Charlie Passut

Evidence into whether two interstate natural gas pipeline companies, which were placed under investigation in January, overcharged customers in recovering costs of service are getting a rehearing by FERC. Meanwhile, settlement talks over a probe into a third company continue.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finalized Obama-era revisions to conserving greater sage grouse habitat in seven western states, in effect easing restrictions for oil and natural gas leasing.

A Texas appeals court panel has ruled that Chesapeake Energy Corp. should have paid oil and gas royalties to Eagle Ford Shale leaseholders based on the gross proceeds from an adjacent well, not from take points within the trigger distances of the leases.

Less than a month after its CEO stepped down, the new head of Halcon Resources Corp. said the board plans to review financial and strategic options, including a potential sale or merger.

Midcontinent operator Chaparral Energy Inc. plans to accelerate development of its Merge prospects in Oklahoma this year, as production surged in the Sooner Trend of the Anadarko Basin mostly in Canadian and Kingfisher counties, aka the STACK.

Despite four years of trying to fix the problem, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) inspection program for oil and natural gas wells still has a significant workforce imbalance, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Northern Oil and Gas Inc. executives said oil price volatility increased its opportunities for small “ground game” acquisitions in 4Q2018, and plans are to look for bigger prospects in the Williston Basin this year.

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has ruled that a wastewater disposal company was not required to wait to receive federal and state permits to convert a natural gas well into a wastewater injection well before challenging the validity of a local zoning ordinance.

The Alaska Gasline Development Corp. (AGDC) has signed an agreement with BP plc and ExxonMobil Corp. to collaborate on ways to advance the state-owned corporation’s Alaska LNG project, including identifying ways to improve the project’s competitiveness and secure FERC authorization to build the project.