Carolyn Davis

Williams executives believe the Bluegrass Pipeline, which would deliver natural gas liquids (NGL) from the Marcellus and Utica shales to Gulf Coast markets, to be a key to unlocking all of the value of the Appalachian Basin’s reserves, but exploration and production (E&P) companies still need to provide some details about their drilling plans for assurance beyond 2015, CEO Alan Armstrong said Thursday.

A significant drop-off in midstream merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, coupled with lackluster number of mega deals, resulted in a decline in deal values for the third quarter from a year ago, PwC US said Thursday.

Like the lumbering giants they resemble, oil majors take a bit more time to pivot from one target to the next, a task exceedingly difficult for North America’s top natural gas producer, ExxonMobil Corp. The pirouette to more oily targets came full circle in the third quarter in the three most strategic U.S. leaseholds, the Permian Basin and the Woodford and Bakken shales.

Northeastern natural gas markets have gotten a “strong signal” from the gas-on-gas competition in the Appalachian Basin this year, and there is now support for continued infrastructure development to take away more supplies, Williams CEO Alan Armstrong said Thursday.

ExxonMobil Corp.’s third quarter earnings fell 18% from a year ago, but for the first time since 2011, production was higher.

Royal Dutch Shell plc wants to tiptoe back into Alaska’s frigid waters as soon as next summer after taking a pause following a series of blunders and miscalculations.

Range Resources Corp. doesn’t really know how many wells it may drill from its million acre-plus holdings in the Appalachian Basin. Simple answer, “it’s a lot of wells” that will grow in number for at least 10 or 20 years, COO Ray Walker told analysts Wednesday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has appointed Brian Grove deputy secretary of administration, which is a position responsible for budget, information technology and human resources. Grove previously was senior director of corporate development for Chesapeake Energy Corp., the state’s most active natural gas driller. Among other things, the DCNR oversees drilling operations in state forests. Grove worked at one time for state Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne), and for the administrations of former Govs.Tom Ridge andMark Schweiker. John Giordano, whom Grove replaces, has gone to work for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

A pledge to sell $10 billion more in assets by the end of 2015 and increase its quarterly dividend excited BP plc shareholders Tuesday, sending the stock price up nearly 5% for the day.