Prospects

Honeywell’s UOP business is buying a 70% stake in Thomas Russell Co., a privately held provider of technology and equipment for natural gas processing and treating. UOP provides process technology, materials and equipment to petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries. It will now be able to offer a range of technologies and products that allow shale and conventional natural gas producers to remove contaminants from natural gas and recover high-value natural gas liquids (NGL). Founded in 2002, Tulsa, OK-based Thomas Russell specializes in the design, engineering, fabrication and start-up of skid-mounted modular packaged plants systems for the recovery and upgrading of NGLs. UOP is paying $525 million in cash for the interest and has a right to acquire the remaining 30% stake. Closing, subject to conditions, is expected during the fourth quarter.

Prospects of prolonged natural gas gluts have prompted a recommendation for Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) to start preparing for hearings on costs of shutting down an industry cornerstone: TransCanada Corp.’s Mainline from Alberta to Ontario, Quebec and border crossings into the U.S. Midwest and Northeast.

Prospects of prolonged natural gas gluts have prompted a recommendation for Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) to start preparing for hearings on costs of shutting down an industry cornerstone: TransCanada Corp.’s Mainline from Alberta to Ontario, Quebec and border crossings into the U.S. Midwest and Northeast.

Fitch Ratings on Wednesday cut its U.S. natural gas price deck for 2012, with the base case Henry Hub (HH) price at $2.75/Mcf, on weak pricing and the prospects of an ongoing oversupply in the domestic markets.

Germany’s shale plays could hold trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, according to figures released last week by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), a government geosciences authority.

Naggingly low natural gas prices apparently haven’t dimmed prospects in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana, where the booming play is driving a surge in hiring, housing starts, infrastructure projects and more.

Naggingly low natural gas prices apparently haven’t dimmed prospects in the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana, where the booming play is driving a surge in hiring, housing starts, infrastructure projects and more.

Prospects for offshore drillers look promising over the next few years, especially for ultra-deepwater (UDW) rigs, which are “essentially sold out” until 2014, according to Raymond James & Associates Inc.

The prospects for expanding natural gas exploration and production (E&P) on federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in eastern Utah were given a boost by the federal agency on Friday, although the action drew strong opposition from environmental groups concerned about the impact on a rugged wilderness area.