Seeking

With both tight gas sands and oil shale development emerging in the state, a California legislator has introduced a bill (AB 591) seeking to require public disclosure of any chemicals used in oil/gas hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

On the heels of a legislative session that failed to pass any Marcellus Shale development measures, two Maryland lawmakers are seeking an independent review of their state’s regulatory framework.

May natural gas futures gained ground in active trading Wednesday as traders covered short positions in seeking to minimize exposure over the upcoming three-day weekend and not get caught on the wrong side of what could be a developing market trend. At the end of the day May had risen 4.8 cents to $4.310 and June gained 4.7 cents to $4.357. May crude oil vaulted higher $3.17 to $111.45/bbl.

Alta Energy Partners, a newly formed joint venture of privately held Alta Resources LLC and an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, launched plans Tuesday to invest up to $1 billion in unconventional natural gas and oil properties in North America.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) is seeking information and nominations regarding proposed oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Western and Central Planning Areas for the 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Natural Gas Leasing Program.

Seeking a public forum and a conduit for eventual changes to the state’s regulation of natural gas pipelines, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Tuesday released a proposal to conduct a broad-based investigation of the fatal Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) transmission pipeline rupture in San Bruno, CA, last September. The proceeding is expected to kick off by mid-year.

Thirty Texas lawmakers recently wrote to Gov. Rick Perry seeking an emergency proclamation for additional air monitors in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to track emissions from Barnett Shale natural gas activity.

The Teucrium Natural Gas Fund (NAGS Fund) began trading as an exchange-traded fund on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Arca Tuesday, seeking to avoid the pitfalls that have dogged an existing natural gas commodity fund by basing daily changes in its net asset value (NAV) on a weighted average of the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) Henry Hub quotes for the four shoulder months instead of just the front month.

Two conservation groups are suing the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) for allowing natural gas development in the watershed prior to a moratorium instituted last year. The plaintiffs have asked the court to have the drilled wells removed, “and the sites cleaned up and restored to natural conditions.”