Acreage

The desire to acquire shale acreage and midstream assets in the United States continues to be strong, with domestic natural gas and oil mergers and acquisitions (M&A) values reaching $39 billion in the second quarter, according to an analysis by PwC US.

Interest in acquiring shale acreage, midstream transactions and foreign investments in the United States drove domestic natural gas and oil mergers and acquisitions (M&A) value to $39 billion in the second quarter, according to an analysis by PwC US.

The desire to acquire shale acreage and midstream assets in the United States continues to be strong, with domestic natural gas and oil mergers and acquisitions (M&A) values reaching $39 billion in the second quarter, according to an analysis by PwC US.

Operators drilled more than 1,000 wells into the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale through the end of July, a milestone not reached until mid-September in 2010 and not at all in 2009.

Chief Oil & Gas LLC announced Thursday that separate investigations by the company and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have concluded that Chief is not responsible for contaminating the water well of a woman in Bradford County, PA, who went on to become a vocal critic of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Bayer AG continues to discuss the lease or sale of acreage it owns in West Virginia for potential locations for ethane crackers, but at least one company has dropped out of those talks. “An affiliate of ours had been looking at a project in that area for an ethylene facility, but they are no longer doing that,” a spokesman for Houston-based PetroLogistics told NGI’s Shale Daily. In December, Bayer said a trio of sites it owns in industrial parks in New Martinsville, Institute and South Charleston, WV, totaling about 1,480 acres were available and would be ideal locations for thermal crackers (see Shale Daily, Dec. 23, 2010). Bayer wouldn’t discuss “speculation or market rumors” about possible deals, but has been in “serious discussions with several interested companies” that are looking at the West Virginia properties, Bayer spokesman Bryan Iams told NGI’s Shale Daily.

Chief Oil & Gas LLC has paid $180,000 in fines for two violations discovered last year at a well in Somerset County, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said Tuesday.

Rex Energy Corp. is past the halfway point in its Marcellus Shale work plan but now needs a new CEO to guide the second half.

El Paso Corp. has decided to go solo to develop its profitable Eagle Ford Shale acreage, scuttling plans to take on a joint venture (JV) partner.