Soon

Analysts believe operators in the Utica Shale will soon be able to bring many of their wells into production, thanks to progress in building new gathering lines, but they also caution that investors may have set their expectations too high for areas outside of the play’s core.

Former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling, 59, reached agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that could allow him to be free as soon as 2017, according to a court filing. Skilling agreed to waive his rights to any further appeals and would allow more than $40 million of forfeited assets to be distributed to victims of Enron’s colossal collapse in 2001. Skilling was convicted in 2006 by a Houston jury on 19 criminal counts and originally was sentenced to federal prison for 24 years and four months (see NGI, May 29, 2006). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans twice said the sentence had been miscalculated (see NGI, April 11, 2011). “Although the recommended sentence for Jeff would still be more than double any other Enron defendant, all of whom have long been out of prison, Jeff will at least have the chance to get back a meaningful part of his life,” said Skilling attorney Daniel M. Petrocelli.

In the coming days, Sunoco Logistics Partners LP plans to launch an open season for its planned Eaglebine Express crude pipeline project to convert a portion of the MagTex refined products pipeline to crude service and reverse the flow to carry crude from Hearne, TX, to the company’s terminal in Nederland, TX.

Apache Corp., which now claims to be the second biggest North American onshore operator, reported a 45% increase in total liquids output year/year in the United States and Canada, driven by a revamped drilling program in the legacy Permian and Anadarko basins.

Former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling, 59, has reached agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that could allow him to be free as soon as 2017, according to a court filing. Under the agreement, Skilling is waiving his rights to any further appeals and would allow more than $40 million of his forfeited assets to be distributed to victims of Enron’s colossal collapse in 2001. Skilling was convicted in 2006 by a Houston jury on 19 criminal counts and originally was sentenced to federal prison for 24 years and four months (see NGI, May 29, 2006). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans twice said the sentence had been miscalculated by the district court (see NGI, April 11, 2011). “The proposed agreement brings certainty and finality to a long painful process,” said Skilling lawyer Daniel M. Petrocelli. “Although the recommended sentence for Jeff would still be more than double any other Enron defendant, all of whom have long been out of prison, Jeff will at least have the chance to get back a meaningful part of his life.”

Production from North American shale plays will continue to keep natural gas prices from increasing significantly any time soon, Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser told financial analysts in London Thursday.

Production from North American shale plays will continue to keep natural gas prices from increasing significantly any time soon, Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser told financial analysts in London Thursday.

The price of domestic natural gas isn’t going to increase significantly any time soon, said Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser, but that didn’t stop the company from having its best fourth quarter since 2006.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is planning to visit Japan “soon” to discuss with officials there natural gas exports and the state of Japan’s nuclear market. Her spokesman Robert Dillon would not say when she was planning to go to Japan, citing “security reasons.” He noted, however, that the senator would have a “pen and pad” session with reporters on Jan. 23 to discuss it further. As the top Republican on the committee, Murkowski has seized every opportunity to promote exports of Alaska’s 35 Tcf of gas to Asian markets. Murkowski raised the issue earlier in May 2012 with Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and, separately, with members of Japan’s Parliament. Japan is seeking an energy resource to replace the nuclear power generation the country shut down after 2011’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake, tsunami and emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Japan is the world’s largest importer of natural gas, followed by South Korea. The U.S. has previously supplied liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Japan for 40 years from ConocoPhillips’ Kenai plant in Alaska. ConocoPhillips, Exxon, BP plc and TransCanada are considering a massive project to bring gas from Alaska’s North Slope to its southern coast for transport via Asian markets, with a particular emphasis on Japan.