Tougher

The meltdown of securities firm giant MF Global Holdings Ltd. is a “fresh slap-in-the-face reminder” of why the country needs tougher financial regulations, a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Tuesday.

New Brunswick officials have unveiled tougher natural gas regulations in the emerging Frederick Brook Shale, but said they would not implement a ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

New Brunswick officials said Thursday that while the province was enacting tougher natural gas regulations in the emerging Frederick Brook Shale, it would not implement a ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Noting that his company is well positioned long term for mid-range natural gas prices and tougher environmental restrictions, Calpine Corp. CEO Jack Fusco reiterated Friday that the nation’s largest independent power producer continues to treat gas as its strategic ally. Calpine’s mostly new, natural gas-fired power plant fleet has the ability to benefit from both price and demand increases when they occur in the electricity sector, Fusco said in reporting decreased earnings last year.

Texas regulators have adopted tougher restrictions on natural gas development-related air emissions in the Barnett Shale of North Texas. Eventually the new rules — which the industry laments as costly — will apply statewide.

Texas regulators have adopted tougher restrictions on natural gas development-related air emissions in the Barnett Shale of North Texas. Eventually the new rules — which the industry laments as costly — will apply statewide.

Between the recent pipeline accidents near Marshall, MI, and in San Bruno, CA, and the fact that the current natural gas pipeline network was set up decades ago to serve the eastern mega-market that now is developing its own supply, the natural gas transmission sector faces a number of challenges going forward.

In a decision that effectively clears the way for the implementation of tougher wastewater regulations for natural gas drilling operations in Pennsylvania’s prolific Marcellus Shale area, the state’s Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee has indicated that it does not intend to take any formal action on the regulations, according to committee chairperson Mary Jo White (R-21st).

The fundamentals of the natural gas industry worldwide have changed, with reduced demand and an oversupply creating a “strategic change” for suppliers and a “tougher” long-term pricing outlook, Wood Mackenzie researchers said in a report.