nymex settlement

There are indicators that natural gas prices may have bottomed out in North Dakota and there could be the start of a long, slow trend for price increases starting next year, the state’s top oil/gas official said last Friday in reporting the state’s latest increased production statistics.

Physical gas for delivery Tuesday took a page from futures and traded lower overall, with New England posting the greatest losses.

Pennsylvania wastewater management company Eureka Resources LLC plans tobegin operating a $25 million crystallizer and methanol recovery system in Lycoming and Bradford counties in 2014 that it began in 2012 (see Shale Daily, May 21, 2012). The systems would separate metals and other components from produced oil and gas water to make oil, methanol and sodium chloride that would be sold back to energy producers, wholesalers and manufacturers.

Natural gas for weekend and Monday delivery fell in most regions of the country in Friday’s trading. Stout gains were limited to a few points in the capacity-constrained New England region.

R. Skip Horvath, president and CEO of the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) plans to retire from the organization in the first half of 2014. “I’ve enjoyed 15 wonderful, rewarding years at NGSA,” Horvath said. “My original goals were to focus the association’s mission and put it back on solid financial footing. I’m proud to have accomplished those goals, but my proudest achievement at NGSA will always be the exceptional staff that I handpicked,” he said. Horvath has been president and CEO of NGSA since 1999. NGSA Chairman Greg Vesey said, “We’re tremendously grateful to Skip for his vision and leadership throughout a time of historic changes in the natural gas industry.” Horvath’s work in the natural gas industry has spanned the terms of 13 of the 15 chairmen that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has had in its history. Prior to joining NGSA, he served as COO and executive vice president at the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. He also helped establish and lead the Natural Gas Council, a forum for leaders in the natural gas industry to discuss common concerns. He also founded the Distributed Power Coalition of America and served as one of four individuals tasked with setting up the Gas Industry Standards Board (now known as NAESB, the North American Energy Standards Board) and the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas.

The NGI Weekly Spot Gas average for the week ended Dec. 13 bounded higher by $1.03 to average $5.14 led in large part by the Northeast regional gain of $3.18 to average $7.02 as a broad Arctic chill brought the region’s first real dose of winter.

Unitholders and shareholders of LINN Energy LLC, LinnCo LLC and Berry Petroleum Co. have approved the companies’ merger and related transactions, setting the deal on course for closure as it passed its final hurdle at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month (see Daily GPI, Feb. 22). The deal is said to be the first-ever acquisition of a C-corporation by an upstream limited liability company or master limited partnership. Linn Energy last month raised its offer for Berry by $600 million, reinvigorating the mega-deal (see Daily GPI, Nov. 4).

Senators Thursday blasted the Obama administration’s nomination for a high-ranking position in the Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife and Parks, citing her record opposing natural gas development and support for the funding of activist groups.

American Midstream Partners LP is acquiring Blackwater Midstream Holdings LLC, a developer and operator of terminal storage facilities, from an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners LLC for $60 million. “The strategic acquisition of Blackwater Midstream provides an attractive platform for American Midstream in a growing segment of the midstream industry that is fee-based and not directly correlated to commodity prices,” said American Midstream CEO Steve Bergstrom. The acquisition includes Blackwater’s three operating terminal sites in Westwego, LA; Brunswick, GA; and Salisbury, MD. The sites are multimodal, with access to deepwater dock, barge, rail and truck transportation. The deal also includes a brownfield development opportunity in Harvey, LA, near Blackwater’s Westwego terminal. The three operating terminals have 1.3 million bbl of storage capacity and store chemical, agricultural and petroleum liquid products. The deal is the first drop-down from American Midstream sponsor ArcLight since ArcLight acquired a controlling interest in American Midstream’s general partner in April.