Silverback Exploration LLC, a newly formed oil and gas exploration company, has received a $350 million equity commitment fromEnCap Investments. San Antonio-based Silverback will use the capital to pursue and develop unconventional resource play opportunities in the United States. Silverback is led by CEO George M. Young Jr., who most recently served as president of Collins and Young LLC.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law a long-awaited $2.3 billion transportation bill, a portion of which will go toward upgrading rail freight lines that serve the Marcellus Shale. The law establishes a fund with money from fee increases, raising the cap on the state’s gasoline tax and a transfer from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. In fiscal 2013-2014, $8 million will go toward grants for freight rail improvements, with the rest going to ports, waterways and trails. The Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission said improving rail lines and airports would help ease highway congestion and truck traffic in rural areas.