Opportunity

At the request of the oil and natural gas industry, the Obama administration will extend the public comment period on proposed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rules governing hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

The expanding U.S. supply of natural gas is providing a win-win for chemicals producers, their suppliers and customers. It’s “an unbelievable opportunity,” Jim Teague, COO of Enterprise Products Partners, told an industry audience in Houston.

Being in the middle is not so much a challenge as an opportunity for DCP Midstream LLC, the Denver-based infrastructure and natural gas liquids (NGL) operator that has an eye on moving into the Bakken, Utica and Marcellus shale plays, according to DCP President Bill Waldheim. He told NGIShale Daily that those are about the only shale plays that fall outside DCP’s reach these days.

Compressed natural gas offers the best opportunity for a majority of the nation’s drivers to be weaned off of gasoline as their primary transportation fuel, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a House subcommittee last week.

Compressed natural gas offers the best opportunity for a majority of the nation’s drivers to be weaned off of gasoline as their primary transportation fuel, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a House subcommittee Tuesday.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is urging state lawmakers to enact tougher regulations on the oil and gas industry, including higher penalties for violations and requiring operators to not only disclose what chemicals are used for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) but also their precise formulations.

The Interior Department’s decision to not open up new offshore areas in its proposed 2012-2017 leasing plan, particularly offshore Virginia, is a “missed opportunity with little to no justifiable policy rationale,” the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) said in comments filed with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

The Interior Department’s decision to not open up new offshore areas in its proposed 2012-2017 leasing plan, particularly offshore Virginia, is a “missed opportunity with little to no justifiable policy rationale,” the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) said in comments filed with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

Gastar Exploration Ltd. will devote $100.5 million of its $134.2 million 2012 capital budget to drilling and completion costs, with 89% of that amount ($88.9 million) to be spent on activities in the liquids-rich window of the Marcellus Shale, the company said Tuesday.