Stakeholders

Maryland’s portion of the Marcellus Shale may be limited to only the two westernmost counties, but its development would benefit the entire state, Drew Cobbs, executive director of the Maryland Petroleum Council, told an audience in Hagerstown, MD, on Wednesday.

Flaws in a study of potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on drinking water supplies being conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must be addressed in order for the agency’s final report to be credible, according to a review of the study released Tuesday by the Battelle Memorial Institute.

Pennsylvania regulators and industry stakeholders are pushing ahead with plans to greatly increase the use of natural gas for transportation across the state, but it will take some time before any visible signs of progress emerge, a Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) spokesman told NGI Tuesday.

State officials and industry stakeholders from the nation’s No. 2 and No. 3 oil producing states, North Dakota and Alaska, are stirring the pot of competition, speculating that Bakken supplies may soon be edging out Alaskan crude from West Coast refineries, particularly Tesoro Corp.’s facility at Anacortes, WA.

In confirming that Wall Street is embracing natural gas in the transportation fueling sector, an investment banker and major energy and automotive stakeholders agreed that for the most part natural gas vehicles (NGV) aren’t a “science project” anymore, the bulk of their research and development work has been completed, the experts said as part of a wide-ranging panel discussion Thursday at the ACT Expo 2012 conference in Long Beach, CA.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) on Tuesday downgraded the corporate credit rating of Chesapeake Energy Corp. to “BB-” from “BB” and said the outlook was “negative.” The ratings on related entities Chesapeake Midstream Partners LP and Chesapeake Oilfield Operating LLC also were cut because the units are so closely tied to the parent, S&P noted.

The Maryland House of Delegates passed a 7.5% state severance tax on natural gas production on Monday, which if adopted would become the highest severance tax rate for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale.

Seeking to coordinate more closely with other state stakeholders, Wyoming’s Office of State Lands and Investments decided to delay action on the state’s draft policy on natural gas flaring until January. That would put off action until the State Board of Lands Commissioners, which includes Gov. Matt Mead, meets next year.

Following lengthy public hearings and the arrival of thousands of written comments by experts and stakeholders, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said Wednesday it needs another month to complete an environmental review and proposed regulations for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state.