Advance

Chesapeake Energy Corp. said Friday it would pay $315 million to buy land driller Bronco Drilling Co. Inc. to advance its goal to own two-thirds of the rigs it operates in its unconventional drilling program.

Only a couple of points saw losses Tuesday as the cash market continued a broad overall advance. Cold to chilly forecasts for Wednesday — with freezing lows due in some locations — stretched from Western Canada and much of the western U.S. through the Plains and Midwest into the Northeast. Cash got an extra boost from Monday’s May futures increase of 6.7 cents, and there likely was a small amount of run-up in cooling load in the South, where highs from the mid 70s to mid 80s were predicted for much of the region.

To advance more profitable North American shale and oilsands projects, as well as Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) plans, ConocoPhillips said last week it will sell up to $20 billion of its properties over the next two years, double the amount it set for sale in late 2009.

To advance more profitable North American shale and oilsands projects, as well as Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) plans, ConocoPhillips will sell up to $20 billion of its properties over the next two years, double the amount it set in late 2009.

A review of the Louisiana program regulating the hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) of oil and gas wells has concluded that the program is well managed; however, some recommendations for improvements were made.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) has hired three full-time senior staff members to advance the organization’s communications, outreach, education and policy objectives. Steve Forde, the new policy and communications director, was senior director of corporate communications for Education Management Corp. He previously was deputy communications director for House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and also served as communications director for the House Education and Workforce Committee. Christopher Heck, who will lead membership services, joins the MSC after serving as vice president and relationship manager at Fifth Third Bank. Heck is current chair of the Enterprise Forum Pittsburgh. The new conference director, Helen Goodman, founded Pittsburgh-based Event Resources 20 years ago to provide services to corporate, nonprofit and public-sector organizations. She also worked for the Pittsburgh Technology Council. “Having our membership more than double over the past year, we’re continuing to grow our core team of experts with our focus remaining on effectively conveying our industry’s long-term commitment to the environment, safety, and a cleaner, more competitive energy economy,” said MSC President Kathryn Klaber.

ICE Trust U.S. LLC has filed in advance with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to register as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO), saying it was filing early “to promote the public interest in expediting the clearing of OTC derivatives through Commission-regulated DCOs.”

ICE Trust U.S. LLC has filed in advance with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to register as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO), saying it was filing early “to promote the public interest in expediting the clearing of OTC derivatives through Commission-regulated DCOs.”

With some support from the previous Friday’s futures advance, the cash market was finding enough increases in colder weather either already in place or imminent to realize gains at a sizeable majority of locations the board Monday.