Tank

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has fined Talisman Energy USA Inc. $51,478 for a well control incident that prompted the company to shut down all North American hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) operations in early 2011.

A Pennsylvania think tank believes a recent study inflates the economic importance of the Marcellus Shale.

Texas state Rep. Tank Parker (R-Flower Mound) has introduced companion bills that would make urban areas with significant oil and gas drilling a priority for inspections by the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) and double the potential monetary penalty for violations.

Natural gas futures had enough in the tank Tuesday to shrug off some unfavorable economic news and close higher on the day. Prior to the open of floor trading the government released inflation figures and housing data showing declines much greater than the market expected. Natural gas futures, nonetheless, opened higher and were able to post modest gains on the day. January futures rose 10.6 cents to $5.751 and February added 10.6 cents as well to $5.781. January crude oil lost 91 cents to $43.60.

An economic think tank predicts a rosy future for Canadian natural gas, but in the industry all bets are off on when a turn for the better might come.

An economic think tank predicts a rosy future for Canadian natural gas, but in the industry all bets are off on when a turn for the better might come.

If you are a futures bear, it goes without saying that you have had quite a run over the past eight months. After all, the market has repeatedly given you price-negative technical and fundamental news on which to trade. And even when the market was hit with a bullish influence such as a tropical storm or a round of short-covering, the rally has been short-lived. In possibly the crowning example of this bearishness, the American Gas Association announced yesterday not only that a whopping 86 Bcf had been injected into storage last week, but also that they were forced to revise — as many market participants had expected — the refill from the week prior from 3 Bcf to 50 Bcf.

Under the shield of anonymity, an economist for a national think tank and a leader in the California legislature spoke candidly last Friday to the spring general meeting of the Western Power Trading Forum in Ojai, CA, concluding for different reasons that political and economic issues have so far stymied the creation of a broadly supported short-term fix to the state’s electricity woes.

NACE International has opened a Pipeline and Tank Training Field in Houston, which will be used to train students in corrosion control, simulating conditions surrounding storage tanks and buried pipe. The field site will serve as a tool to certify personnel worldwide, and it is equipped to illustrate several techniques and survey methods to test and monitor the performance of pipe systems. NACE is a professional technical society that provides education and communicates information on the effects of corrosion. To learn more about the training program, call Ray Poltorak or Trevor Eade at (281) 228-6200.