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As the oil and natural gas industry explores ever-deeper targets, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the Department of Energy (DOE) is touting a groundbreaking pre-drill seismic technology to confirm deep oil and natural gas reserves.

As the oil and natural gas industry explores ever-deeper targets, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the Department of Energy (DOE) used a cost-shared project managed by the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to develop groundbreaking pre-drill seismic technology.

Cash prices ended the week mixed, leaving traders with some uncertainty about whether continued cold temperatures, particularly in eastern and midwestern markets, and the likelihood of another big weekly storage withdrawal in the next report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) would put additional upward pressure on the market.

While the debate rages about when, and if, there will be another liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal sited along the West Coast, particularly in California, a TransCanada Pipeline executive last Tuesday raised the hypothetical question of whether the West really needs a second LNG terminal at this time. Jeff Rush, vice president for TransCanada’s GTN and North Baja pipelines, made his remarks to The LDC Forum: Rockies & West in Los Angeles.

While the debate rages about when, and if, there will be another liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal sited along the West Coast, particularly in California, a TransCanada Pipeline executive Tuesday raised the hypothetical question of whether the West really needs a second LNG terminal at this time. Jeff Rush, vice president for TransCanada’s GTN and North Baja pipelines, made his remarks to The LDC Forum: Rockies & West in Los Angeles.

Portland Natural Gas Transmission (PNGTS) found little that it likes in the proposed expansion of the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline (M&NP) system, particularly the capacity that will be added to a 101-mile pipeline from Westbook, ME, to Dracut, MA, that the two companies jointly own. PNGTS said M&NP intends to overbuild the expansion of the joint facilities to shift costs that would be more properly assessed to M&NP affiliate Algonquin Gas Transmission, which will receive deliveries from the expansion project (see Daily GPI, May 17).

FERC Commissioner Nora Brownell sees a “growing belief” that the power industry’s planning process “is narrowly focused and isn’t particularly inclusive, nor is it transparent.”

Natural gas markets worldwide are showing increasing convergence, particularly among the Organization of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) countries, and that trend, spurred by increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) traffic, is expected to continue, according to Raymond James’ Energy Stat of the Week.

Venture capital investment in energy technologies — particularly wind, solar and biofuel — jumped to $917 million last year, compared to $716 million in 2004, according to the fifth annual “Clean Energy Trends Report” for 2006, prepared by Clean Edge, a green power consulting firm. Global solar and wind markets increased by 55% and 47%, respectively, to $11.2 billion and $11.8 billion in 2005, the report said.