Shale Daily

Growing natural gas liquids (NGL) production — particularly that of ethane — is a positive story for the petrochemical industry as well as oil and gas producers. However, talk of an NGL glut is growing louder as the industry continues to grow production — particularly from liquids-rich shale plays — and build out infrastructure. Opinions vary on what is to come.

Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., whose onshore operations are focused on three shale plays — the Marcellus, Eagle Ford and Haynesville/Bossier — said Tuesday it smashed quarterly production records in 3Q2010, with output hitting 36 Bcfe, which was a 41% jump year/year. Sequential production also rose 18%, exceeding guidance targets.

In a move that could be seen as retribution for state Senate Republicans’ negotiating tactics and opposition to a proposed natural gas severance tax, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell Tuesday signed an executive order placing an immediate ban on leases for oil and gas development on any land owned and managed by the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

Alexander B. Grannis, chief of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), was fired by Gov. David Paterson late last Thursday after an unsigned memo was leaked to the press disparaging staff cutsthat would, among other things, impede the agency’s effectiveness to oversee natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

Because of strong drilling in North America’s onshore basins, oilfield equipment manufacturer National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) said Tuesday its rig equipment backlog at the end of September was worth an estimated $4.87 billion — more than at the end of the second quarter.

U.S. safety and environmental concerns are spreading north across the border into Canada, where the National Energy Board (NEB) is stepping up scrutiny of natural gas and oil operations from exploration to transportation.

An El Paso Corp. subsidiary and Spectra Energy Corp. have executed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop the proposed Marcellus Ethane Pipeline System (MEPS) project.

Units of Enterprise Products Partners LP have struck 10-year agreements to provide midstream services for liquids-rich gas and crude oil production from the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, the partnership said Monday.

With a proposed natural gas severance tax for Marcellus Shale production apparently not forthcoming from the Pennsylvania General Assembly before the Nov. 2 election, one group representing the industry said it is “regretful that…common sense legislative initiatives” have not been adopted by the state.