natural gas prices

As the market nears the end of the natural gas injection season next month, industry analysts are looking to the winter season and beyond to see what lies ahead. From what they’re seeing, higher prices may not be as close as some producers may have hoped.

Houston-based OsComp, promoting itself as “redefining natural gas,” is moving aggressively into North Dakota’s Williston Basin to turn Bakken Shale flared wellhead natural gas into profits by transforming it into compressed natural gas (CNG) for oilfield, industrial and transportation uses.

Researchers from two major universities and a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc said water used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations remains locked in the targeted shale formation and poses no threat to underground water supplies.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin plans to use his executive powers to change a state law passed earlier this year that requires stringent regulation of above-ground storage tanks (see Shale Daily,Feb. 14). The law was passed in response to a January incident in which thousands of gallons of coal-cleaning chemicals leaked from a processing facility on the Elk River. It requires the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) to inspect storage tanks annually. That rankled a number of industries, including smaller oil and gas companies. Tomblin’s administration is pushing for a system that will require strict inspection standards for tanks that hold more than 50,000 gallons, those near water supplies and those that hold hazardous materials. That will help reduce the number of tanks, such as smaller ones used by the oil and gas industry, that WVDEP will have to closely oversee. Smaller tanks will still be subject to the law, but compliance and inspections will be less extensive under Tomblin’s changes. Updated rules for larger tanks are expected in the coming weeks.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday named a 19-member statewide task force to examine land use and state and local rules in permitting oil and natural gas facilities. This culminates a compromise approach to a simmering state political issue that Hickenlooper’s office patched together last month (see Shale Daily,Aug. 5).

Kimberly A. Ross has been appointed senior vice president and CFO of Baker Hughes Inc. effective Oct. 22. She currently serves as executive vice president (EVP) and CFO of Avon Products Inc. and previously was EVP and CFO of Royal Ahold NV, where she had worked beginning in 2001. Ross earned a bachelor of arts degree in accounting from the University of South Florida and is a certified public accountant. “Her extensive record of accomplishments spans several industries and is a testament to her effective partnering with operational leaders in various geographies and business environments,” said Baker CEO Martin Craighead. Peter Ragauss is to continue as CFO until Ross comes aboard.

A public hearing is scheduled for Monday (Sept. 22) from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. CDT at theRailroad Commission of Texas(RRC) office in Austin to review proposed changes to Texas Administrative Code Title 16, Part 1, Chapter 3. The proposed amendments to §3.70 of that chapter prescribe the procedure by which a pipeline operator may identify itself as a common carrier, gas utility, or private line operator when applying for a new T-4 permit to operate a pipeline or when renewing, amending, or cancelling an existing T-4 permit (seeDaily GPI,July 23). The designation affects whether a pipeline developer may exercise eminent domain. Texas landowners have complained that it has been too easy for pipelines to exercise eminent domain and stricter rules are needed, while industry has said the proposed rule changes are a regulatory burden. The proposed rule amendments were published in the July 25 issue of theTexas Register. For more information, contact Cristina Self in the office of general counsel, (512) 463-2299; or Polly McDonald in the pipeline safety division, (512) 463-7008. The status of RRC rulemakings in progress is available at: www.rrc.state.tx.us/legal/rules/proposed-rules.

A subcontractor at a Williams Partners LP site in Marshall County, WV, was reportedly airlifted by helicopter on Monday after sustaining injuries when he became pinned between a lift and pipe, according to several local news media reports. Attempts to reach Williams for comment on Tuesday were unsuccessful. The man, whose name was not released, was flown to a hospital in Morgantown, WV. According to reports, he sustained head, neck and back injuries. An investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.

A broad and pervasive influx of cold Canadian air that is forecast to invade portions of the country this week was enough to prompt double-digit gains in both natural gas physical and futures markets on Tuesday.