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• Baker to upgrade city's natural gas pipelines

  April 10, 2013 8:37 AM

  BAKER - The Baker City Council has approved a bid for a project in the works for more than 20 years to upgrade some of the city's natural gas pipelines. Mayor Harold Rideau says the city has been trying to secure funding since 1990 to upgrade some natural gas pipelines... more »

• Israel faces geopolitical tangle with natural gas

  March 29, 2013 12:32 PM

  JERUSALEM - Recent discoveries of massive offshore natural gas deposits, set to begin flowing in the coming days, are turning into a mixed blessing for Israel. The deposits are expected to provide Israel enough natural gas for decades and transform the country, famously empty of natural resources, into an energy... more »

• Government again delays proposed 'fracking' rule

  January 18, 2013 5:42 PM

  WASHINGTON - The Interior Department is again delaying a proposed rule that would require companies drilling for oil and natural gas on federal lands to publicly disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations. The Obama administration first proposed a "fracking" rule last May, with a final rule expected by the... more »

• State Dept: Americans still hostage in Algeria

  January 18, 2013 12:37 PM

  WASHINGTON - A U.S. official says Americans are still held hostage in Algeria on the third day of a standoff with militants at a natural gas complex in the Sahara. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland says the U.S. is working with Algeria and other governments to try to secure their... more »

• $1.3B natural gas-to-gasoline plant planned for LC

  January 16, 2013 3:57 AM

  LAKE CHARLES - G2X Energy Inc. of Houston says it plans a $1.3 billion plant to turn natural gas into gasoline at the Port of Lake Charles. Louisiana Economic Development said Tuesday it would create 243 jobs averaging $66,500 a year. They say G2X will lease 200 acres... more »

• New drilling operation near fiery I-10 blowout site

  November 20, 2012 9:43 PM

  RAMAH- Drilling crews have returned to an area where a drilling disaster happened in 2007. Then, a blowout preventer failed and ignited a fireball. The inferno shutdown the I-10 Basin Bridge for ten days. Since then, rules have been changed. Now, a company has received a permit to... more »

• State orders Texas Brine to take further sinkhole steps

  November 12, 2012 6:41 PM

  BAYOU CORNE - State conservation officials issued a series of orders today for Texas Brine to follow as they continue to clean up a sinkhole which formed on their property in Assumption Parish. State Commissioner of Conservation James Welsh ordered the company to install a network of observation and... more »

• Bayou Corne residents want sinkhole questions answered Play Video

  September 20, 2012 5:44 PM

  BAYOU CORNE - A 25-foot-section of the sinkhole in Assumption Parish collapsed overnight, the second time this week that's happened. Tonight, residents are holding a community meeting to get answers to what's causing all these incidents, However, parish officials said they won't be at the meeting because there aren't... more »

• Permit approved for Texas Brine relief well

  August 13, 2012 12:56 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Drilling of a new well into an abandoned brine cavern could begin in a few days. The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources has approved Texas Brine LLC's permit to drill the well. The purpose is to determine the structural status of the cavern and determine... more »

• Bubbles in bayou raise concerns Play Video

  June 28, 2012 6:15 PM

  PIERRE PART - Assumption Parish authorities are holding a meeting to discuss a natural gas leak causing bubbles in Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou. For seven years, Shelly Hernandez has called Bayou Corne home. "I really love the area, it was very peaceful until we started having gas... more »

• Weekly US oil, gas rig count down by 5 to 1,966

  June 22, 2012 1:11 PM

  HOUSTON- The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. is down by five this week to 1,966. Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday that 1,421 rigs were exploring for oil and 541 for gas. Four were listed as miscellaneous. A year... more »

• Salazar set to approve major gas well project

  May 8, 2012 9:47 AM

  SALT LAKE CITY- U. S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was set to approve a major natural gas drilling project in Utah. Salazar planned to make the announcement Tuesday at a pipeline compression station on Salt Lake City's west side. He offered no details before the event got under way.... more »

• Natural gas falls on spell of balmy US weather

  March 13, 2012 11:06 AM

  Natural gas prices are falling again as balmy weather stretches across most of the nation and supplies remain plentiful. Natural gas dropped 5 cents to $2.215 per 1,000 cubic feet in trading in New York. That's the lowest price in a decade. The price has dropped about 26 percent this... more »

• Natural gas fueling plans may spur vehicle growth

  December 27, 2011 1:41 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Consumers, manufacturers and fuel suppliers so far haven't shown much interest in natural gas-powered cars, even though the United States has record supplies of the fuel. But there are signs of change. Clean Energy Corp. is expanding natural gas refueling to 150 U.S. truck stops - though... more »

• Lafayette moving toward natural gas

  December 26, 2011 2:42 PM

  LAFAYETTE, La. - Two public fueling stations for natural gas-powered vehicles are set to open next year in Lafayette as part of initiatives that include new natural gas buses and the conversion of at least 40 city-parish vehicles to run on natural gas. The efforts come in a wider push... more »

• Weekly US oil and gas rig count drops by 1

  November 24, 2011 3:10 PM

  HOUSTON (AP) - The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped by one this week to 2,000. Houston-based drilling product provider Baker Hughes Inc. reported Wednesday 1,130 rigs were exploring for oil and 865 for natural gas. Five were listed as miscellaneous.... more »

• Weekly US oil and gas rig count drops by 10

  November 11, 2011 1:41 PM

  HOUSTON - The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped by 10 this week to 2,016. Houston-based drilling product provider Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday that 1,133 rigs were exploring for oil and 877 for natural gas. Six were listed as miscellaneous.... more »

• Panel: Drilling impacts could be 'excessive'

  November 10, 2011 6:25 PM

  WASHINGTON - A federal advisory panel is warning that "serious environmental consequences" could result from the gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing if steps aren't taken to reduce its impacts. The seven-member committee said in a report released Thursday that progress by the federal government and the oil... more »

• African company to study building refinery in La.

  September 13, 2011 1:14 PM

  WESTLAKE, La. - A South African energy company has picked a site in southwest Louisiana as a possible location a multibillion dollar refinery to convert natural gas to diesel and other products. Johannesburg-based Sasol Ltd. announced Tuesday that it will study the feasibility of building a "gas-to-liquids complex" in... more »

• Tropical storm Lee closes oil, natural gas operations

  September 2, 2011 2:22 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Tropical Storm Lee has cut off just under half of the normal oil production from the Gulf of Mexico. That's the word from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The agency said Friday that 169 of the 617 manned production platforms... more »

• Denham Springs raises price of natural gas

  June 16, 2011 5:41 AM

  DENHAM SPRINGS- The Denham Springs City Council has increased its natural gas price to municipal customers by 20 cents per 100 cubic feet of gas and added a yearly cost-of-living increase despite public opposition. City Treasurer Clarence Speed tells The Advocate the 20-cent gas increase will cost average customers $7.77... more »

• Worker dies after fall on abandoned gas platform

  April 18, 2011 5:20 PM

  LAKE CHARLES - A worker sealing off an abandoned natural gas well in the Gulf died this morning after a fall, according to authorities. A spokesperson with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said the worker with Alliance Oilfield Services died when he fell through a... more »

• State losing on natural gas tax exemption

  March 10, 2011 2:39 PM

  NEW ORLEANS - Buried in a 1994 law is a tax exemption that,so far, has cost financially strapped Louisiana more than $220 million from the natural gas bounty of the Haynesville Shale formation in the northwestern parishes. But as the state faces a $1.6 billion budget shortfall, legislative leaders... more »

• 'All Clear' given for natural gas leak on LSU campus

  March 10, 2011 11:13 AM

  UPDATE 12:08 p.m. - LSU officials have given the all-clear after this morning's natural gas leak, and people are being allowed back into the affected area. BATON ROUGE - LSU officials sent out a campus-wide alert a short time ago, warning people to stay away from a natural gas... more »

• Nucor breaks ground in Convent

  March 7, 2011 1:04 PM

  CONVENT, La. - Nucor Corp.'s CEO says it was Louisiana's plentiful natural gas supplies that made it possible for the steel maker to come here. Chief Executive Dan DiMiecco and Gov. Bobby Jindal formally broke ground today for a $750 million iron making plant in St. James Parish. ... more »

• Academy responds to industry's "Gasland" request

  February 25, 2011 1:06 PM

  ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says it's not in the business of vetting best documentary contenders for truth and accuracy. That's up to Oscar voters. The academy has responded to attacks on the documentary "Gasland," a critical look at natural gas drilling.... more »

• Road crew hits, ruptures gas line; forces evacuations

  February 21, 2011 4:33 PM

  UPDATE: as of 445pm, the fire is out and people are being allowed back into their homes. BATON ROUGE - St. George Fire Department personnel are on the scene of a natural gas rupture in the Shenandoah area. A natural gas line ruptured after a road-repair crew hit it a... more »

• EBR explosion causes half-million dollars in damage

  December 27, 2010 11:50 AM

  CENTRAL - A natural gas explosion that shook homes near an East Baton Rouge energy plant this morning caused a lot of damage at the site but no injuries, according to authorities. Central and Baton Rogue fire departments were called to the Evergreen Energy Plant around 6:30 a.m. Central... more »

• Natural gas may have jump-started oil eating bugs

  September 16, 2010 12:36 PM

  Those oil-eating bacteria that suddenly flourished in the Gulf of Mexico following the oil spill may have gotten a jump start from natural gas, scientists say. While the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon well resulted in a massive oil spill, there was also a less noted release of natural... more »

• Industry: No need for EPA to regulate gas drilling

  September 10, 2010 11:49 AM

  The oil and natural gas industry is willing to cooperate with a federal study of natural gas drilling, but opposes regulation of a practice known as hydraulic fracturing. The Environmental Protection Agency has asked nine natural gas companies to disclose the chemical components used in that process. The... more »

• Gov. Jindal breaks ground at new Plaquemine chemicals plant

  August 23, 2010 3:06 PM

  A new specialty chemicals facility is being built in Plaquemine and will provide more than 500 jobs. Governor Bobby Jindal and SNF Flopam, Inc. officials are meeting today about the project. News 2’s Kristy Davis is there and confirmed the plant will create 250 jobs for initial construction then... more »

• One injured in house explosion

  June 30, 2010 5:32 AM

  One person was injured after a natural gas leak caused an explosion at a home in Old South Baton Rouge. It happened around 10:45 p.m. Tuesday at 1502 Matilda Street. Firefighters say there something inside the home ignited causing an explosion, leveling the home. One person was taken to the... more »

• Baker may increase utility rates

  June 21, 2010 6:57 AM

  Residents in the city of Baker could see their rates for natural gas, water and sewer service go up in order to offset rising expenses for operating the city's utility system. The council is expected to introduce an ordinance Tuesday, and a final vote could come at the council's July... more »

• Gulf oil full of methane, adding new concerns

  June 18, 2010 7:13 AM

  The crude gushing from the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico contains vast amounts of natural gas that could pose a serious threat to the ecosystem. John Kessler is a Texas A&M University oceanographer. He says the oil emanating from the seafloor contains about 40 percent methane - compared... more »

• Company: Workers followed procedure before blast

  June 8, 2010 1:40 PM

  The company that was digging at the site in Texas where a natural gas line ruptured yesterday says its crew had followed the proper procedures in locating that line first. The rupture set off a massive explosion that killed one worker. The head of C&H Power Line Construction... more »

• 3 dead after natural gas line explodes in Texas

  June 7, 2010 4:42 PM

  Officials say three people have been killed and several other injured after a natural gas line exploded in rural north Texas. Officials say workers apparently hit the underground line south of Dallas while digging on Monday. Johnson County Emergency Management Coordinator Jack Snow says about six people were... more »

• Permit sought for gas facility

  June 3, 2010 6:28 AM

  AGL Resources has begun the permitting process for the controversial expansion of its natural gas storage facility in salt domes under Lake Peigneur in Iberia Parish. The company filed a notice last month of its plans to seek a permit from the state Department of Natural Resources to build two... more »

• Offshore natural gas platform sinks off Venezuela

  May 13, 2010 7:10 AM

  An offshore natural gas platform has sunk into the sea off the coast of Venezuela, and 95 workers have been safely rescued. Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said all of the workers on the Aban Pearl platform off eastern Sucre state were safely evacuated, and he said the accident poses no... more »

• Last of south Caddo evacuees return

  May 6, 2010 8:36 AM

  South Caddo Parish residents evacuated from their homes after natural gas leak are back home today. It had been 16 days since the problem was discovered at the Exco Operating Company site on Norris Ferry Road in south Caddo Parish. Four dozen families spent more than two weeks away from... more »

• Frustrated evacuees ready to go home

  May 4, 2010 5:27 AM

  More than 70 south Caddo Parish residents still living in a Shreveport hotel are ready to go home. They had to leave April 19 after rising pressure in a natural gas well prompted evacuation of their neighborhood. On Friday, they were told to expect to stay in the hotel another... more »

• Gas found in Caddo water wells

  April 20, 2010 7:45 AM

  About 100 homes in southern Caddo Parish have been evacuated as a precaution after natural gas was detected in drinking water wells. Crews were drilling for natural gas in the area. DEQ says natural gas leaked into the Wilcox Aquifer and that 35 of 45 private water wells it sampled... more »

• Precautionary evac in southern Caddo Parish

  April 19, 2010 9:39 AM

  A precautionary evacuation was ordered in southern Caddo Parish near a natural gas well. Caddo Parish deputies asked residents living near the well to evacuate to a nearby fire station as a precaution while crews prepare to release pressure in the well to prevent it from blowing. more »

• Update: Siegen Lane reopens after gas leak

  March 23, 2010 3:47 PM

  The natural gas leak in the Siegen Lane construction zone between Perkins Road and Highland Road has been clamped off by Entergy crews. Siegen Lane is now open for traffic in both directions. Siegen had been shut down between Highland Road and Lazy K as a safety precaution... more »

• Public voices concern on gas storage

  March 10, 2010 7:29 AM

  Dozens of residents and salt miners spoke out against plans to build a natural gas storage facility in the Cote Blanche salt dome at a public hearing. Henry Gas Storage hopes to build four natural gas caverns in the dome and construct about 12 miles of new natural gas pipelines... more »

• Salt dome hearing Tuesday

  March 8, 2010 6:47 AM

  St. Mary Parish residents will get the chance to hear more about a proposal to store natural gas in the Cote Blanche salt dome during a public hearing on Tuesday. The hearing will be hosted by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and is part of the permitting process that... more »

• Road now open after overturned tanker

  February 22, 2010 5:54 PM

  Update: LA 1 near Plaquemine is now open after a tanker overturned and caught fire Monday afternoon. It happened near the intersection of LA 1 and St. Louis Road. State Police say the tanker was hauling natural gas. The cab caught fire after the crash but troopers say none of... more »

• Gas storage project faces opposition

  February 15, 2010 10:45 AM

  An environmental group wants to stop a natural gas storage project in St. Mary Parish. The Louisiana Environmental Action Network asked the state Department of Environmental Quality to deny a permit for the Henry Gas Storage plan. The report from LEAN says the plans to store the gas in the... more »

• Court dismisses Ringgold woman's natural gas suit

  February 9, 2010 8:20 AM

  A state judge in Farmerville has dismissed a Ringgold woman's lawsuit over payment for natural gas from her wells. Monroe attorney and Drum Energy owner Thomas Grant paid Virginia Cobb $39,000 after she won a lawsuit in 2007, over natural gas from her wells from January 1997 to November 2007.... more »

• Gas storage hearing set

  February 1, 2010 6:10 AM

  The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality will host a public hearing on March 9 about a proposal to store natural gas in the Cote Blanche salt dome in St. Mary Parish. Henry Gas Storage is moving through the permit process necessary to construct four caverns in the dome. Each cavern... more »

• Companies get penalty notices after cow deaths

  January 28, 2010 10:45 AM

  The state Department of Environmental Quality says Chesapeake Energy Corp. and contractor Schlumberger Technology Corp. broke three regulations in connection with the deaths of 17 cows in April. The cows died after drinking liquid spilled from a natural gas well site in south Caddo Parish, near Spring Ridge. A penalty... more »

• Natural gas prices drop

  October 1, 2009 8:08 PM

  With winter just around the corner, good news, if you plan to heat your home with natural gas. The price of natural gas tumbled nearly 8 percent today. The government reported consumption has dropped so low that the U.S. is now storing more than at any other time on... more »

• Vitter asks not to delay offshore drilling

  September 22, 2009 5:38 AM

  U.S. Sen. David Vitter is urging the Obama administration not to delay opening up more offshore areas to oil and natural gas drilling. On Monday, Vitter and two other Republican senators introduced an amendment to an appropriations bill for the Interior Department prohibiting the department from delaying expansion plans. more »