natural gas

It was a grand and glorious week of trading if you were a bidweek buyer on any of the market points followed by NGI.

Youngstown activist group FrackFree Mahoning Valley has once again filed signatures to put a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to amend the city’s charter and ban horizontal hydraulic fracturing and related activities within its boundaries. In May, voters rejected for the third time in a year the same question by a 54-46% margin (3,674 to 3,100 votes) (see Shale Daily,May 7). At the time, the group said it would continue to push for the charter amendment until a ban is passed.

As had been expected, FERC late Wednesday authorized Freeport LNG Development LP to site, construct, and operate facilities to liquefy and export domestic natural gas from its existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal near Freeport, TX.

Hess Corp. said Wednesday it plans to pursue the formation and initial public offering (IPO) for a master limited partnership (MLP) principally tied to its midstream assets in the Bakken Shale play in North Dakota. It expects to make the IPO during the first quarter of 2015.

Natural gas futures rose following the release of government storage figures Thursday morning that were less than what the market was expecting. In spite of falling about 5 Bcf short of traders’ expectations, the build was nearly double the five-year average for the week.

Lowell, MA-based TRC Companies Inc. said Lauren O’Donnell has joined the company as vice president for oil and gas. The company, which provides engineering, consulting and construction management services to the energy, environmental and infrastructure markets, said O’Donnell, who previously was the director of the division of gas-environment and engineering at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), will be “an integral member” of TRC’s focused oil and gas initiative, developing and implementing strategies to assist TRC’s clients in securing federal permits for new energy infrastructure projects. In her role with FERC, O’Donnell directed the preparation, review and approval of environmental documents for interstate natural gas pipelines, storage facilities and liquefied natural gas terminals across the United States, and she has ensured compliance with the Commission’s requirements during construction and operation.

Spot gas deliveries for Friday receipt slipped lower in Thursday’s trading as losses at Marcellus and Northeast points were able to offset gains in East Texas, the Midcontinent and Rockies.

While signaling that Pacific Northwest hydroelectric supplies this year should remain strong, Portland General Electric (PGE) senior executives said Tuesday that two major new natural gas-fired generation plants are on schedule to be online by 2016.

Newfield Exploration Co. said its year-over-year (y/y) oil production rose more than 30% during the second quarter of 2014, led by gains in the Anadarko Basin but also due in part to success with wells targeting that Uinta Basin participating in its super extended laterals (SXL) program.