Became

Bucking the recent fuel switching trend, American Electric Power (AEP) in the first three months of 2013 became more dependent on coal and used significantly less natural gas to generate electricity, said CFO Brian Tierney.

Houston-based Halcon Resources Corp., which became a public company about a year ago, has been building acreage positions in several unconventional oil and gas plays and last year grew proved reserves to 108.8 million boe, an increase of 417% from the end of 2011.

Houston-based Halcon Resources Corp., which became a public company about a year ago, has been building acreage positions in several unconventional oil and gas plays and last year grew proved reserves to 108.8 million boe, an increase of 417% from the end of 2011.

Although the New York State Department of Health (DOH) needs a few more weeks to complete a health impact analysis of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF), Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens said Tuesday it would not cause undue delay in starting the processing of permit applications for the practice.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed slashing the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) budget by more than one-sixth for the upcoming fiscal year, dashing hopes that the agency could hire additional oil and natural gas drilling inspectors.

The Pennsylvania State Senate unanimously passed a bill last Monday absolving mine operators and landowners from liability for any injury or damage caused by the use of acid mine drainage (AMD) in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations.

Coal-to-natural gas switching became a live issue for Wisconsin Energy’s major utility, We Energies, with the decision Friday to switch a long-time coal-fired cogeneration facility serving downtown Milwaukee to natural gas. The Valley Power Plant is a 280 MW facility providing steam and electricity.

Following a long discussion by California regulators on Thursday it became clear that there’s no agreement about whether the state needs additional underground natural gas storage or whether it is too risky to site storage in a depleted gas field in a populated area, given the lessons emerging from the San Bruno, CA, pipeline explosion two years ago.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has named Al Walker, the company’s current president and COO, to the post of CEO to replace current CEO Jim Hackett, who will stay on as executive chairman. Hackett became CEO in December 2003. The change will take effect May 15 at the company’s annual meeting. Walker will stand for election to Anadarko’s board of directors at that time. “Throughout his time with the company, Al has demonstrated an exceptional ability to create value for Anadarko, resulting in some of the company’s most noteworthy accomplishments,” said Hackett. “Al has been a member of the company’s executive management team since joining Anadarko in 2005 and has been integral to the company’s major strategic and tactical decisions over that period.” Walker, 55, has more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry, with a focus on exploration and production. “We see very little change as it relates to the day-to-day operations at [Anadarko],” Wells Fargo Securities analysts said of the CEO appointment.