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The New York oil and natural gas industry is “imperiled” and “in crisis” because of the ongoing delay over whether to allow hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in horizontal drilling, according to a recent letter sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo by the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York (IOGA).

While natural gas and electric power market representatives wrangled over changes to better align operations of the two markets, a Boston-based industry veteran suggested solving the problem by allowing pipelines to return to their merchant function on a limited basis.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) negotiated between state and federal regulators could end the stalemate over the contentious issues surrounding hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a Texas official told a House panel last Wednesday.

Over the next four to five years, about 70-80 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction capacity will be coming online, thanks mainly to Australia, expanding the global market for LNG by about one-third, Malcolm Johnson, a director at eMJay LNG Ltd. and industry consultant told NGI. Where all the LNG goes and at what price remains to be seen, he said (see related story).

Over the next four to five years, about 70-80 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction capacity will be coming online, thanks mainly to Australia, expanding the global market for LNG by about one-third, Malcolm Johnson, a director at eMJay LNG Ltd. and industry consultant told NGI. Where all the LNG goes and at what price remains to be seen, he said.

Although overall month-over-month totals were down, production rates set all-time high marks for oil and natural gas in February in North Dakota, state officials reported Tuesday.

Booming shale plays in the United States have proved to be more than transformational domestically, according to Jeff Welch, head of North American Gas for EDF Trading North America — they are having “mind-boggling” implications worldwide.

A unit of Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd. is buying an undivided 25% interest in the Barnett Shale assets of Quicksilver Resources Inc. for $485 million, marking a milestone for the debt-laden Fort Worth, TX-based producer, which has long sought a Barnett partner.

U.S. natural gas production was 2.56 Tcf in December and totaled 29.77 Tcf in 2012, the seventh consecutive year-over-year increase, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Monthly Energy Review for March.