Part

U.S. natural gas exporters are on course for a seventh straight record year for northbound sales, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) trade scorecard.

In order to make a living in the shale gas world, Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (REX) wants to offer westbound capacity from the Marcellus/Utica region, but legacy shippers are balking at its plan to offer lower rates for customers headed west on a portion of the pipeline.

The Obama administration has issued a presidential permit for the 80-mile U.S. pipeline link in North Dakota that is slated to carry ethane as part of a 430-mile international pipeline through Saskatchewan and terminating in Alberta.

FERC on Thursday issued a draft notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) that would allow interstate natural gas pipelines and electric transmission operators to share nonpublic operational information that they believe would promote reliable service and better planning on their systems. The proposal is the first concrete step that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has taken toward coordinating the two markets.

The full House Energy and Commerce Committee last Wednesday voted out amended legislation that aims to speed up the permitting of interstate natural gas pipelines by both federal and state agencies.

Many of the responders to an initial notice of inquiry (NOI) on whether to require quarterly reporting of FERC-jurisdictional next-day and next-month transactions contend that the quarterly reporting requirement would not improve natural gas market transparency.

During her first appearance before the House Committee on Natural Resources last Wednesday, Department of Interior (DOI) Secretary Sally Jewell, a former business executive and an engineer, got a gander at a political divide as wide as the Grand Canyon.

North American exploration and production (E&P) companies will begin to unveil their second quarter results over the coming weeks, and while there aren’t expected to be any big surprises, analysts are hoping for details on natural gas market fundamentals — particularly in the Marcellus Shale — along with insight into emerging plays and more information on ethane rejection in natural gas liquids (NGL) plays.

Rates for offshore rigs improved and the amount of downtime fell between April and June, helping to buoy offshore drilling contractor Noble Corp. to higher-than-expected profits.