The city of Dallas has asked the Texas Supreme Court to block a $200 million lawsuit by spurned driller Trinity East Energy LLC. The Fort Worth-based company sued in February 2014 after the Dallas City Council voted in 2013 to deny the company the permits it needed to drill on leases in the Barnett Shale region for which it had paid the city more than $19 million. Last February an appellate court ruled that the city must face the lawsuit, City of Dallas v. Trinity East Energy LLC [No. 05-16-00349-CV]. In asking the Texas Supreme Court to block the lawsuit, Dallas is arguing that it should be immune from the action as its decision to enter into the mineral leases with Trinity East was a governmental function and it was not acting in proprietary capacity.

Energy investment firm Kalnin Ventures Inc. has agreed to acquire a nonoperated interest in 34 natural gas wells in Northeast Pennsylvania. It is Kalnin’s fourth transaction in the region since last year on behalf of its client Banpu pcl, a Thailand-based coal mining and power company. Valued at about $16 million, the agreement was signed with a subsidiary of the chemical manufacturer LSB Industries Inc. The wells are operated by Warren Resources Inc. Kalnin has acquired nonoperated stakes in Marcellus Shale assets fromRange Resources Corp., Chief Oil & Gas LLC and affiliates of Tug Hill Inc. Since last year, the firm has spent more than $200 million for an interest in 241 active wells and interests in over 50 MMcf/d of production.