Claim

The New Orleans federal judge overseeing the BP plc multi-district litigation concerning the Macondo well blowout ordered the producer on Wednesday to ante up more than $130 million in fees to continue funding the court-supervised claims administrator.

A national organization that supports oil and gas leaseholders is furious that Pennsylvania legislators passed a bill that its members claim would allow forced pooling in the state. They are urging people to contact Gov. Tom Corbett to get a veto.

U.S. explorers took about a decade to claim and begin producing the huge onshore unconventional bounty. Now that they’ve got their rocks of plenty in hand, the task today is determining what to keep and what to toss, according to a Credit Suisse analyst.

National Property Holdings LP plans to develop the Alamo Junction Rail Park and serve the Eagle Ford Shale region’s growing demand for rail-based logistics and warehousing. The project joins another recently announced park targeting oil/gas patch-related industrial development in the region.

A panel of seven Commonwealth Court judges heard oral arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by seven Pennsylvania municipalities and others that claim parts of Act 13, the state’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law, are unconstitutional.

A panel of seven Commonwealth Court judges heard oral arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by seven Pennsylvania municipalities and others that claim parts of Act 13, the state’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law, are unconstitutional.

Native Americans claim they were unable to add input in the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) negotiations on the final rules that will regulate hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of oil and gas operations on public lands. Absent this input, some of the tribal leaders claimed the rules could impede their ability to develop their energy resources.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and General Electric (GE) last week unveiled “CNG In A Box,” a natural gas fueling system, which they claim will lower fleet vehicle fueling costs by 40% and emissions by 24%. The announcement came the same week that some of the biggest vehicle manufacturers unveiled new natural gas-powered pickup trucks — and as President Obama proposed tax incentives to buy advanced fuel vehicles, including for natural gas vehicles (NGV).

Gene Isenberg, former CEO of Nabors Industries Ltd., has agreed to terminate his employment contract and waive a claim to $100 million that was triggered when the company promoted Anthony G. Petrello to CEO. Isenberg’s contract provided him with $100 million in cash and other bonuses under a severance-type payment. Nabors, which was criticized by shareholders when the contract terms were released, said Isenberg now is to receive no cash compensation and would forfeit about $7 million in deferred bonuses. Some of the proceeds are to be donated to charity. Isenberg’s estate is to receive a payment of $6.6 million, plus interest, when he dies. Isenberg, who had been CEO since 1987, retired in December but continues as chairman until June, when he is to become chairman emeritus.