NYMEX

California Gov. Jerry Brown has indicated he intends to sign SB 4, which was passed by the legislature last week that would regulate oil and natural gas unconventional drilling and specifically hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

In a broader global energy picture that is a “smorgasbord of fragmented pieces,” the United States is headed for a return to gas-on-gas competition among shale-dominated natural gas basins, according to ConocoPhillips chief analyst and commodity market strategist Jim Duncan.

Two companies recently filed with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for authorization to export containerized liquefied natural gas (LNG) to free trade agreement (FTA) countries. They join a third that already has such authorization as interest in exporting containerized LNG to the Caribbean grows.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) ties between the United States and Asian markets strengthened a bit last week with news of two supply contracts and an Alaska-Japan agreement to pursue project talks. Meanwhile, LNG buyers Japan and India said they would join forces to secure more favorable terms.

The federal judge overseeing the BP plc claims settlement process regarding the Macondo well blowout has expanded former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s duties after the special master found some problems with the claims office.

Both the overall number of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects that ultimately are built and the total volumes of LNG exported may be significantly less than once projected for the United States, executives said last week at the LDC Gas Forum Mid-Continent in Chicago.

The proposed Bluegrass Pipeline lacks the authority to impose eminent domain through Kentucky to build a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline, according to the state’s top environmental regulator.

Nearly 1.4 trillion boe of reserves exist in conventional, undeveloped oil and natural gas fields around the world, including almost 1.1 trillion boe of technical reserves, those without firm development plans in place, according to Wood Mackenzie.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has launched an investigation into the competitiveness of the state’s retail natural gas market to determine what steps state regulators should take in order to make improvements.