Reach

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering adding two Texas counties — Wise and Hood — overlying the Barnett Shale in North Texas to the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) nonattainment area, which has failed to meet federal standards for ozone. Gas drilling activities in the region are thought by EPA to be contributing to the ground-level ozone, or smog, problem.

If Europe develops its shale gas resources, it will likely take its sweet time about it, according to a new report from Ernst and Young Global Ltd.

Scottish upstream operator Weir Group plc is extending its reach into North America’s unconventional natural gas and oil fields with a deal to acquire Houston-based Seaboard Holdings Inc. for $675 million.

British Columbia will eclipse Alberta as Canada’s top gas producing province by tapping prolific shale deposits, the National Energy Board said.

Land that Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has long controlled in northern Colorado in the Wattenberg Field holds a huge liquids-rich resource potential of 500 million to 1.5 billion boe net, executives disclosed this week. Separately, Noble Energy Inc., which controls 400,000 net acres in the play, said Tuesday it has identified 1.3 billion boe of net risked resources with the potential for even more.

Marcellus Shale drilling rebounded in October, according to recently released figures.

September futures limped to a weak expiration Monday as traders factored in natural gas’ strong seasonality and tendency to reach a low at this time of the year. At the close September had fallen 7.4 cents to $3.857 and October skidded 8.2 cents to $3.830. October crude oil added $1.90 to $87.27/bbl.

With such locations as Little Rock, AR, and Shreveport, LA, destined to reach the low to mid 100s during the weekend and most other portions of the South hitting the mid 90s or so, cash prices managed to eke out small increases again Friday. That broke a down-up-down-up pattern established in the cash market earlier in the week.

So far its effort to reach outside the regulated utility structure with a new natural gas storage field in Northern California is not paying off for Portland, OR-based NW Natural, but CEO Gregg Kantor expressed confidence that things will turn around during a conference call Wednesday announcing second quarter earnings that were down quarter over quarter.