The fuels being used for the generation of electricity are changing over time. A new chart from the Energy Information Admisitration shows that the use of natural gas is rising slightly and the use of petroleum liquids is decreasing.

Data from EIA.

In response to a series of small earthquakes near the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, Chesapeake Energy has shut in two saltwater disposal wells that injected water into underground rock units. They say that their closing is a “precaution”. Scientists can’t say for sure if the earthquakes have any relationship with gas production or saltwater disposal. More in an article at Star-Telegram.com.

Ken Salazar, Interior Secretary says that he is recommending that natural gas be considered as an important part of the US Energy Policy because using it produces less greenhouse gas than other fossil fuels. More in a Grand Junction Sentinel article.

Jim Jubak, financial columnist at MSN Money wrote an article titled… “Has Natural Gas Hit Bottom? Not Yet!“… He believes that there is a huge oversupply and that gas companies are producing at high levels to pay debt and maintain earnings.

The United States Department of Energy funded nine natural gas from shale projects. Most of them are intended to improve the management of hydraulic fracturing water at shale drilling sites or waste water treatment sites. More in an article at Oil & Gas Journal.

Someone has been bombing natural gas pipelines in Northeastern British Columbia. Some believe that it is a case of eco-terrorism against EnCana Corporation. More in an article at Canada.com.

The amount of natural gas in storage has skyrocketed above the historic five year range. There is a lot of new gas entering the market and stocks are 517 billion cubic feet above the 5-year range. Data from EIA.

Natural gas producers have developed such a large production capacity and a deep resource base that the market now has an enormous overhang of natural gas that could take years to work off. More in an article at Bloomberg.com.

An article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that the Horn River Basin in northeastern British Columbia is turning out to be one of the largest shale gas plays in North America.

An article at the New York Times website reports that Exxon Mobil is investing $600 million in a venture intended to produce energy from algae.

The Energy Information Administration’s estimated average wellhead price for natural gas per Mcf for the past several months….

$4.16 February
$3.72 March
$3.43 April
$3.45 May
$3.45 June
$3.43 July

More at the EIA website.

Horizontal wells are causing some people to be concerned about losing the gas beneath their property to a well that is being drilled a mile or more away. An article at CNBC.com tells why some people in Oklahome are concerned.

In a news release, Chesapeake Energy reports that they are the second largest producer in the Barnett Shale gas play. They expect to increase their Barnett Shale production from 655 mmcfe net per day to 725 mmcfe net per day by the end of 2009. They are operating with 18 rigs.

An article in the online edition of Barrons discusses the current build up in natural gas production capacity and how it is putting downward pressures on natural gas prices. As production from shales increases there is less opportunity for hurricanes to influence natural gas prices.

T. Boone Pickens continues his tireless promotion of natural gas as a transportation fuel with an editorial in the Huffington Post.