Black

Less than two years after his predecessor resigned, Wyoming Oil and Gas Supervisor Grant Black on Monday took the same exit route, following a closed meeting of the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC).

Following its plan to add utility assets, Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. said Thursday it has agreed to acquire the natural gas transmission pipeline and distribution utility assets of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s utility pipeline operator, MGTC Inc., in Wyoming where Black Hills has existing combination utility operations.

Atlas Energy LP (ATLS) exploration and production (E&P) subsidiary Atlas Resource Partners LP (ARP) is buying 466 Bcf of natural gas proved reserves in the Raton (New Mexico) and Black Warrior (Alabama) basins from EP Energy E&P Co. LP (EP Energy), a unit of EP Energy LLC, for $733 million.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has completed sales of its Permian Basin properties, which allows it to reduce the outstanding balance on existing term loans to $1.2 billion from $4 billion by the end of this month. The company said it plans to fully repay the term loans by the end of the year. The assets sold produced close to 21,000 b/d of liquids and 90 MMcf/d of natural gas in 2Q2012, or about 5.7% of Chesapeake’s production during the period. The multi-sales package was announced in September (see Shale Daily, Sept. 13). SWEPI LP, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, bought the southern Delaware Basin assets, while the northern Delaware Basin portion was sold to Chevron U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of Chevron Corp. The producing assets in the Midland Basin were sold to affiliates of Houston-based EnerVest Ltd.

A kerfuffle between the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) and an anti-drilling group over copyright infringement has resulted in the latter removing from its website a logo similar to the one used by the MSC.

Permits and production are soaring in the Niobrara Shale where Chesapeake Energy is indicating it has unlocked some important finds as it eyes the play as a significant contributor to its strategy for expanding its production of natural gas liquids (NGL).

A nonprofit organization that conducts reviews of state oil and natural gas regulations has concluded that North Carolina’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has experienced staff but is not adequately prepared to regulate oil and natural gas activities.

A judge in New York State has ruled that an ordinance and a zoning requirement enacted last year by the town of Dryden, NY, essentially banning all Marcellus Shale oil and gas activities in the municipality, are not preempted by state law and can remain in effect.

While the debate over hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Cumnock Formation stalls in the North Carolina General Assembly, two municipalities have taken steps to regulate the practice locally.