Prospect

While oversupply and pricing issues continue to be problematic, it is premature to write off natural gas liquids (NGL) with the prospect that increased U.S. natural gas exports would help bolster NGL trade, an equity research team at Wells Fargo Securities LLC said after meeting with two Houston-based NGL companies.

While oversupply and pricing issues continue to be problematic, it is premature to write off natural gas liquids (NGL) with the prospect that increased U.S. natural gas exports would help bolster NGL trade, an equity research team at Wells Fargo Securities LLC said after meeting with two Houston-based NGL companies.

The recent surge in natural gas prices may have provoked some optimism in the energy sector, but it’s not enough to encourage more drilling, according to Barclays Capital, which expects the rig count to not surpass 450 this year.

Facing the prospect of historically high levels of power generation retrofits and replacement, the multi-state Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) has identified the need for closer coordination with the region’s natural gas system, an executive told a recent House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing.

Located three counties due north of the wet gas window of the Marcellus Shale, and over a state line from expanding development in the Utica Shale, Mercer County, PA, nevertheless appears poised to benefit from development of both plays in the near future.

ExxonMobil Corp.’s quest to remain the biggest operator in the Ardmore Basin’s Woodford Shale remains on track after the super major agreed to pay $147.5 million to buy the bulk of BNK Petroleum Inc.’s leasehold in the Tishomingo Field.

Projections calling for below-normal water levels in the Pacific Northwest create the prospect for higher natural gas loads this year to make up for the smaller amounts of hydropower expected in the region, according to a Barclays report on the region’s prospects.

The U.S. natural gas market — and thus, long-term gas prices — won’t be upended because of the unconventional resource “revolution” because marginal costs ultimately determine gas prices, according to Morningstar.

Tomball, TX-based independent JBL Energy Partners and its partners completed the sale of an interest in 17,000 acres in Leon County, TX, within the Woodbine oil play to Halcon Resources. The sale included all oil, gas and mineral rights owned by JBL and its partners within the acreage position.