Marcellus

Consol Energy Inc. COO Randy Albert is the new chairman of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), taking the helm from David Spigelmyer until the current term ends in late November, MSC spokesman Travis Windle toldNGI’s Shale Daily.

Spectra Energy Transmission’s Texas Eastern Transmission announced an expansion to serve industrial markets in South Louisiana by Spring 2015 with shale gas supplies from multiple basins. An open season runs through Sept. 27.

Liquids-rich and oil plays have clearly won the hearts and dollars of North American producers. The Eagle Ford and Bakken shales are stars now, but several others are poised to join or possibly eclipse them, according to a recent note by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P).

Blue Racer Midstream LLC, designed to provide expanded services over the next three years in the Utica and Marcellus shales, on Thursday secured an initial five-year, $800 million credit facility that could be expanded to $1 billion.

The Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) wants to begin certifying producers in the Appalachian Basin that adhere to its standards by the end of the year.

Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia have formed an “integrated region” for natural gas drilling, an area where well drilling increasingly has been focused in the Appalachian Basin, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Although President Obama and the participants in a town hall meeting at Binghamton University in New York on Friday devoted most of their discourse to education, energy was mentioned once, with the president acknowledging the rise of natural gas but calling for further investment in alternative energy not derived from fossil fuels.

Robust production out of the Marcellus Shale is weighing on prices, causing Bank of America (BofA) analysts to doubt the staying power of their fourth quarter and 2014 price forecasts and prompting Bernstein Research to cut its 2013 forecast by 25 cents.

Dallas, TX-based Panda Power Funds has completed the acquisition and financing of Moxie Energy’s planned 829 MW natural gas-fueled, combined-cycle Liberty generating station, which will be located in Bradford County, PA.