marcellus

Natural gas production from the Marcellus shale formation – primarily from West Virginia and Pennsylvania – exceeded 15 billion cubic feet per day through July, equivalent to 21% of total 2013 US marketed gas production. With the rig count essentially stable, increases in drilling productivity are driving output growth. “…production from new wells is more than enough to offset the anticipated drop in production that results from existing well decline rates, increasing the production rate by 247 MMcf/d.” Surging gas supply is outpacing regional takeaway capacity, putting downward pressure on Northeast prices and adding to record storage injection volumes. [EIA]

In case there was any confusion – and apparently there was on reddit – Tesla cleared the air via Twitter regarding a photo of what looked like a Hummer plugged into a Tesla charging station. The text accompanying the photo claimed the beefy looking vehicle that symbolizes inefficient fuel consumption was Tesla’s new Model X cross-over vehicle due out next year. [EV Obsession]

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced construction on a parallel channel to the Suez Canal will begin imminently. “The parallel waterway will be 72 kilometers (45 miles) long and will allow 46 ships to cross “at the same time” compared with an average of 49 ships crossing per day now, Mamish said. The project includes tunnels for motor vehicles and trains.” [Bloomberg]