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Natural Gas

Uncertainty in Europe May Impact Energy Market

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Anti-austerity parties in Greece gained power this past weekend.  The two mainstream political parties that had been critical in drafting agreements with other European nations have lost their combined majority and will need coalition from a third party to form a government.

This election is a direct rejection of current plans to reign in the debt crisis in Europe by imposing strong austerity measures to control the unmanageable deficit.  A third party necessary to have a majority coalition will be one with a pro-growth platform.  The pro-growth belief relies on government spending to stimulate economic growth and thus lift…
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Department of Interior Releases Draft Rule for New Fracking Guidelines

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Today, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released a draft rule requiring natural gas and oil companies that drill on public or Native American lands to comply with new procedures.   These rules are intended to increase the transparency of the fluids used in “fracking” process as well as ensure adequate protection of ground water supplies from contamination just below the well head casing.…
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EPA Finalizes First Rules on Fracking

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Last Wednesday, The Environmental Protection Agency issued the first federal air standards for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) under the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Rule.  The regulations will limit emissions of volatile organic compounds, which react with sunlight to create smog.  The new safeguards will also curb carcinogens and methane, the main component of natural gas and a potent contributor to climate change.  

According to the EPA, the rule is expected to cut VOC emissions by 95% from more than 11,000 new hydraulically fractured gas wells each year.   This significant reduction would be accomplished primarily through the use…
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Natural Gas Prices Sink Below $2

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Natural gas prices recently dropped below the $2/mmBtu level for the first time in more than a decade, extending a long-drawn-out descent that is widely viewed to continue. Prompt month contract prices for May delivery on the Nymex spent much of this week in the range of $1.90 – $2/mmBtu after first settling below the $2 level on April 11, a level not seen since January 2002.

Traders, analysts, and producers have been anticipating a decline to this point for months. Production has soared in recent years given technological advances in extracting gas from shale gas fields…
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EPA Proposal & Standards Continue to Push the Power Industry Towards Natural Gas Plants

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The electric power industry typically relies on coal to generate half the power that is used in the U.S. every year. The burning of coal results in a host of pollutants including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury as well as greenhouse gasses, most notably carbon dioxide.

Over the years federal, state and local governments have passed numerous laws and regulations to restrict the emissions of these byproducts OF coal combustion. One of the more significant of these rules, the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) which is designed to mitigate sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, will be reviewed by the…
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Coal Use On The Decline

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With natural gas prices at a new 10-year low amid record storage levels and growing production, coal usage has been under pressure from not only the cost competition with natural gas but from the political pressure associated with the desire to curb harmful emissions.  Coal consumption by the U.S. electric sector in 2012, according to EIA, is expected to fall below 900 million short tons for the first time since 1996 (See below).  Coal demand by the power sector is expected to drop by 5% in 2012 and recover a bit in 2013.

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