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ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva said last week shale natural gas, tight oil and oilsands no longer are the “pie-in-the-sky future sources” that they were when he entered the energy workforce 38 years ago. Unconventional resources have changed North America’s energy security and thus the rules also need to be changed, he said.

Natural gas, bring it on! That captures the current outlook of California’s energy planners, who are counting on gas supplies to continue to be plentiful and low-priced in North America.

ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva said Wednesday shale natural gas, tight oil and oilsands no longer are the “pie-in-the-sky future sources” that they were when he entered the energy workforce 38 years ago. Unconventional resources have changed North America’s energy security and thus the rules also need to be changed, he said.

President Obama has signed into law pipeline safety legislation (HR 2845), which was one of the few energy issues that congressional Democrats and Republicans were able to agree on in 2011 (see NGI, Dec. 19, 2011).

January natural gas managed a tempered gain Tuesday on stout volume, but traders were not dissuaded that the current downtrend was over and looked for a test in the low $3s. At the close January had risen 2.5 cents to $3.279 and February had gained 2.7 cents to $3.321. January crude gained a hefty $2.37 to $100.14/bbl.

In a 9 p.m. PST update Wednesday, affiliates Southern California Gas and San Diego Gas & Electric said projected receipts into their Southern System for Thursday’s gas day were expected to be sufficient to meet minimum requirements and therefore a Curtailment Watch was canceled.

If there were a national race among clean fuel vehicles Thursday, natural gas vehicles (NGV) would have gotten the checkered flag, shining at the opening of the Los Angeles Auto Show and winning regulatory support in New York state.

If there were a national race among clean fuel vehicles Thursday, natural gas vehicles (NGV) would have gotten the checkered flag, shining at the opening of the Los Angeles Auto Show and winning regulatory support in New York state.

A progressive political advocacy group said the government of British Columbia (BC) should cap annual natural gas production and end subsidies to the industry over fears that it is expanding too rapidly at the expense of air, water and power resources.