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The city council in Youngstown, OH, voted 5-2 Wednesday in favor of an ordinance that could open city-owned land to oil and natural gas drilling.

With rig counts, prices and liquids all moving up, the incidence of natural gas flaring in the Bakken Shale play is expected to continue to decline throughout this year, the head of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, Ron Ness, told NGI’s Shale Daily Wednesday, responding to questions about a report on the state’s record-setting oil/gas operations from the state Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).

Natural gas from the Marcellus Shale could be the answer to Pennsylvania’s energy problems, “should we choose to embrace it,” according to former Gov. Ed Rendell.

Friday’s trading found cash prices overall flat with Thursday, but points throughout the Rockies and as far south as the Permian Basin rebounded from an outage reported east of Bakersfield, CA. Midcontinent points rose, but Gulf Coast locations weakened. At the close of futures trading June had fallen 6.1 cents to $2.279 and July had slipped 5.9 cents to $2.371. June crude tumbled $4.05 to $98.49 following a weak employment report and hints of hedge fund liquidation.

Cash prices on Friday rose throughout the country except for in the Northeast following Thursday’s strength in futures, but the March contract eased as the market couldn’t shake the stranglehold of moderate weather and plump storage.

Cash markets out West and at most points throughout the country posted healthy gains as an early announcement by Chesapeake Energy that they would shut in wells and cut back drilling (see related story) boosted quotes across the board with the exception of a few New England and Eastern Seaboard points. Futures responded in kind on heavy trading volume, yet traders were circumspect about whether the market was ready to completely put the brakes on its pervasive downtrend.

After a pause to settle landowner disputes along the right-of-way, action is resuming on a pipeline project that will turn the tables on Canadian natural gas exporters by importing U.S. production into Ontario and Quebec.

Battered by seasonal early-fall weather throughout nearly all of the market, further loss of storage injection capability and the weekend decline of industrial load, the cash market fell at all locations but one Friday.

Eyes have been opened and ears perked throughout the West, if not most states, since the fatal San Bruno pipeline rupture a year ago and the serious flaws exposed in Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) natural gas operations. California stakeholders and regulators in other states have taken action or are contemplating new measures aimed at ensuring gas pipeline safety in their states.