Congress Approves Expanded Drilling in Gulf of Mexico

Congress recently approved expanded offshore drilling, giving energy companies access to oil and natural gas deposits in a vast area once off limits in the Gulf of Mexico. President Bush, who is expected to promptly sign the legislation, said it "will help to reduce our dependence on imported sources of energy by increasing access to domestic sources of oil and gas (and) ... strengthen our energy security." Opponents of the bill said its revised formula for sharing royalties from energy production in federal waters - which will funnel billions of dollars to four Gulf states -- would cut into government revenue at a time when the federal government faces huge deficits. Full Story

Boardwalk Pipelines Announce Major Expansion to Tap Shale Gas

Central Indiana natural gas consumers may obtain access to plentiful gas supplies from the Fayettville Shale Play in Arkansas through a pipeline expansion annouced recently by Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP. Boardwalk said it has committed to build two extensions from its existing pipeline system to transport gas for producers operating in the Fayetteville Shale Play. Boardwalk's Texas Gas system is one of two interstate pipeline systems serving Citizens Gas & Coke Utility.

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Weather Still Biggest Factor for Prices This Winter

Weather forecasts again remained the focal point of the natural gas front month fundamentals as cooler-than-normal temperatures are being forecast for the next few weeks. The more supportive weather trend will fight a significantly bearish pull downward as the broader energy complex continues to crumble with gasoline and heating oil leading the sell-off.

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Liquid Coal May be Transportation Fuel of the Future

Powering cars with coal might seem like a recipe for ecological disaster. But if fuel experts are right, a liquefied form of the notoriously dirty mineral will be providing much of the world with its transport fuel within the next two decades. The coal miner's equivalent of turning straw into gold, liquid coal enables cars, trains and even jets designed to burn oil to run on coal instead. And, says its cheering squad, it does so in a way that's green, economical and widely available.

Liquefied coal is nothing new. First developed by German scientists in the 1920s, it helped power the Nazi war machine. But until recently, turning coal to liquid (a method known as CTL) was prohibitively expensive. For two decades, until 2003, oil prices averaged $25 a barrel, making $45-a-barrel liquid coal out of the question economically. But now, with oil prices staying consistently above the $60-a-barrel mark and the environment high on everyone's agenda, liquid coal is rebranding itself as the right choice to ensure national energy security, combat high oil prices and help stop global warming. "CTL has the potential to serve both the economic and environmental imperatives of 2007 and beyond," says Global Insight's head energy analyst, Steven Knell.

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Save These Dates – National Association of Power Engineers Meetings

All meetings are held at Citizens Gas, 2020 North Meridian Street , and begin at 12:00 Noon.
For more information please contact Rick Ratliff at DLR Mechanical at (317) 253-6822.