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Analysts See 249-Billion-Cubic-Foot Drop in U.S. Natural Gas Inventories

Analysts and traders expect government data scheduled for release Thursday to show that natural-gas inventories fell by more than usual for this time of year. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected to report that 249 billion cubic feet of gas were withdrawn from storage during the week ended Feb. 14, according to the average forecast of 13 analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. For the Feb. 14 week, the median estimate is for a decline of 248 bcf. Estimates range from a fall of 235 bcf to a drop of 267 bcf. The estimate for Feb. 14 is above last year’s 127-bcf withdrawal from storage for the same week. If the storage estimate is correct, inventories as of Feb. 14 will total 1.437 trillion cubic feet, 40% below the year-ago level and would be the lowest level for February since 2004. Write […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Moniz wants closer look at methane emissions across gas system

US Energy Secretary Ernest G. Moniz called for more scrutiny of methane emissions from natural gas operations beyond exploration and production. “We certainly need more data not just from production wells, but also from transmission and distribution systems,” he said in response to a question after a Feb. 19 speech at the National Press Club. The administration already has a very active methane emissions study group that includes the Domestic Policy Council, the US Department of the Interior , and US Environmental Protection Agency, Moniz said. “There also are private efforts, by groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund and a blue-green alliance of organized labor and environmental organizations, that are doing important work,” he said. “Certainly, the technologies for capturing methane emissions at the wellhead exist and are being used,” Moniz said. “Green technologies have been deployed in North Dakota to reduce the amount of gas associated with […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Asian Tigers Stalk U.S. Gas as Louisiana Shale Profits Taper

DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, has a problem. The solution may lie 10,000 miles away in Jakarta. A rustic stretch of bayous and timberland, DeSoto and other communities in the Haynesville shale formation have become victims of the energy industry’s success in extracting natural gas from deeply buried rock. Even as U.S. gas production surges to a record, outpacing domestic demand, Haynesville output has slumped 40 percent since 2011 amid falling prices as companies shift rigs to reservoirs richer in lucrative oil and gas liquids. Tax revenue has tumbled by the same percentage over the past two years from a record $50 million in the parish, home to Civil War battlefields and Billy B’s Cajun Grill. In Jakarta, a city of 10 million, high-rise buildings crowd the skyline and auto-rickshaws, motorcycles and taxis vie for space on gridlocked roads. Indonesia’s energy use may more than […]

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China and Russia at the Altar of Gas

The saga over whether Russia will supply natural gas to China has always resembled rival families negotiating a marriage dowry. For a decade, the two sides have wanted different things. Now a match between the world’s largest gas exporter and one of the world’s fastest-growing gas markets seems within reach. That’s in part because Russia is afraid that the longer it waits, the less it will get in dowry. And if the deal goes through, it has the potential to change the way Asia gets its energy. An outline of a deal hashed out last year would have Russia’s state champion Gazprom supply counterpart China National Petroleum Corporation with 3.75 billion cubic feet a day for 30 years starting in 2018. China’s current daily gas demand is about 16 billion cubic feet, which the government aims to double by 2020. Russia says the two sides have agreed on a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Report: Gas pipeline not enough to avert New England energy crisis

New England is facing an energy crisis brought on by high natural gas prices, and the call by governors in the six states for a new, publicly funded natural gas pipeline does not go far enough to solve the problem, according to a detailed analysis of the region’s energy options. The 30-page analysis, released on Feb. 11, was conducted by a consulting group, Competitive Energy Services of Portland, Maine, on behalf of the Industrial Energy Consumer Group, which represents large-scale users of electricity in New England. "The governors’ recommended addition of one billion cubic feet of natural gas pipeline capacity will help lower energy prices," according to the analysis, "but will still leave New England paying $600 million more for energy annually than if adequate pipeline capacity existed." The consultants used 12 months of 2013 data to estimate future trends, and concluded that New England needs two billion cubic […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Cuadrilla gearing up for new fracking campaign in England

British energy company Cuadrilla Resources said it was reaching out to the public to discuss new hydraulic operations planned near Lancashire, England. The company said its officials started speaking with local residents to discuss proposed exploration work in The Flyde, in western Lancashire. Cuadrilla said it plans to apply for a permit to conduct a hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, campaign and test for the flow of gas at two wells from two separate sites. Cuadrilla Chief Executive Officer Francis Egan said public engagement was part of a responsible business model. "There will be many more chances for people to contribute to the process and I hope that people will take those chances and get involved," he said in a statement. The company was the target of major demonstrations last summer when its work in the southern village of Balcombe was viewed as a prelude […]

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Chevron Natural-Gas Wells in Pennsylvania No Longer On Fire

Two Chevron Corp. natural-gas wells in southwestern Pennsylvania are no longer on fire after an explosion last week that left one worker missing, according to the company. Chevron said the flames had gone out Saturday afternoon at the well site in Dunkard Township, about 70 miles south of Pittsburgh. Workers were preparing to remove a charred crane above one well and stop the gas from flowing. A company spokesman said there is no word of the missing worker, a contractor. "It is premature to speculate on what caused the flames to go out," the company said, adding that the crane is now cool enough that it won’t cause gas flowing from the wells to ignite. The blast took place early on the morning of Feb. 11, as Chevron and its contractors were running tubes through the well to start producing natural gas. The fire heated the crane to such […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Despite Leaky Methane, is Natural Gas is Still Worth the Switch?

A rig drills for natural gas at a hydraulic fracturing site owned by EQT Corp. located atop the Marcellus shale rock formation in Pennsylvania. Bloomberg The U.S. is in a golden age for natural gas . Will leaky infrastructure bring it to an end? A new report, issued today in Science , is the latest to tackle the difficult issue of how much gas – and its primary ingredient, methane – leaks into the atmosphere. This may seem a bit arcane, but it’s a critical issue for the future of the energy industry and the transportation sector as well. Here’s a quick rundown: Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, more potent than carbon dioxide. Natural gas has been on a roll in the past decade, as hydraulic fracturing has turned the U.S. from an energy pauper into a prince. Natural gas has grabbed market share from coal […]

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New Ohio shale gas well results show Utica fairway moving south

Magnum Hunter Resources’ Friday announcement of a prolific Utica Shale gas well in Monroe County, Ohio, highlights the migration of Utica drilling south out of its original core in Carroll County. Houston-based Magnum Hunter said its first dry gas well off the Stalder #3 pad was placed into production this week with a peak rate of 32,500 Mcf/d. The pad could eventually hold 18 wells, Magnum Hunter said. Analysts at energy investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt on Friday crowed about the "huge" well. "Well still cleaning up frack water and company believes sales rate will likely increase over the next few days. Stalder #3 drilled to a vertical depth of roughly 10,600 feet with a 5,000 feet lateral fracked with 20 stages," TPH said. The Stalder well moves the dry gas fairway of the Utica further east towards West Virginia, TPH said, and was […]

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Is This Already the End for Natural Gas Vehicles?

A joint study, published in the journal Science on Friday has revealed that natural gas as a transportation fuel provides no net benefit to the climate, when compared with diesel. The report, written by numerous researchers from some of the United States’ most prestigious universities, as well as NOAA and the Department of Energy, flies in the face of what most of us have come to believe about “clean-burning” natural gas. This could yield big problems for companies like Clean Energy Fuels and Westport Innovations that are carving out their niche in the space. Let’s take a closer look. A truck fills up on natural gas at a Clean Energy station. Photo Credit: Clean Energy Fuels.   First and foremost, the scientists aren’t disputing that natural gas burns cleaner than diesel. That remains absolutely true, as natural gas, or methane, produces 30% less […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple