natural gas

The Eagle Ford and Bakken shales helped lift SM Energy Co.’s output to new heights last year even as it remained focused on producing liquids in East Texas and the Permian Basin.

Marlborough, MA-based Clear Energy plans to build a $100 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility for domestic peaking use near Northumberland, NH, a company official recently told the town’s Board of Selectmen.

A midstream master limited partnership (MLP) formed last year by Devon Energy Corp. and Crosstex Energy LP should be completed and ready to begin operations by the end of March, executives said Wednesday.

Spot natural gas for Thursday delivery bounded higher in Wednesday’s trading as physical market traders elected to follow the path of the highly exuberant futures market. Less than a handful of cash points touched the loss column, and dollar-plus gains were seen at pipes feeding into the Chicago area. New England locations were mostly higher, and most prices in the Mid-Atlantic were up by double digits.

March natural gas is set to open 37cents higher Wednesday morning at $5.920 as weather models favor stronger Alaska ridging and more cold air pouring into the central U.S. Overnight oil markets rose.

The Americas have become a significant contributor to global energy markets, rivaling the Middle East in oil production and exceeding the former Soviet Union in natural gas production, and the trend — driven in large part by North American shale production — is likely to remain positive, according to a recent report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Diamondback Energy Inc. announced Tuesday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire more than 6,000 gross acres of leasehold in the Midland Basin, part of the Permian Basin of West Texas, from undisclosed third party sellers for approximately $174 million.

Devon Energy Corp. has reached an agreement to sell most of its Canadian conventional portfolio, with proved reserves of about 170 million boe, to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. for US$2.8 billion. Excluded are unconventional projects in the gassy Horn River Shale, Lloydminster and thermal heavy oil assets.

British Columbia’s (BC) government vowed Tuesday to ensure its embryo liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry grows up by refraining from taxes that weaken the competitive strength of Pacific coast export projects.