LNG is to come from BP’s stakes in Cheniere Energy Inc.’s Freeport LNG terminal in Texas. “This deal is part of our continued effort to enhance and diversify our LNG portfolio to deliver sustainable and competitive LNG supply to Asia,” said Seah Moon Ming, CEO of Pavilion Energy and Pavilion Gas. Pavilion Energy Pte. Ltd., a US$806.5 million company, was established last year by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. with a focus on meeting Asia’s growing energy demand, particularly through LNG (see Daily GPI,April 8, 2013). “Supply will be from BP’s global portfolio of equity and merchant sources of LNG. This includes the Freeport LNG project in the USA, where BP holds tolling rights [see Daily GPI,Feb. 12, 2013] and which is expected to reach a final investment decision before the end of 2014,” said BP’s Paul Reed, CEO of the integrated supply and trading business.

BP plc won’t be able to recover millions that it may have been overpaid to some claimants for economic losses related to the 2010 Macondo well blowout, the court overseeing the multidistrict litigation (MDL) ruled Wednesday.

LyondellBasell announced Wednesday that low natural gas prices were leading it to consider a second expansion of its ethylene plant in Channelview, TX, which could add another 550 million pounds to the facility’s annual capacity.