Basin

Energen Corp. has completed its transition to a pure-play Permian Basin explorer and has turned its focus to building an inventory of drilled but uncompleted (DUC) wells in the Delaware sub-basin.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah Vernal field office is seeking public comment on the environmental assessment (EA) done regarding its plans to offer 28 parcels totaling about 12,225 acres for oil and natural gas leasing set for November this year. Maps and additional information are included in the EA. The public comment period will run through July 15, and BLM said it is particularly looking for the identification of issues germane to proposed sale or new technical or scientific information relevant to the case. “Comments that contain only opinions or preferences will not receive a formal response, but may be considered in the BLM decision-making process,” a BLM Utah spokesperson said.

A small Northeast Pennsylvania-based company has stepped up to challenge the Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) longstanding ban on horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the 13,539-square mile watershed, arguing in a lawsuit filed in federal court this month that it lacks authority to regulate oil and natural gas development.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. has paid an $11,000 fine to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission for incidents that occurred in 2012 and 2013, when the producer started work at two wells pads in Pennsylvania days before it received permits from the organization to do so.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said late Wednesday it has agreements in place to capture $1.3 billion from monetizing stakes in three U.S. onshore projects, including a majority stake in the Maverick Basin system in South Texas.

Energen Corp. plans to sell off its non-core assets in the San Juan and Delaware basins as it transitions to a pure-play operator in the Permian Basin, the company said.

WPX Energy Inc. exceeded its 2015 goal of reducing debt through monetizing $400-500 million of its assets after agreeing to sell its gathering system in the San Juan Basin to an infrastructure fund for $309 million.

The Permian Basin’s maturation as an unconventional liquids play has made it a premium spot for producers — particularly since oil prices have been crushed and are expected to remain so for a while. Now, consolidation of assets and players is afoot as the upstream industry works through its glut of debt and oil.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) voted unanimously to adopt its proposed “One Process/One Permit” (OPOP) program, a measure designed to promote interagency cooperation between it and its four member states, but which could also one day have an impact on natural gas development in the basin, should it move forward.