Toward

The trend toward increased drilling for crude oil, which was first noticed a year ago, has continued throughout the second quarter, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported Friday.

As the Colorado legislature moves toward adjournment in mid-May a bill affecting the handling of water disputes between drilling companies and ranchers, and another reforming the two-year old Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), were moving through committees.

If natural gas and nuclear power are included as part of the clean energy sector, the United States could already be more than half of the way toward meeting a national clean energy standard (CEC) as outlined by President Obama in his State of the Union address earlier this year, according to a white paper on the CES concept released Monday by the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett continues to roll back natural gas development regulations put in place by its predecessor.

Responding to the requests of customers as oil and natural gas development continues to increase in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas, Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) said Friday it has entered into multiple long-term agreements with shippers to provide additional transportation services, which will require new infrastructure including the construction of the Rich Eagle Ford Mainline (REM).

Newfield Exploration Co. said it will spend about $1.7 billion this year on exploration and production activity, with two-thirds directed to oil plays and the rest focused on liquids-rich natural gas. The amount is equivalent to the company’s estimate of 2011 cash flow from operations.

The strength of U.S. shale plays was a key driver for increased merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in 2010, and will continue to fuel the industry’s movement toward upstream assets, according to a report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers USA (PwC).

The Canadian government Monday threw its financial support — about C$18.1 million — behind a new pipeline development in Quebec with an eye toward economic development in the region.

With the cold weather that had buoyed cash prices for most of the week due to get more severe, particularly in the East, toward the end of the weekend, the market was showing more weakness Friday than it had since last Tuesday, but flat to rising points still outnumbered falling ones by about two-to-one.