Useful

North Dakota continued setting new oil and natural gas production records in April, but drilling equipment shortages grew, increasing the estimated number of idle wells by 76 in April.

It was difficult for traders to draw any useful conclusions about market direction Tuesday as the April contract expired. For the moment an atmosphere of caution permeates the bullish camp as traders look for Monday’s highs to be breached before making additional buys. At the end of the day April had shed 13.4 cents to $4.240 and May lost 18.5 cents to $4.263. April crude oil rose 81 cents to $104.79/bbl.

San Diego-based Sempra Energy sees energy trading as an “integral part” of its overall business, providing a useful window on market imbalances that can lead to capital investment opportunities, according to CFO Mark Snell, who spoke Thursday at the Merrill Lynch Global Power and Gas Leaders Conference in New York City.

The fallout from last Monday’s explosion at Algeria’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex, which killed as many as 27 workers and injured up to 72 persons, has extended all the way to Washington, DC, causing federal energy regulators to question whether a blast of a similar magnitude could occur at LNG facilities in the United States.

The fallout from Monday’s explosion at Algeria’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex, which killed as many as 27 workers and injured up to 72 persons, has extended all the way to Washington, DC, causing federal energy regulators to question whether a blast of a similar magnitude could occur at LNG facilities in the United States.

Putting pipeline sponsors at risk for their projects would be a”useful check” against the overbuilding of new capacity into theburgeoning Northeast market, but it’s not a cure-all for all of theconcerns that accompany such projects, FERC Commissioner WilliamMassey told a group of industrial gas customers.

Putting pipeline sponsors at risk for their projects would be a”useful check” against the overbuilding of new capacity into theburgeoning Northeast market, but it’s not a cure-all for all of theissues that accompany such projects, FERC Commissioner WilliamMassey told industrial gas customers last week.