Category:

LNG answer to European energy woes, Hoeven says

The United States can help allay European energy security fears by making more liquefied natural gas available, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven , R-N.D., said from Oslo. Hoeven met with Norwegian leaders to address energy security fears in the region. He said that, while Norway has a key role to play as one of the top oil and gas suppliers in the region, it can’t solve the problem alone. "The only real, long-term solution is to make additional liquefied natural gas supplies available, and this means the United States has a strong role to play as a world leader," he said Tuesday. U.S. lawmakers have said the abundance of natural gas from shale reserves could help meet the demands of a European energy market dependent on Russia. Ongoing crises over Ukraine have put European natural gas supplies at risk because the bulk of their Russian gas supplies run through the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

ABCs of LNG

Current debates over LNG export often ignore its primary benefits, such as enabling gas to be produced for sale to markets beyond the realistic reach of pipelines. It also allows gas to compete with petroleum liquids where energy density is important, such as in powering ships, trains and land vehicles.  The international reaction to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula has put a spotlight on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which was already under debate in the US as a mechanism for exporting increasingly abundant shale gas. Meanwhile, LNG is emerging as a fuel in its own right, rather than just a means of transporting gas from source to market. What links these trends is LNG’s capability to enable natural gas to approach the convenience and energy density of petroleum. The big driver for this is economic: UK Brent crude is currently over $100 per barrel , while natural gas in the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural gas output from US’ Marcellus edges closer to 15 Bcf/d: EIA

Natural gas production from the Marcellus Shale in May is expected to rise 253,000 Mcf/d above April levels and move closer to the 15 Bcf/d mark, the US Energy Information Administration said Monday in its monthly report on drilling productivity. The report said gas output from the Marcellus will rise to 14.77 Bcf/d in May from 14.52 Bcf/d in April, thanks in part to a projected increase in new well production/rig to 6,501 Mcf/d in May from 6,455 Mcf/d this month. Louisiana’s Haynesville Shale has begun to show new life after drillers left the play three years ago. The agency is projecting gas production will rise to 6.615 Bcf/d in May, 11,000 Mcf/d, above April’s 6.604 Bcf/d. Production in the play peaked at about 10 Bcf/d in 2012. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Gas Daily Gas Daily offers the most detailed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Natural gas output from US' Marcellus edges closer to 15 Bcf/d: EIA

Natural gas production from the Marcellus Shale in May is expected to rise 253,000 Mcf/d above April levels and move closer to the 15 Bcf/d mark, the US Energy Information Administration said Monday in its monthly report on drilling productivity. The report said gas output from the Marcellus will rise to 14.77 Bcf/d in May from 14.52 Bcf/d in April, thanks in part to a projected increase in new well production/rig to 6,501 Mcf/d in May from 6,455 Mcf/d this month. Louisiana’s Haynesville Shale has begun to show new life after drillers left the play three years ago. The agency is projecting gas production will rise to 6.615 Bcf/d in May, 11,000 Mcf/d, above April’s 6.604 Bcf/d. Production in the play peaked at about 10 Bcf/d in 2012. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Gas Daily Gas Daily offers the most detailed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Lower prices pull down natural gas reserves in 2012

Lower natural gas prices drove down U.S. proved reserves in 2012, despite notable gains in the Marcellus and Eagle Ford shale gas plays. The decline stopped a 14-year trend of consecutive increases in natural gas reserves, according to newly published estimates in EIA’s U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves 2012 . Proved reserves are volumes of natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions. Natural gas proved reserves, estimated as wet natural gas that includes natural gas plant liquids, decreased 7% in 2012 to 323 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), as operators revised the proved reserves of their existing natural gas fields downward in response to lower natural gas prices (the natural gas spot price at the Henry Hub dropped below $2.00 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in April […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report

Working gas in storage was 826 Bcf as of Friday, April 4, 2014, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 4 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 849 Bcf less than last year at this time and 997 Bcf below the 5-year average of 1,823 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 448 Bcf below the 5-year average following net withdrawals of 5 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 411 Bcf below the 5-year average of 772 Bcf after a net injection of 9 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 137 Bcf below the 5-year average after no net change. At 826 Bcf, total working gas is below the 5-year historical range. The shaded area indicates the range between the historical minimum and maximum values for the weekly series from 2009 through 2013. Source: Form EIA-912, "Weekly Underground Natural Gas Storage Report." The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Alaska adopts strict new rules on hydraulic fracturing

Alaska’s oil and gas regulatory commission has adopted new, more stringent rules governing hydraulic fracturing that include increased testing of water wells for contamination, its chairman said Wednesday in an interview. Final regulations are now being reviewed by state attorneys and still must be signed by Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell. The rules will require testing of all water wells within a half-mile radius of a well to be fractured, and will mandate testing of the water wells for contamination after the fracture job is completed, said Cathy Foerster, chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, or AOGCC. In some cases, testing of water wells prior to the fracturing may be required at the discretion of the commission, Foerster said. Article continues below… Request a free trial of: Gas Daily Gas Daily offers the most detailed coverage of natural gas prices at interstate […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Half of power plant capacity additions in 2013 came from natural gas

Natural gas-fired power plants accounted for just over 50% of new utility-scale generating capacity added in 2013. Solar provided nearly 22%, a jump up from less than 6% in 2012. Coal provided 11% and wind nearly 8%. Almost half of all capacity added in 2013 was located in California. In total, a little over 13,500 megawatts (MW) of new capacity was added in 2013, less than half the capacity added in 2012. Natural gas. Natural gas capacity additions were less than in 2012, as 6,861 MW were added in 2013, compared to 9,210 MW in 2012. The capacity additions came nearly equally from combustion turbine peaker plants, which generally run only during the highest peak-demand hours of the year, and combined-cycle plants, which provide intermediate and baseload power. Nearly 60% of the natural gas capacity added in 2013 was located in California. The state is facing resource adequacy concerns […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Russian Gas Giant Discusses South Stream Project as EU Meets on Potential Gas Disruptions

As the European Union hosted talks Tuesday on the threat of disruptions to natural-gas supplies amid Russia-Ukraine tensions, OAO executives were in Brussels trying to press ahead with their own pipeline project. Russia’s state-run energy giant wants to build a €16 billion ($22 billion) pipeline to send natural gas from Russia, across the Black Sea, and into Italy. The route avoids Ukraine, through which about half of Europe-bound Russian gas flows. But in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, that pipeline, called South Stream, has become another political flash point between East and West. And a handful of large European companies, all partners with Gazprom in the offshore section of the project, are walking a fine line between the two sides. The talks held Tuesday by EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger focused on growing concerns in Brussels about a potential disruption of natural-gas supplies to Ukraine itself. Those […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

On Fracking Front, A Push To Reduce Leaks of Methane

Scientists, engineers, and government regulators are increasingly turning their attention to solving one of the chief environmental problems associated with fracking for natural gas and oil – significant leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Loose pipe flanges. Leaky storage tanks. Condenser valves stuck open. Outdated compressors. Inefficient pneumatic systems. Corroded pipes. Forty separate types of equipment are known to be potential sources of methane emissions during the production and processing of natural gas and oil by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of underground shale formations. As the fracking boom continues unabated across the U.S., scientists, engineers, and government experts are increasingly focusing on the complex task of identifying the sources of these methane leaks and devising methods to stop them.   Photo credit: Tim Evanson/Flickr. "Fugitive" methane escapes from natural gas production sites, such as this one in North Dakota. "There are many, many, many possible leaking sources," said […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple