Territory

When U.S. natural gas prices finally moved into $4.00/MMBtu territory earlier this year, there wasn’t any rush to ramp up onshore activity, but as each month passes, it’s becoming clear that a “large wave” of domestic demand is about to unfold, according to Barclays Capital.

A judge in New York State has ruled that an ordinance and a zoning requirement enacted last year by the town of Dryden, NY, essentially banning all Marcellus Shale oil and gas activities in the municipality, are not preempted by state law and can remain in effect.

July futures recovered from an opening loss but still couldn’t manage to make it into positive territory Wednesday. Bulls and bears seem almost evenly divided, but short-term traders did note a return of commercial buying interest. At the close July had eased 0.4 cent to $4.577 and August fell 0.2 cent to $4.611. July crude oil tumbled $4.56 to $94.81/bbl.

With low temperatures around freezing or less due Tuesday across a broad swath of territory stretching from the Northeast through parts of the Midwest, Midcontinent and Upper Plains into the Rockies and including much of Canada, prices recorded gains that were mostly in single digits at a large majority of points Monday.

With some help from a 13.3-cent gain Friday in the prompt-month debut by April futures and colder forecasts for most territory east of the Mississippi River, prices firmed at nearly all points Monday. The restoration of industrial load following its usual weekend decline also contributed to the overall advance.

Supporters and opponents of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) have taken turns voicing their opinions in an Ohio newspaper in Marcellus territory this month, just days after a nonprofit organization declared the state’s program regulating the practice to be well managed.

Supporters and opponents of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) have taken turns voicing their opinions in an Ohio newspaper in Marcellus territory this month, just days after a nonprofit organization declared the state’s program regulating the practice to be well managed.

By the middle of this year most of the Eagle Ford Shale region in South Texas will be blanketed with high-speed terrestrial wireless broadband provided by ERF Wireless unit Energy Broadband Inc., the company said.

New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is seeking regulatory approval for energy efficiency programs that it says will cost the average customer $8.14/year over 15 years and stimulate the adoption of energy-efficient technologies, such as combined heat and power, as well as the conversion from electric to natural gas heat.