After

Citing a lack of market, the developers of a new coal mine in southwestern Wyoming on Thursday said they were suspending development after a year of work. The actions underscore concerns expressed in Wyoming and elsewhere about the state of the U.S. coal industry.

Just one month after Russia’s state-owned OAO Rosneft claimed a stake in 20 deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) exploration blocks held by ExxonMobil Corp., the partners said they plan to spend as much as $15 billion to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on Russia’s Pacific Coast that would ship fuel to Asia-Pacific markets. A final investment decision is set for June, and if it’s approved, the plant could begin exporting LNG by 2018, according to Rosneft, which is the world’s largest listed oil producer (see Daily GPI, March 22). Rosneft and ExxonMobil in 2011 struck a cooperation agreement to swap access in Russia’s Arctic offshore and other areas; Rosneft gained access to U.S. and Canadian plays in the onshore and GOM (see Daily GPI, Aug. 31, 2011). Rosneft acquired a 30% interest in the 20 deepwater GOM blocks last month (see Daily GPI, March 13). The partners expanded the strategic agreement in February, which gave Rosneft the option to take a stake in the Point Thomson, AK, gas project (see Daily GPI, Feb. 14). At that time, they signed a memorandum of understanding to study the economic viability of a LNG development in the Russian Far East.

Three weeks after the launch of the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) and its proposed certification process, many oil and natural gas producers are in the dark about the initiative and taking a “wait and see” approach to participating.

Australia-based and Eagle Ford-focused Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd. said a downspacing pilot on its non-operated acreage in the Eagle Ford’s Sugarkane Field is yielding strong results and the company is planning 40-acre spacing on its recently acquired operated acreage in the play.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued a permit to Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC (TGP) for its Northeast Upgrade Project after determining that it is in the public interest and would not adversely affect the environment.

Following three straight years of production declines after the Macondo well blowout, this year likely will be the first for growth in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) since 2009, but it certainly won’t be the last, according to Raymond James & Associates Inc.

ExxonMobil Corp.’s quest to remain the biggest operator in the Ardmore Basin’s Woodford Shale remains on track after the super major agreed to pay $147.5 million to buy the bulk of BNK Petroleum Inc.’s leasehold in the Tishomingo Field.

After months of haggling, hedge fund TPG-Axon Capital, which owns 7.3% of outstanding SandRidge Energy Inc. shares, has gained at least a portion of the changes it had urged at the Oklahoma City-based company, and it stands poised to remove CEO Tom Ward or take control of the board of directors.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced Friday that Michael Krancer, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), will step down on April 15 and return to practice law in Philadelphia. But the decision to replace him on an interim basis with the governor’s deputy chief of staff is being derided by Krancer’s predecessor, John Hanger.