The Department of Energy‘s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy has awarded nearly $7 million to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks to study the use of polymer flooding as an enhanced oil recovery method for heavy oil targets on the Alaska North Slope (ANS) in the Milne Point Field. ANS reservoirs hold an estimated 20-25 billion bbl of heavy oil. The project is be managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

SandRidge Energy Inc. is urging shareholders to vote for five of its nominees to the seven-member board and no more than two of the four independent nominees by its largest shareholder, Carl Icahn. In a letter, the company warned that Icahn “is seeking to gain control of SandRidge without paying an appropriate premium or participating in a competitive process.” SandRidge is scheduled to hold its annual meeting on June 19.

A worker died after sustaining injuries on May 25 when an oil storage tank owned by West Virginia-based Hydrocarbon Well Services exploded in Doddridge County, WV, during operations to remove and replace it. Three other people were hurt, according to news reports. The crew was removing old aboveground tanks in a rural area. West Virginia regulators said the fire was likely caused by a torch. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) which carries Bakken Shale oil from North Dakota to an Illinois hub, is marking its one year of operations on June 1. Sponsor Energy Transfer Partners LP said the pipe, which has transported more than 100 million bbl, is moving 500,000 b/d, or close to half of the Bakken’s daily production. A federal court case must still be resolved, but DAPL was allowed to continue operations pending further review.

EQT Corp., the largest U.S. natural gas producer after it acquired Rice Energy Inc., is evaluating another noncore acreage sale. The company said in a regulatory filing it is reviewing the possible sale of its production, gathering and pipeline assets in the Huron formation in West Virginia and Kentucky. The Huron announcement comes after the company sold noncore Permian Basin assets earlier this year for $64 million.