natural gas

(Editor’s Note: This story is being re-posted with corrections. The original article published April 16, 2014 incorrectly stated that the shareholder meeting was for Spectra Energy Partners LP. NGI regrets the error.)

The changing global energy landscape has dealt the United States a new set of cards, offering it a choice of whether to wield its power as a stick, as Russia has attempted, or as a tool to foster a more stable international order, according to a new report by the Brookings Institution.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has released the first in a series of comprehensive reports detailing the mixed impact of unconventional shale development on the state’s 2.2 million acres of public forest land.

An Ensco drilling platform preparing to work for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. in the deepwaters of the Gulf of Mexico will be assessed for damage after it was struck about 3:15 a.m. Tuesday by a large storm wave. None of the 116 crew members aboard the platform were injured and there were no evacuations. A U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman said crews for Ensco plan to inspect the semi-submersible Ensco 8506 rig, which is about 130 miles from Galveston, TX. The rig was knocked about 55 feet and began to take on water in one of the six flotation columns. The rig, in 3,000 feet of water, was stable. The rig is scheduled to begin operations in mid-July at a dayrate in the “high $540,000s,” Ensco said. The dynamically positioned rig, built in 2012, is designed for water depths of 8,500-10,000 feet with a maximum drilling depth of 35,000 feet.

Staff members of Ohio’s Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) plan to recommend on Friday that the board of directors reduce annual property tax assessments beginning in 2015, on the grounds that the district is bringing in more revenue from oil and gas leases in the Utica Shale.

BP plc, which plans to sell up to $10 billion more in noncore assets over the next two years, is marketing the rights to about 280,000 gross acres of natural gas-rich properties in the Texas Panhandle’s Sherman and Moore counties, which produce about 4,000 boe/d. The field is mature and better suited to operators specializing in late-life basin operations, a spokesman said. The decision is consistent with BP’s strategy to manage its portfolio with a focus on “value over volume,” he added. BP has around 500 wells now producing on the leases and still plans to continue to operate close to 1,700 wells in the Panhandle after the sale. The properties are expected to fetch up to $500 million.

Physical gas for delivery Thursday fell across a wide front in Wednesday’s trading as a modest warming trend was expected in Midwest energy markets. Only a handful of locations escaped the price cleaver, and the most severe declines were seen in the Northeast, with some points dropping by more than $1.00.

Idaho regulators recently approved Spokane, WA-based Avista Utilities’ $25.17 million natural gas and electric efficiency programs. Expenses are allowed to be captured in gas and electric riders to retail utility charges, the Public Utilities Commission decided, although because wholesale gas prices have stayed low, the expense related to gas efficiency efforts was found to be less prudent. There will be no impact on gas rates as a result and a small increase (0.245 cents/kWh) for retail electric utility rates. The residential customer programs found to be prudent include various home weatherization offerings and electric-to-natural gas conversions.

Gas for next-day delivery advanced at nearly every market point in Tuesday’s trading. Only a handful of points fell into the loss column, and the gains were broad and pervasive.