Chesapeake

A Washington, DC-based watchdog group last week called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether large natural gas producers, notably Chesapeake Energy Corp. and ConocoPhillips, are conspiring to limit their production to raise the price of natural gas in violation of the antitrust laws. ConocoPhillips said the allegations are “without foundation.”

Under a new policy by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), operators will be required to sign a lease and make royalty payments to the state for natural gas gathered from wells adjacent to navigable streams, lakes and waterways.

Six former presidents will be appearing in commercials supporting natural gas that will air in theaters before motion pictures this summer, thanks to a new advertising campaign by the American Clean Skies Foundation (ACSF), a nonprofit natural gas advocacy group.

Three families in western Pennsylvania have filed a lawsuit against 17 defendants, including an operator for Range Resources Corp. and two independent water testing labs, alleging that a drilling and impoundment site caused health problems. The plaintiffs also accused Range and the labs of conspiring to hide evidence of drinking water contamination.

Midstream operations in the Marcellus Shale are significantly expanding for Penn Virginia Resource Partners LP (PVR), after the partnership inked agreements with four of the biggest natural gas producers to extend its Lycoming County, PA, pipeline system to provide access to multiple markets.

MarkWest Energy Partners LP is building out its services for Appalachian rich-gas producers with the $512 million acquisition of Pennsylvania-based Keystone Midstream Services LLC.

The natural gas marketing unit of Delaware-based Chesapeake Utilities Corp. (CUC) and Wise Gas Inc. said Wednesday they plan to jointly develop a series of compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations in Florida and along the East Coast to serve both municipal and private-sector fleets.

Atlas Resource Partners LP (ARP) has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with subsidiaries of Canada’s Equal Energy Ltd. in the core area of the Mississippian Lime, a formation in Oklahoma and Kansas rich in oil and natural gas liquids (NGL).

Data gathered from 30 large domestic natural gas producers indicate that the U.S. inventory of gas reserves has grown to about 300 Tcf, according to a new report from the American Gas Association (AGA). That estimate, based in large part on new discoveries in shale plays, shatters the previous domestic reserves record of 293 Tcf, which was recorded in 1967.