Jamison Cocklin

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection slapped Range Resources Corp. with a $4.15 million fine for a series of violations at six of the company’s water impoundments in southwest Pennsylvania, representing the largest financial penalty against any operator in the state’s shale drilling era.

In a wide-ranging analysis of 1H2014 state production data, the Pennsylvania State University Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (MCOR) demonstrated how unconventional operators are only just beginning to hit their stride in the nation’s largest natural gas producing formation.

Rex Energy Inc. is planning to begin site development late next week at a controversial location near a large school campus in western Pennsylvania. The company has been met with staunch opposition from a group of parents concerned about the health and safety of students.

The Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) on Thursday issued its first certification to Chevron Appalachia LLC.

Gastar Exploration Inc. is poised to spend heavily in its Hunton Limestone oil play next year after approving a $257.3 million capital budget that mostly would go toward drilling, completion and infrastructure in Oklahoma.

Consol Energy Inc. and Noble Energy Inc. set terms Wednesday for the initial public offering of their midstream master limited partnership, announcing plans to raise about $350 million with 7.5 million units at a price range of $19.00-21.00/unit.

Rice Energy Inc. has won a bidding war of sorts in Belmont County, OH, to develop 195 acres owned by the city of St. Clairsville. The city council agreed to lease the acreage to Rice for $8,650/acre after it offered a bid to counter American Energy Partners LP’s $8,600/acre offer. According to reports, the councilors said besides the price they also chose Rice because of language included in the lease that would not allow the company to deduct from future royalties. Rice has assets in Belmont County, as well as in southwest Pennsylvania’s Washington and Greene counties.

Rex Energy Corp. plans to put a newly contracted rig to work at the beginning of next year in its Moraine East area in Butler County, PA, which it received in a $120 million deal last month with Royal Dutch Shell plc affiliate SWEPI LP (see Shale Daily, Aug. 13).

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. picked a new business partner for its midstream subsidiary, Eureka Hunter Holdings LLC, in a move that it said Tuesday will create significant savings and more flexibility for its upstream operations.