natural gas

Over the weekend, investigative work on the Poplar Pipeline crossing under the Yellowstone River in northeast Montana, where a leak occurred a week earlier, uncovered exposure of the 60-year-old pipeline in an area in which it had originally been buried eight feet below the riverbed.

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by an anti-drilling organization that it previously listed as a terror threat in state security bulletins.

The physical natural gas market proved to be a divided affair, with gas for delivery Tuesday at eastern points in the path of the Northeast blizzard posting multi-dollar gains, while those more in alignment with the Henry Hub ended up easing a few pennies.

American Energy Partners LP (AELP) has hired Jennifer M. Grigsby as CFO for two affiliates. The former Chesapeake Energy Corp. executive is to serve as financial chief for American Energy Woodford LLC and American Energy-Mineral Holdings LLC. Grigsby spent 19 years at Chesapeake, most recently as senior vice president of corporate and strategic planning. She previously worked for Commander Aircraft Co. and Deloitte and Touche LLC. AELP was founded by former Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon.

A network of publicly accessible natural gas vehicle (NGV) fueling stations operated by San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) provided the equivalent of 3 million gasoline gallons of compressed natural gas (CNG) last year, the combination utility said.

Dallas-based Matador Resources Co. would become the largest Delaware Basin acreage holder among small- and mid-cap public companies with the consummation of its recently announced deal to acquire Roswell, NM-based Harvey E. Yates Co. from HEYCO Energy Group Inc.

Natural gas forwards markets were generally lower this week as unconvincing weather forecasts, returning production and bearish storage data weighed on prices.

Staring down another winter storm in the East, natural gas prices — both physical and futures — ballooned on Friday as traders looked to cover whatever the weekend might bring.

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. said its proved reserves increased from 67.3 million boe in 2013 to 83.8 million boe at the end of last year. The 25% increase, though, was short of the 40% increase analysts expected. The shortfall mainly resulted from a lack of production history in the Appalachian Basin, where the company has been increasingly focused (see Shale Daily,Aug. 11, 2014). Magnum said the present value of its proved reserves is $909.3 million. The company has been focused on selling noncore assets in North Dakota, Canada and Texas (see Shale Daily,Oct. 2, 2014). The Appalachian Basin now accounts for 90% of its proved reserves. The company’s stock fell more than 10% to $1.65/share on Thursday, a day after it announced year-end reserves.