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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.

There are indicators that natural gas prices may have bottomed out in North Dakota and there could be the start of a long, slow trend for price increases starting next year, the state’s top oil/gas official said in reporting the state’s latest increased production statistics.

The year-end lull that comes with the onset of winter is likely to give way next year in North Dakota to a million-barrel-a-day oil and natural gas industry that will see a number of positive changes, including decreases in production costs and amounts of flared associated gas, along with continuing technology advances in drilling operations, the state’s chief oil/gas official said Friday.

The Senate Tuesday easily side-stepped a filibuster, voting 67-33 to end debate on a two-year bipartisan budget deal, which could be voted out as early as Wednesday. Included in the sequester-averting deal is approval of a treaty that would pave the way for oil and natural gas development along the U.S.-Mexico boundary in the Gulf of Mexico.

A pair of activist shareholders has taken a significant stake in Williams Cos. Inc., driving up the company’s share price, as the partners pursue a plan to improve the midstream company’s performance and potentially put it in play in the current environment of ongoing midstream consolidation.

The Louisiana Oil & Gas Association (LOGA) is suing the state’s attorney general over a contingency fee contract that the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East (SLFPA-E) made with a law firm in support of an action against energy companies that alleges they are responsible for repairing wetlands damage.

Physical gas prices for Wednesday delivery fell across the country in Tuesday’s trading as many regions were seeing the mercury creep higher. The stoutest declines were seen in the Northeast.

R. Skip Horvath, president and CEO of the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) plans to retire from the organization in the first half of 2014. “I’ve enjoyed 15 wonderful, rewarding years at NGSA,” Horvath said. “My original goals were to focus the association’s mission and put it back on solid financial footing. I’m proud to have accomplished those goals, but my proudest achievement at NGSA will always be the exceptional staff that I handpicked,” he said. Horvath has been president and CEO of NGSA since 1999. NGSA Chairman Greg Vesey said, “We’re tremendously grateful to Skip for his vision and leadership throughout a time of historic changes in the natural gas industry.” Horvath’s work in the natural gas industry has spanned the terms of 13 of the 15 chairmen that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has had in its history. Prior to joining NGSA, he served as COO and executive vice president at the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. He also helped establish and lead the Natural Gas Council, a forum for leaders in the natural gas industry to discuss common concerns. He also founded the Distributed Power Coalition of America and served as one of four individuals tasked with setting up the Gas Industry Standards Board (now known as NAESB, the North American Energy Standards Board) and the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas.