Occurred

The number of double-digit gains increased Tuesday as a price advance across the board occurred for the second day in a row. Although weather conditions remain generally bearish for gas prices, especially with the Northeast growing even cooler, and tropical storm menaces to offshore production virtually ruled out for the rest of the season, at least the cash market could point to Monday’s 8.1-cent increase by October futures as impetus for maintaining its firming trend.

An explosion and fire occurred Monday night at a Continental Resources natural gas well near Watonga, OK, in Blaine County. There were no injuries, the company said.

Due to facility damage caused by a flash fire that occurred during a welding job at its Herscher Storage Facility (see Daily GPI, Aug. 17), NGPL declared a force majeure event at Compressor Station 201 in Kankakee County, IL. Effective Thursday until further notice the Midwestern-Kankakee interconnect is unavailable, NGPL said.

Shortly before 10 a.m. CDT Tuesday a flash fire occurred during a welding job at Station 201 of the Herscher gas storage facility in Kankakee County, IL, injuring five workers. The facility is connected to Kinder Morgan Inc.’s Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America. As of early Tuesday afternoon, four of the five injured had been released from the hospital with one remaining in stable condition. “The flash fire was extinguished immediately and the area has been secured,” a Kinder Morgan spokesman said. “The cause of the flash fire is under investigation. Currently there is no impact to customer service.”

Having stonewalled shale gas drilling for three years, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released its recommendations on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) late Thursday. The list includes requiring full disclosure of fracking chemicals and a ban in all primary aquifers, the watersheds of New York City and Syracuse, and all state-owned land, including state parks.

Having stonewalled shale gas drilling for three years, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released its recommendations on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) late Thursday. The list includes requiring full disclosure of fracking chemicals and a ban in all primary aquifers, the watersheds of New York City and Syracuse, and all state-owned land, including state parks.

Officials with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said they plan to make an announcement Friday on the status of the state’s long-awaited environmental impact study on horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Marcellus Shale.

With time running out, New York officials say the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is “working full-time” to complete its supplemental generic environmental impact statement (SGEIS) on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) by a Friday deadline.

The Bakken play in North Dakota and parts of Montana holds a potential 24 billion boe in oil, liquids and natural gas, according to the CEO of one of the Bakken’s pioneering independent exploration and production (E&P) companies.