Overwhelming

The Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) reported at its annual winter meeting that in 2012 more wells were permitted and completed, and the state saw a substantial increase in the amount of footage drilled.

El Paso Corp. is considering adding pipeline infrastructure to carry gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to an interconnection near Albany, NY, following a nonbinding open season that was held last year.

One day after HB 401 — also known as the Natural Gas Horizontal Wells Control Act –garnered overwhelming support in both houses of the West Virginia legislature (see Shale Daily, Dec. 15), advocates for the shale gas industry, surface owners’ rights and the environment told NGI’s Shale Daily on Thursday that the bill isn’t all they had hoped for.

Pennsylvanians believe that the benefits of natural gas drilling in the state’s shale plays outweigh any potential problems, but want the state to impose an extraction tax and require the disclosure of chemicals used by drillers, according to the results of a survey by the Muhlenberg Institute of Public Opinion and the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State and Urban Policy.

The overwhelming Republican takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives last week pasted happy faces on natural gas and oil industry execs and spurred President Obama to mention natural gas as a possible area of compromise with the new Congress. The president, however, appeared to be the only one talking compromise.

Not unexpectedly, prices fell by large amounts across the board Friday. The negative influences were almost overwhelming: forecasts of moderate late-spring weather continuing in most areas; the extra loss of load associated with a holiday weekend; and the previous day’s plunge of 36.7 cents by June futures.

The economic slowdown, falling prices and overwhelming onshore production aren’t enough to deter more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from heading to North American shores, but the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute could prove consequential for the Atlantic Basin’s business later this year, energy consultants said last week.

The economic slowdown, falling prices and overwhelming onshore production aren’t enough to deter more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from arriving on North American shores beginning this year, an energy consultant said Thursday.

Against a backdrop of falling crude oil and natural gas prices, the House last Thursday passed by an overwhelming margin legislation that seeks to curb “excessive” speculation in the energy markets.