NYMEX

Criminal charges were filed last week by the Pennsylvania attorney general against ExxonMobil Corp.’s XTO Energy Inc. for violating environmental laws in 2010, when more than 50,000 gallons of Marcellus Shale drilling wastewater were spilled.

U.S. natural gas marketers were in the midst of a full tactical retreat in the second quarter, with only seven of 24 companies reporting higher numbers compared with the same quarter last year, resulting in an 11% (14.82 Bcf/d) overall decline in gas sales transactions in 2Q2013 compared with 2Q2012, according toNGI’s 2Q2013 Top North American Gas Marketers Ranking.

Proposed Pennsylvania legislation would make it more difficult to list and protect endangered species in the state, while making it potentially easier to site wells in the Marcellus Shale, but it also could force the “taking” of more than $27 million a year in federal funding for state fish and game commissions, according to officials.

A reclassification of “base” gas to “working” and a cooler-than-expected August make for an end-of-injection season storage forecast that is 20 Bcf higher than the one issued last month in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the agency said last week.

Bucking the trend of rising energy prices for manufacturers, a surge in domestic natural gas production from shale formations resulted in a 36% decrease in the average gas price paid by manufacturers between 2006 and 2010, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Nationally physical gas prices fell a nickel on average for the week ended Sept. 13. Gains were largely limited to the Northeast and the majority of points fell anywhere from a few pennies to double digits. Deliveries to the Algonquin Citygates were the week’s largest gain at 45 cents to $4.23 and the greatest declines were seen on El Paso S Mainline at 20 cents to $3.81.

EOG Resources Inc. CEO William Thomas said the unconventional natural gas drilling pioneer plans to keep its onshore oil and liquids drilling strong but would “grow gas again” beginning in 2014. Plans to sell more of the company’s dry gas inventory also has been postponed.

A reclassification of “base” gas to “working” and a cooler-than-expected August make for an end-of-injection season storage forecast that is 20 Bcf higher than the one issued last month in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the agency said last week.

ConocoPhillips’ chief analyst/strategist last week told an industry audience in Chicago that there will be no major hurricanes through the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) or elsewhere in the United States this year.