Watching

Eagle Ford Oil & Gas Corp. has been watching the producer activity around its more than 3,600 acres in Frio County, TX, and is working to raise capital by the end of the year to start drilling some wells of its own, the company said Wednesday.

Pundits and analysts alike watching the developments among domestic fossil fuels in the United States have never been busier. New data and extrapolations pop up almost daily, contributing to what is becoming a rich stew of trends and counter-trends. Last week was no exception, with a “comeback” for coal in the power generation space being forecast as coming perhaps as early as next year, and the head of one of the nation’s largest fleets of gas-fired generation plants predicting coal-fired generation plant retirements will accelerate, not recede.

Continuing flat energy demand in a time of record hydroelectric supplies has natural gas stakeholders in the Pacific Northwest watching as the shale gas boom redefines energy delivery patterns and markets. As Ruby Pipeline on Thursday brought an added 1.5 Bcf/d of gas capacity into the West, these stakeholders told NGI’s Shale Daily that a national reordering of gas delivery systems needs to take place before gas’ future role in the region can be determined.

Continuing flat energy demand in a time of record hydroelectric supplies has natural gas stakeholders in the Pacific Northwest watching as the shale gas boom redefines energy delivery patterns and markets. As Ruby Pipeline on Thursday brought an added 1.5 Bcf/d of gas capacity into the West (see Daily GPI, July 29), these stakeholders told NGI that a national reordering of gas delivery systems needs to take place before gas’ future role in the region can be determined.

Success at extracting natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) from North American shales has turned the conversation about NGLs and the U.S. petrochemical industry around 180 degrees. The abundance of feedstock and fuel coming from shale plays has caught the attention of the petrochemical industry, but still more confidence is needed before the real investment can begin.

Engineers and executives were watching closely Friday afternoon to see whether a cap that was containing the flow of oil from BP plc’s disastrous Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico would continue to work. While early indications were positive that the the temporary fix was a success, later pressure readings suggested the well could be leaking elsewhere.

As people in the Gulf Coast were “watching their livelihoods wash up on the beach,” President Obama — speaking in Louisiana on Friday about efforts to tame and contain the worst oil spill in U.S. history — promised that “justice will be done for those whose lives have been upended by this disaster.”

As people in the Gulf Coast were “watching their livelihoods wash up on the beach,” President Obama — speaking in Louisiana last Friday about efforts to tame and contain the worst oil spill in U.S. history — promised that “justice will be done for those whose lives have been upended by this disaster.”

Pacific Northwest gas industry players — including the top executives leading the two remaining proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal projects in Oregon — are watching the proposed Kitimat LNG export project in British Columbia (BC). In recent interviews with NGI, they expressed a mixture of skepticism and support.