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With the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) this legislative session it could be a case of “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” While a recent review of the agency recommended sweeping changes, state lawmakers now appear headed for a compromise that could change the RRC’s name and make other less drastic adjustments.

Tennessee lifted Friday an Imbalance Warning for Zones 5 and 6, but asked customers to stay in balance.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez Thursday declared a state of emergency due to natural gas service outages across the state, ordering all nonessential personnel to stay home. Temperatures in Albuquerque Thursday night were forecast to go as low as 9 degrees.

Enterprise Products Partners LP is targeting the Eagle Ford Shale for infrastructure development in a big way, last week announcing multiple projects that include hundreds of miles of pipe and additional processing and fractionation capacity. The partnership plans to extend and expand its gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) capabilities in South Texas and Mont Belvieu, TX, its traditional backyard.

While NGL economics have been particularly good of late, they won’t necessarily stay that way. Prices could come under pressure as supply grows and demand softens, noted analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Securities Inc. (TPH) last week.

Xcel Energy said natural gas use by Colorado customers will likely be higher in September, but prices for the fuel will stay relatively flat. Xcel predicted that average customer bills next month will be lower than they were in September 2008.

More Canadian natural gas will stay available for export longer than previously expected as expansion by the nation’s formerly fastest-growing industrial consumer, Alberta’s oilsands, slows.

Denver-based Gasco Energy Inc., a junior independent that has struggled to stay afloat, Thursday said it will release its only rig later this month and pay an early termination fee to the rig contractor. It also halved its capital expenditure (capex) plan for 2009.

More Canadian natural gas will stay available for export longer than previously expected as expansion by the nation’s formerly fastest-growing industrial consumer, Alberta’s oilsands, slows.