U.S. Natural Gas Consumption. EIA expects total natural gas consumption to increase 0.4 percent to 62.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2010 and another 0.4 percent in 2011.  Very cold weather during the first half of January, particularly in the Southeast, contributed to an 8.4-percent jump in the monthly estimate for electric-power-sector natural gas consumption from the previous forecast.

The astonishing political reversal in Massachusetts is a game-changer for politics as usual for the U.S. oil and gas industry. Together with the fallout from "Climategate," the new political dynamic in Washington, DC, suggests that climate change-related policy developments will not be as much of a threat to oil drilling-nor as much of a boon to natural gas drilling-as previously thought.

The year ahead will be the year of the gas shale development. This is hardly a bold prediction but the implications of increasing gas production from emerging shales (the Haynesville, Marcellus and Eagle Ford) continue to change the landscape of the E&P and service industries. In 2008, the hottest oil patch T-shirt was Tudor Pickering Holt's "Got Shale?" In 2010, the motto will be "Got Shales?"

The year ahead will be the year of the gas shale development. This is hardly a bold prediction but the implications of increasing gas production from emerging shales (the Haynesville, Marcellus and Eagle Ford) continue to change the landscape of the E&P and service industries. In 2008, the hottest oil patch T-shirt was Tudor Pickering Holt's "Got Shale?" In 2010, the motto will be "Got Shales?"

Beaten down by depressed gas prices, a collapsed credit market and continued facilities damage from Ike, operators executed only minimal exploration and development programs in 2009. Compared with 2008, there was a 46% reduction in the number of wells permitted. Exploratory wells drilled dropped from 51 in November 2008 to 27 in November 2009, a 47% decrease. Development drilling dropped from 53 wells to just 25, a 53% decrease, during the same period. Jackup utilization at the beginning of November totaled 32%, and the rig count is 42% below what it was for the same period in 2008.

Exxon Mobil Corp.'s move to buy one of the leading U.S. natural gas producers could provide a boost to big oilfield service companies that have been hit hard by a downturn in the North American drilling market.

EIA released the November 2009 Natural Gas Monthly on Monday, November 30, which includes data for September 2009. Marketed production for the first three quarters of the year totaled 16,471 Bcf, according to the report. This compares to 15,870 Bcf for the first three quarters of 2008.

By some estimates, converting a single city garbage truck from diesel to natural gas can be the equivalent of taking 325 gasoline-fueled cars off the road in terms of reducing emissions.

Proper lubrication is the best way to make the rotating control device (RCD) last longer in the field. The RCD gets its lubrication from the oiler system. The bearings and seals are the main components that need this lubrication.