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University of Adelaide researchers in Australia are developing a new type of laser system that will monitor methane levels across large areas in order to monitor emissions of the greenhouse gas. The system has the potential to detect methane leaks from long-distance underground gas pipelines and gas fields, including coal seam gas extraction operations, and to measure methane emissions from animal production, the university said. “We hope to accurately measure methane concentrations up to a distance of 5 kilometers,” said project leader David Ottaway, senior lecturer in the university’s School of Chemistry and Physics. “This will give us an ability to map methane over an area as large as 25 square kilometers in a very short time. At the moment current technology only allows detection at a single point source as it blows past the detector.”

By 2016, the world will get more of its electricity from renewables — hydro, wind, solar, etc. — than from natural gas, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) “Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report.” But in the Americas, particularly the United States, natural gas is still in the lead.

The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Tuesday called on a Senate panel to support President Obama’s request for additional funds for the agency in fiscal year (FY) 2014 so that it can protect the derivatives and futures markets from fraud, manipulation and other abusive practices.

The number of natural gas vehicles (NGV) worldwide will nearly double between now and 2020, according to a report released Tuesday by Navigant Research. NGVs on the roadway will increase steadily from 18.2 million now to 34.9 million by 2020, Navigant said.

The worst of the flooding in Western Canada has subsided and field operations for the energy sector are getting back to normal, but access to downtown Calgary’s offices was still blocked Wednesday as power restoration and building inspections were taking longer than expected, according to officials.

Eddie LeBlanc will take over as CFO and executive vice president at SandRidge Energy Inc. on July 8, the operator said. LeBlanc formerly was CFO at East Resources Inc. from 2010 until 2013. Before that, he also served as CFO at PostRock Energy Corp. (2009-2010), Ascent Energy Co. (2003-2007), Range Resources Corp. (2000-2003), and Coho Energy Inc. (1995-1999). He has a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and is a certified public accountant and chartered financial analyst. LeBlanc is moving into the office formerly occupied by James D. Bennett, who recently was named CEO (see Daily GPI, June 20). Bennett began as SandRidge’s CFO in January 2011 and he was named president in March.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) has approved a multi-year rate plan for Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to increase annual limits for natural gas and electricity rates over the next three to four years. PSE’s gas rates would increase by $9.1 million, or 1.55%, and power rates would increase by $52.3 million, or 3.34%, effective Monday (July 1). Rates may increase over the period by a maximum of 3%, with any excess amounts recovered the following year. Also as part of the approval, UTC separated utility profits from sales levels. The so-called “decoupling” allows the utility to recover fixed costs regardless of how much gas and electricity it sells.

Physical natural gas prices Wednesday for Thursday delivery fell an average of 8 cents nationally as double-digit, power-driven declines in the East and Northeast prompted declines in next-day gas that at some points exceeded $1.00. On the West Coast, however, prices made small advances as the independent system operator predicted high next-day power loads. At the close of trading the expiring July contract had added 6.0 cents to $3.707 and August rose 6.7 cents to $3.737. August crude oil gained 18 cents to $95.50/bbl.

The news preceded President Obama’s call on Tuesday for more action to address climate change (see Daily GPI, June 26), but executives at NRG Energy Inc. and Tenaska Inc. may have been reading between the lines after announcing within the past few days that because of abundant U.S. natural gas, coal is going to play a much smaller role in their generating schemes going forward.