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Robert Douglas Lawler, 46, one of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s top exploration and production (E&P) executives, last week was tapped to be CEO and president of Chesapeake Energy Corp.

Competition from U.S. exporters in Ontario and Quebec has a silver lining for sponsors of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects on the Pacific Coast of British Columbia (BC).

A wide variety of outcomes are possible when contemplating the likelihood that an oil or natural gas injection well could increase the chance of seismic activity, including the possibility of not operating the well at all, according to a draft report by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) workgroup.

Hours ahead of EQT Corp.’s second quarter conference call on Thursday, the company tied into sales its first Utica Shale well, the CEO said.

California regulators are facing increased scrutiny on their response to stepping up natural gas pipeline safety oversight following a 2010 explosion in San Bruno on a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) line.

World energy consumption will increase by 56% between 2010 and 2040, driven largely by increased demand from developing countries, according to the International Energy Outlook 2013 (IEO2013), which was released last Thursday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). It sees global natural gas demand increasing by 64%.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) on Friday revised its outlook for Chesapeake Energy Corp. to “stable” from “negative,” citing the new CEO as part of the reason. Former Anadarko Petroleum Corp. executive Doug Lawler took over in June (see NGI, May 27).

Last year, natural gas-fueled plants accounted for 57% of the generating capacity in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and more than 44% of energy use. As the reliance on gas-fired power grows, ERCOT is working with other organizations to protect against and prepare for a large-scale system-wide blackout.

Industry executives who recently offered Oregon regulators an updated natural gas outlook for the Pacific Northwest said they see faint signs of potential added gas-fired industrial loads taking shape, but flat near-term demand projections nevertheless dominated their forecasts.