Using

Abundant natural gas, including shale, is playing a significant role in continuing the three-year slide in electric power prices and the downbeat outlook for independent power producers, say analysts.

FERC last Thursday issued a final rule that bars entities from using multiple affiliates to game the natural gas pipeline open season bidding process, saying it frustrates competition and denies access to capacity for customers that value it the most.

FERC Thursday issued a final rule that bars entities from using multiple affiliates to game the natural gas pipeline open season bidding process, saying it frustrates competition and denies access to capacity for customers that value it the most.

Santa Barbara, CA-based Hypersolar Inc. has filed a patent application for the production of a carbon-neutral methane gas made using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide (CO2) that the company said “can be used as a direct replacement for traditional natural gas.” HyperSolar is developing a solar-powered nanoparticle system that mimics photosynthesis to separate hydrogen from water; the hydrogen can then be reacted with CO2 to produce methane “without drilling or [hydraulic fracturing],” the company said.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a proposed rulemaking that would impose additional regulations on natural gas drillers using high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state, and has scheduled a series of hearings on the proposed rulemaking.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released a proposed rulemaking that would impose additional regulations on natural gas drillers using high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state, and has scheduled a series of hearings on the proposed rulemaking.

In Mexico there is no debate about shale gas having potential, but there is an ongoing discussion in the federal government concerning whether to focus on finding out exactly what that potential might be. A relatively new government body, the National Commission for Hydrocarbons (CNH), is pushing other parts of the federal government to pursue a more diversified energy strategy.

The Pelican State has another oil and gas shale play in the works. Known as the Lower Smackover Brown Dense, the play spans portions of North Louisiana and southern Arkansas.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on Thursday warned that using water from the Colorado River Basin to produce oil shale could impact agricultural and municipal water uses affecting 15% of the nation’s crops and up to 30 million people from Wyoming to Southern California.