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Over the objections of Republican leaders, the Senate Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a two-year bipartisan budget deal that includes a treaty that would remove the ban on oil and natural gas development along the U.S.-Mexico boundary in the Gulf of Mexico.

Prices of natural gas for delivery Thursday inched higher across much of the country except for in the East, where prices dropped from a dime to $1 at most spots, and up to $10 at some often constrained points serving the New England market.

January natural gas is expected to open 2 cents higher Wednesday morning at $4.31 as trader expectations of Thursday’s high inventory withdrawal offset near-term warming. Overnight oil markets rose.

In an effort to reduce operating costs and emissions from oilsands mining in northern Alberta, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc has signed an agreement with Caterpillar Inc. to test a new engine and fuel mix using liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Steel manufacturer Nucor Corp. and its drilling partner, Encana Corp., have agreed to temporarily suspend drilling new natural gas wells, citing weak gas prices.

The Interior Department over the past couple of years has taken action, particularly in the offshore, to ensure that taxpayers receive a fair return on oil and natural gas produced on federal lands, but it has not taken similar steps onshore, according to a new report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The U.S. shale revolution and the abundance of cheap natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL) and oil it provides are drawing industries back to the country. That is expected to continue, but there are risks to the growth story, analysts at Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) said in a recent note. Commodity prices and the potential for further regulation are the main things to watch.

Comstock Resources Inc. plans to spend $450 million on drilling and completions next year in its core South Texas Eagle Ford play, as well as it’s emerging East Texas Eagle Ford and in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS). All drill bits will be pointed at oil with no gas wells planned, the company said.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has seized upon recent comments by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to urge the Obama administration to not allow export of U.S. crude oil.