What

In what’s become a larger-than-life drama, natural gas is the energy growth engine for the next 20 years, and hydraulic fracturing in North America is the driver, according to ExxonMobil’s Paul Greenwood, vice president for Americas gas marketing, in keynote remarks at a gas industry meeting in Los Angeles Tuesday.

November natural gas rose Monday as traders saw little in the way of fundamental changes and looked for the market to trade lower by midweek. After what was deemed a round of short-covering November had gained 6 cents to $3.541 and December was up by 1.6 cents to $3.836. November crude oil vaulted $2.43 to $85.41/bbl.

Dow Chemical Co., the biggest U.S. chemical manufacturer, expects to see its earnings jump 16% in 2011 from a year ago, in part because of the ability to use inexpensive shale gas in its operations, CEO Andrew Liveris said on Tuesday.

California Gov. Jerry Brown is unleashing what may be a major political battle in the waning days of the state legislative session over whether to extend an energy surcharge that provides up to $400 million for research and development (R&D) in energy saving and alternative energy. Brown is trying to make the case that the $1-2 monthly charge on residential utility bills is a job-creating mechanism.

September natural gas advanced Thursday following the release of government inventory data showing a significantly smaller increase than what the market was expecting. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a build of just 25 Bcf, about 11 Bcf less than industry estimates. September futures rose 10.5 cents to $4.108 and October gained 10.3 cents to $4.127. September crude oil jumped $2.83 to $85.72/bbl.

As the Pacific Northwest’s dominant energy player, the federal Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has adopted what it described as a landmark settlement on a residential exchange program that it hopes will end years of dispute over how BPA makes low-cost hydroelectric supplies available to small residential and farm customers of investor-owned utilities (IOU). Given the criticism of BPA for shunning natural gas and wind power generators in the face of abundant water supplies this spring and summer, the federal power behemoth is hoping it has a win-win, noting that the deal has the backing of six regional IOUs, three state regulatory commissions, and most public-sector utilities representing 88% of BPA’s customers and 93% of the power consumed in the region. Under the settlement, IOU customers are in line to get about $3.3 billion in payments during a 17-year period, beginning at $182.1 million in fiscal 2012 and increasing to $286.1 million by fiscal 2028.

In what is becoming a standard give and take in Pennsylvania, the Marcellus Shale industry released a study last week showing how its economic importance in the state is growing and critics dismissed the findings as overstated.

The amount of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas resources in Alaska’s Cook Inlet region is “significantly more” than what was thought 16 years ago, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Spending by North American exploration and production (E&P) companies is expected to jump substantially this year and is much higher than forecasted just six months ago, according to the latest worldwide spending survey by Dahlman Rose & Co.