Setting aside low natural gas prices and unseasonably warm weather in the first quarter, Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group Inc. is riding the continuing Bakken Shale boom in its home state, growing its oil production 19% for the first three months of this year and increasing its working rig count from two to 10 for its exploration and production (E&P) unit over the most recent quarter-over-quarter period.
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Chesapeake CEO’s Personal Loans Draw Investor Ire
A top energy analyst and some shareholders on Friday called for Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon and members of the board of directors to step aside following disclosures of questionable personal financial transactions by McClendon.
Marcellus Benefits Slim for Pennsylvania Schools, Report Finds
Aside from those that have leased lands for development, Pennsylvania school districts do not seem to be benefiting much financially from Marcellus Shale activity, according to a recent report from Pennsylvania State University.
Range Sues Pennsylvania Township Over Zoning
Range Resources Corp. is taking a southwestern Pennsylvania township to court over zoning in the Marcellus Shale.
DOE to Help Fund 11 Unconventional Gas Research Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has set aside $12.4 million to help fund 11 research projects designed to help find ways to extract more energy from unconventional oil and gas resources while reducing environmental risks.
Jordan Cove Undaunted by Environmental Group’s Criticism
Brushing aside calls earlier in the month for their demise, the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and related pipeline project in Oregon are alive and well and moving through state and local permitting processes, project manager Bob Braddock told NGI.
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Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has asked Senate leaders to set aside legislation to raise his annual salary by $19,600 after a senator threatened to block it if the pace of “new” permitting in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) did not return to the pre-BP plc Macondo well disaster rate. Salazar fired off the letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) after Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) vowed to block the request for the pay raise if the department did not resume issuance of “new” permits for GOM deepwater exploratory drilling at the same rate before the explosion aboard the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig. “It’s just my way of keeping the boot on the neck” of Interior, Vitter wrote in his letter to Salazar last Monday. Although the department has reissued a number of permits to resume activities that were interrupted as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident, it has issued only one “new” deepwater exploratory drilling permit since the moratorium was formally lifted in October. Salazar accused Vitter of “attempted coercion.” That position “is wrong, and it must be made perfectly clear that his attempt cannot and will not affect the execution of the solemn legal responsibility that the department undertakes on behalf of the American people,” Salazar said. The bill to raise Salazar’s salary was introduced by Reid earlier this month. His current salary is $180,000, The Hill reported.
Vitter Accused of ‘Coercion’ in Tying Salazar Pay Raise to Permitting
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has asked Senate leaders to set aside legislation to raise his annual salary by $19,600 after a senator threatened to block it if the pace of “new” permitting in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) did not return to the pre-BP plc Macondo well disaster rate.
Summer Gas Contracts May Average $3.25, Say Analysts
Setting aside the “near-term noise” in terms of North American natural gas fundamentals, prices should average below $4.00/Mcf this year, with summer contracts averaging around $3.25, Raymond James & Associates Inc. said last week.
Raymond James: Summer Gas Contracts May Average $3.25
Setting aside the “near-term noise” in terms of North American natural gas fundamentals, prices should average below $4.00/Mcf this year, with summer contracts averaging around $3.25, Raymond James & Associates Inc. said Monday.