natural gas

Steadily improving completion techniques, declining costs in the Marcellus Shale and progress in the Utica Shale last quarter found Consol Energy Inc. achieving record production of 51.9 Bcfe, up from the 38.6 Bcfe it produced at the same time last year.

Exelon Corp. has agreed to buy retail power and gas provider Integrys Energy Services Inc. (IES) from Integrys Energy Group Inc. and integrate it with its Constellation business unit.

In the July 21 article DOE Offers $4.5B for Alternative Fuels as NatGas Advances Continue (see Daily GPI,July 21), NGI incorrectly stated that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) planned to provide $4.5 billion in the Clean Cities Program to expand the use of alternative fuel vehicles. The DOE actually plans to provide $4.5 million. NGI regrets the error.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed an energy agreement with Mexican national officials promoting cross-border energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Brown also signed a climate change agreement with Mexican national government officials in Mexico City to cooperate on initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “California and Mexico both take the low-carbon imperative with utmost seriousness, and [the state] cannot do it alone; with this new partnership with Mexico we can make real progress on reducing dangerous GHG emissions,” Brown said.

Physical natural gas for Wednesday delivery endured a broad and pervasive decline in Tuesday’s trading. Only a couple of points showed advances, and most points were off by a nickel to a dime.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Friday said it had reached a settlement with the City of San Bruno, CA, over a Public Records Act lawsuit the city launched early this year, alleging the state regulators were withholding documents related to the aftermath of the horrific 2010 natural gas transmission pipeline rupture and explosion in the suburb 10 miles south of San Francisco.

The latest large outlay of state dollars and ambitious goals for creating a hydrogen transportation fueling network seemingly overnight in California comes at a time when there are few hydrogen-powered vehicles and little infrastructure in existence, despite boasts by a former governor in 2006 to have 100 fueling outlets between Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2010.

Federal regulators are calling for information and nominations from industry and stakeholders for the final Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sale scheduled for 2017, Lease Sale 242, which would encompass part of the controversial Beaufort Sea Planning Area offshore Alaska.

Preferred Sands, one of North America’s big sand and resin-coated proppant (RCP) producers, is getting an equity boost from KKR & Co. LP to refinance the entire capital structure and expand its offerings.