EQT Corp. has reported double-digit initial production (IP) results for two of its newest natural gas wells in the Pennsylvania portion of the Marcellus Shale. The Cooper 590384 well in Greene County, PA, completed in late July, had an average IP rate of 22 MMcfe/d over 30 days. The well has a total lateral length of 9,000 feet, with 8,411 feet of stimulated pay, and was completed with a 28-stage fracture. The direct well cost was about $7.1 million, with a preliminary estimated ultimate recovery of 18 Bcf, according to EQT. The Rosborough 590259 well in Armstrong County, PA, had a 24-hour IP of 15 MMcfe from 4,060 feet of stimulated pay. EQT holds a 100% working interest and an 87.5% net revenue interest in both wells.

Encana Corp. faces two environmental charges related to a sour gas leak that occurred nearly a year ago in northeastern British Columbia (BC), the BC Ministry of Environment said. The ministry filed charges against Encana under the province’s Environmental Management Act. One count against the company is for introducing business-related waste into the environment. A second count is for failing to report promptly a spill of a polluting substance. Following the leak in November 2009 at the Swan well site near Pouce Coupe, BC, Encana instituted safety procedures and conducted a risk assessment at 500 drilling sites (see NGI, Feb. 8). On Oct. 13 the case is scheduled to be heard before a Fort St. John, BC, Provincial Court.

Officials at the Golden Pass LNG terminal in Sabine Pass, TX, expect the terminal’s first commissioning cargo to arrive during October. The cargo will be shipped from the Port of Ras Laffan in Qatar aboard a Q-Flex LNG tanker, currently one of the largest LNG carriers in the world. The terminal is a joint venture owned 70% by Qatar Petroleum International, the international arm of Qatar Petroleum; the remainder is owned by ExxonMobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips. Golden Pass will have the capacity to deliver the equivalent of 2 Bcf/d when it reaches full operation.

Ten projects focused on ways to increase U.S. supplies of unconventional natural gas and oil have been selected for partial federal funding, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said. Four of the projects involve advanced computer simulation and visualization capabilities to enhance knowledge of how to improve production and minimize environmental impacts. Six projects would involve next-generation carbon dioxide (CO2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to enable pilot testing. For the advanced simulation and visualization projects, projects selected were NITEC LLC of Denver; the University of Texas (UT) at Austin (two projects); and the University of Illinois/Illinois State Geological Survey of Champaign, IL. Next-generation CO2 EOR projects were selected for study at Impact Technologies LLC of Tulsa; UT at Austin (two projects); UT of the Permian Basin in Midland, TX; Sky Research Inc. of Ashland, OR; and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology/Petroleum Research Center of Socorro, NM.

Sioux Falls, SD-based NorthWestern Energy Corp. bought a majority interest in the Battle Creek Natural Gas Field on Sweetgrass Arch in Blaine County, MT, from a private owner. The deal includes the seller’s interest in the Battle Creek Gathering System Joint Venture. NorthWestern paid the seller $11.4 million in cash, funding the transaction through its existing revolving credit facility, which is about $160 million after the most recent deal. NorthWestern CEO Bob Rowe said the gas field is “well defined and established,” which he called “consistent with our low-risk profile” that intends to stay away from the exploration side of the business. NorthWestern is seeking approval from the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) to bring the field and gathering system into its combination utility rate base in the state. Last year the Montana legislature changed state law to allow a utility holding company to acquire natural gas production and gathering resources and include them in the utility rate base, subject to PSC approval.

In keeping with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s pledge to separate the functions of the agency overseeing activity in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), the department said it has established the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget. The action is part of the implementation of Salazar’s May 19 order to separate the responsibilities previously performed by the former Minerals Management Service (MMS) and reassign the responsibility to three separate organizations: ONRR; the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE); and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (see NGI, May 24). Salazar’s order came one month after the BP plc-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank off the coast of Louisiana. In June Salazar eliminated the MMS and replaced it with the BOEMRE. The ONRR, which replaces the former Minerals Revenue Management Program, will be responsible for collecting and disbursing revenues from energy production on federal and American Indian lands and the OCS. The ONRR’s duties will also include auditing and compliance; investigation and enforcement; and asset management for Indian and federal lands, both onshore and offshore.

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