Rest

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. is planning to build production through the rest of this year from its substantial asset base in the Appalachian Basin after being knocked back early this year from a lack of pipeline capacity for natural gas liquids (NGL), CEO Gary Evans said Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) apparently has come to the conclusion that U.S. shale gas is too good a thing to not share with the rest of the world in larger quantities.

After five consecutive quarters of falling U.S. rig counts, onshore activity will improve through the rest of the year, according to a forecast by Baker Hughes Inc. There were 1,748 U.S. rigs in operation at the end of the first quarter, CFO Peter Ragauss said. “We anticipate that the rig count will rise to an average of 1,800 rigs for the second quarter. This would be the first increase in U.S. rig count following sequential declines over five consecutive quarters. And the rig count is expected to rise over the second half of the year.” Overall, “the increase from the first quarter is expected to be about 100 rigs, to a 4Q2013 average rate of approximately 1,850 rigs.” The average annual rig count this year “is projected to be 1,810 rigs, composed of approximately 1,400 oil rigs and 410 gas rigs.” The U.S. offshore rig count is forecast to be 8% higher, averaging 52 rigs with four more deepwater rigs than in 2012. The Canadian rig count in 2Q2013 is projected to decline sequentially by 70% to 160 average rigs because of the spring break-up.

After five consecutive quarters of falling rig counts, U.S. onshore rig activity will improve through the rest of the year, according to a forecast issued on Friday by Baker Hughes Inc.

Low natural gas prices have hit Pennsylvania, where deep-shale drilling fees collected last year fell about 3% from 2011, according to state data.

The pace of drilling in Pennsylvania has declined by 35% in the first month and a half of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, but counties rich in liquids and oil are faring better.

Over the last two years nearly 70% of the new power generation plants proposed for the 13-state PJM Interconnection electric grid, which centers on the Marcellus and Utica Shales, would be fired by natural gas.

February is likely to be colder than normal in the Northeast and much of the rest of the country, but warmer-than-normal temperatures are expected to dominate in March and April, according to forecasters at Andover, MA-based Weather Services International (WSI).

Cash price moves in the Northeast and East Thursday once again separated from the rest of the market, with the overall average market gain a stout 33 cents, but the remainder of market points showed a rise of just over a nickel. Many eastern points posted multi-dollar gains, recording yet more price records (see Daily GPI, Jan. 24), but higher prices were posted at nearly all locations, with just a handful of points losing a few pennies or less.