NYMEX

With the 2013 natural gas storage refill season still humming along with weekly injections that are higher than historical comparisons, it is important to remember that storage levels and available capacity for working natural gas, or natural gas that is used for withdrawal, respond to a different set of factors in each region, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

After multiple delays, Dallas-based Cubic Energy Inc. has obtained nonbinding commitments for up to $107 million of financing to fund the the previously announced acquisition of Gastar Exploration Texas LP’s East Texas properties (see Shale Daily, April 23). The financing is also intended to fund drilling and working capital, potential additional acquisitions, as well as payment of existing debt. Gastar agreed to extend the closing date of the transaction until Sept. 20, and Cubic agreed to increase the price to be paid for the East Texas assets by $1 million, resulting in a final price of $47 million.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed a rule to protect workers exposed to silica, including those involved in hydraulic fracturing that uses silica, or sand, as a proppant.

Viking Gas Transmission has filed an uncontested settlement that would cut its base rates by 2% and end the nearly year-long investigation by FERC into whether the pipeline over-recovered its costs, resulting in unjust and unreasonable rates for its shippers.

Officials with New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG), which was the hardest hit of all the natural gas utilities on the East Coast when Superstorm Sandy struck last October, have submitted a plan to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) that is designed to give the distribution infrastructure and its customers greater protection from the next super storm.

American Energy Partners LP, the oil and natural gas venture helmed by Aubrey McClendon, is in a legal battle with an Ohio-based coal miner over the use of the name “American Energy.”

Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) has completed the sale of assets of Missouri Gas Energy (MGE) to Laclede Gas Co., a subsidiary of The Laclede Group, for an estimated $975 million. The transaction positions Laclede to be the largest natural gas distribution company in Missouri, serving more than 1.1 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. MGE is a division of Southern Union Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of ETP.

Dry natural gas production in June from the Lower 48 states was higher than a year earlier and proved resilient from May, lifted mostly by sharp increases in the Marcellus Shale, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Form 914 data.

Physical natural gas prices for Wednesday delivery bounded higher by 12 cents overall on average Tuesday. A change in the near-term weather outlook was enough to shoot the screen higher, and cash quotes quickly followed.