Second

A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to fine an energy company for a 2010 fire could be the first time federal and state regulators have levied fines for the same incident in the Marcellus Shale.

President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney wasted little time in clashing over energy issues in the second presidential debate Tuesday, with the Obama administration’s record on oil and natural gas permitting on public lands triggering the most fireworks.

Murphy Oil Corp.’s plans to spin off its downstream operations will allow it to focus more time and money on exploration and production (E&P) opportunities, including a big leasehold in the Eagle Ford Shale, executives said Tuesday.

Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has launched production at the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Chinook field, connecting its second well to the first floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel platform in U.S. waters.

With energy demand high and producers climbing over each other in the Marcellus Shale region, the Northeast remains “ripe with bottlenecks,” and it’s likely to get more congested before natural gas infrastructure is completed, Williams CEO Alan Armstrong said Wednesday.

The Democrats’ national energy platform is heavy on clean energy, but it leaves the door open for the safe and responsible development of the nation’s “cheap, abundant natural gas” reserves.

Much of the physical natural gas market recorded small upticks for a second straight day despite the facts that summer heat is waning and the levels of natural gas in storage are more than comfortable. While most regions did report gains, pockets of declines were prevalent on Tuesday for Wednesday delivery in the Northeast and the Rockies, while a number of points were flat. September futures put in a quiet day Tuesday with a $2.775 close, one-tenth of a penny lower than Monday’s finish.

Physical natural gas prices spiraled lower Friday for Weekend and Monday delivery as the calendar officially ticked over into the second part of August, meaning summer heat is officially on its goodbye tour. Quite a few points dropped by at least dime, led by the Northeast, which saw averages sink from a dime to nearly 70 cents.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has shut in an average 20 MMcf/d so far this year and now has 40 MMcf/d shuttered because of low natural gas prices, the Calgary producer said Thursday.