Taking

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is slowing the permitting process for oil and gas projects that disturb significant amounts of land.

A Pennsylvania lawmaker is taking aim at one of the most contentious issues in the Marcellus Shale: gas migration.

A Pennsylvania lawmaker is taking aim at one of the most contentious issues in the Marcellus Shale: gas migration.

It wasn’t surprising to see a majority of points softening again Friday as weather continued to be milder than in most winters and the weekend was taking a bite out of industrial demand. What may have been a bit surprising to some was that quite a few locations were flat or managed to rack up small gains to keep mixed price movement in play.

Enterprise Products Partners LP said Tuesday an open season has shown that enough shippers are interested in taking capacity on its proposed Appalachia to Texas (Atex Express) ethane pipeline to support the 1,230-mile project. The pipeline would deliver ethane from the Marcellus/Utica Shale areas of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

January natural gas managed a small gain Wednesday as traders saw an ongoing tussle between algorithmic traders taking profits on short positions matched up against a cadre of willing sellers. At the close January natural gas had risen 2.7 cents to $3.155 and February had gained 2.8 cents to $3.198. February crude oil gained $1.43 to $98.67/bbl.

IHS CERA chairman Daniel Yergin, whose expertise about all things energy has made him a go-to authority, said last week the world’s energy supply and demand picture is less clear today than it was a year ago.

Encana Corp., one of the biggest natural gas producers in North America, is taking a walk on the oily side in 2012, redirecting a substantial portion of its 2012 budget to more profitable liquids-rich plays, CEO Randy Eresman said on Thursday.

Encana Corp. is continuing its plan to go deep for — and long on — natural gas liquids (NGL), taking the third step in a plan to triple NGL production from Alberta Deep Basin gas production over the next few years.