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The prospective liquefied natural gas (LNG) export business is alive and well, but it is not for the under-capitalized or inexperienced, according to three knowledgeable observers with perspectives from both coasts and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) who NGI contacted earlier this month.

The United States likely will add 11 Bcf/d of natural gas to its reserves this year at total finding, development and completion costs under $3.00/Mcf, while a review of 45,000 unconventional oil wells is finding “tremendous” growth in oil reserves, preliminary IHS Inc. data indicate.

Domestic proved oil and natural gas reserves achieved record annual volumetric increases in 2010, thanks in large part to advances in drilling technology, according to a report released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) Wednesday.

Pioneer Drilling Co. has changed its name to Pioneer Energy Services Corp. The company’s common stock will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange but will trade under the new ticker PES. Pioneer’s website is now www.pioneeres.com. “Over the last five years, we have transformed Pioneer from a pure-play domestic land contract driller to a diversified energy services provider with operations across the United States and in Colombia,” said CEO Wm. Stacy Locke. “Today, approximately 50% of our revenues and operating margin are derived from our production services segment. We operate 102 well servicing rigs, 117 wireline units, 11 coiled tubing units and an array of fishing and rental tools in addition to our 66 drilling rigs. Our core services are heavily concentrated in the Bakken, Eagle Ford, Permian and along the Gulf Coast, both onshore and offshore. This new name reflects who Pioneer is today.”

While oil production in North Dakota could more than quadruple by 2025 to more than 2 million b/d, natural gas could do even better, gaining by nearly six times over current production to 3.1 Bcf/d, according to an analysis commissioned by the state’s Pipeline Authority and performed by Bentek Energy LLC.

Chesapeake Midstream Partners LP has become Access Midstream Partners LP and is trading under the ticker ACMP on the New York Stock Exchange. A new website, www.accessmidstream.com, also was launched. In June Global Infrastructure Partners acquired the midstream partnership from Chesapeake Energy Corp. (see Daily GPI, July 3). New board members CEO J. Mike Stice, COO Robert S. Purgason and GIP principal William J. Brilliant join David A. Daberko, Domenic J. Dell’Osso Jr., Philip L. Frederickson, Matthew C. Harris, Suedeen G. Kelly and William A. Woodburn.

Under a state law (AB 118) providing up to $100 million annually, the California Energy Commission (CEC) opened its pocketbook again, doling out another $1.7 million for 15 different energy projects, including a number of natural gas vehicle (NGV) programs. More than $500,000 of the grants went to what the CEC called “green transportation” advancements.

Williams Partners LP (WPZ) agreed late Tuesday to expand its business venture in the Utica Shale with Caiman Energy II by funding almost half of a midstream infrastructure development in Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania.

The hype about the under-explored Monterey Shale in California is worthy of most of the superlatives about unconventional oil and natural gas abundance, two of Wood Mackenzie’s Houston analysts said recently.