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Because it has not yet seen a decrease in the carbon dioxide (CO2) content at its Beatrice, NE, interconnect with Trailblazer Pipeline (see Daily GPI, March 31), Northern Natural Gas said it plans to go ahead and reduce the interconnect’s operationally available capacity starting Thursday to 300,000 Dth/d. Northern said it intends to get the volume of high-CO2 gas being delivered by Trailblazer low enough to meet its CO2 tariff maximum to 2.0% or less in the market area. Northern also plans to post a System Underrun Limitation for its market area Thursday. See the bulletin board for other details.

Oilfield services giant Schlumberger Ltd. apparently is close to completing a transaction to buy Houston-based Smith International Inc., which is one of the largest drillbit producers in the world.

Oilfield services giant Schlumberger Ltd. apparently is close to completing a transaction to buy Houston-based Smith International Inc., which is one of the largest drillbit producers in the world.

North American onshore drilling contractor Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (PTEN) has seen an uptick “in all segments” but steep declines in hydraulic fracturing and cementing services in North American operations, coupled with reduced pricing for services, sent BJ Services Co. earnings into a spiral in fiscal 1Q2010.

North American onshore drilling contractor Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (PTEN) has seen an uptick “in all segments” but it’s particularly strong in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Bakken shale plays, the company’s management team said Thursday.

North American onshore drilling contractor Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (PTEN) has seen an uptick “in all segments” but it’s particularly strong in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Bakken shale plays, the company’s management team said Thursday.

The recession has been impacting gas demand among residential and commercial consumers to a degree not seen in previous downturns, according to analysts at Barclays Capital. What type of recovery can be expected depends upon whether decline stems from structural changes or a temporary consumer pullback “that may wash out in the year ahead,” they said.

The recession has been impacting gas demand among residential and commercial consumers to a degree not seen in previous downturns, according to analysts at Barclays Capital. What type of recovery can be expected depends upon whether decline stems from structural changes or a temporary consumer pullback “that may wash out in the year ahead,” they said.

First quarter domestic oil and natural gas drilling activity dropped to levels not seen since 2004, marking the end of six consecutive years of first quarter growth, the American Petroleum Institute (API) said in a report released last Wednesday.