Triple

Virtually all points fell Thursday as they succumbed to a triple whammy of bearish threats: further increases in storage inventories, futures weakness and mild weather for mid-winter that refuses to go away and allow normal cold conditions to take hold.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Thursday said it plans to develop national pretreatment standards for wastewater from shale natural gas extraction operations with a proposed rule expected to be issued in 2014. The news was met by industry groups asking the government agency to leave regulation in the hands of the individual states.

The Utica Shale could double or triple liquids production in the Appalachian Basin, increasing the infrastructure challenges in the region, a midstream player told an audience in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

U.S. shale liquids production could triple during the next few years, nearing 1.5 million b/d, according to an “Energy Insight” report from a Massachusetts-based energy consulting firm, Energy Security Analysis Inc. (ESAI). The eventual impact on U.S. imports and exports of energy could be significant, but there are still uncertainties and challenges.

Global demand for energy could triple by 2050 compared with 2000 levels, and production of easily accessible oil and natural gas will not match the projected rate of demand growth worldwide by the end of this decade, according to a report from Royal Dutch Shell. And environmental concerns could make gas even more popular.

Global demand for energy could triple by 2050 compared with 2000 levels, and production of easily accessible oil and natural gas will not match the projected rate of demand growth worldwide by the end of this decade, according to a report from Royal Dutch Shell. And environmental concerns could make gas even more popular.

Lows slipping into the low to mid teens Tuesday and often accompanied by snow generated higher numbers, including some triple-digit spikes in the Northeast and a few other locations Monday. However, reflecting some weather moderation and easing of supply tightness since late last week, most of the market recorded losses.

Triple-digit plunges in the Northeast and at some locations in the Midcontinent and West led a price downturn across the board Friday. Moderating temperatures in the short-term forecast for several areas, along with some easing of supply shortfalls in the Southwest and the usual weekend decline of industrial load, contributed to arresting the market’s general blizzard-based strength of the preceding four days.

Appalachian production for the exploration and production (E&P) arm of National Fuel Gas Co. escalated in the last quarter of 2010 at a triple-digit pace year/year, jumping 184% to 8.1 Bcfe, with most of the gains — 5.9 Bcfe — from the Marcellus Shale, executives said Friday.