Coalbed

The Wyoming Supreme Court last Wednesday sided with two landowners suing to force the cleanup of abandoned coalbed methane (CBM) wells, long a source of contention throughout the state.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Meadhas namedBridget Hillas director of theOffice of State Lands and Investments, which is involved in, among other things, associated wellhead natural gas flaring and coalbed methane leases (seeDaily GPI,June 20, 2012). Hill, who was an attorney for the lands office for six years, replacesRyan Lance, who is moving to the private sector. The office supports the state’s Board of Land Commissioners and the Loan and Investment Board, which are composed of the top five elected officials, including Mead.

Birmingham, AL-based Energen Corp. said this week it has signed an agreement with an undisclosed buyer to sell its Black Warrior Basin coalbed methane (CBM) assets in Alabama for $160 million plus standard closing adjustments. The company expects the sale to close in early October with an effective date of July 1, 2013.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to drop its previously proposed effort to develop effluent guidelines for coalbed methane (CBM) extraction, according to a notice in theFederal Register.

ExxonMobil Corp. said it is interested in helping Ukraine develop its oil, gas, shale gas and coalbed methane (CBM) reserves, and estimates the country’s onshore and offshore gas resources could produce 45 billion cubic meters (bcm) (1.59 Tcf) by 2020.

On higher natural gas prices, Warren Resources Inc. said it would drill 25 new coalbed methane (CBM) wells in the Spyglass Hill Unit in Wyoming’s Washakie Basin, a sub-basin of the Greater Green River Basin, the New York City-based exploration and production company said.

Warren Resources Inc. plans to drill 25 new coalbed methane (CBM) wells in the Spyglass Hill Unit in Wyoming’s Washakie Basin, a sub-basin of the Greater Green River Basin, the New York City-based exploration and production company said.

Colorado’s oil production last year passed the 40 million bbl mark for the first time in 50 years, while natural gas and coalbed methane (CBM) production were down in the face of stubbornly low prices, according to preliminary data from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC).

Royal Dutch Shell plc has dropped plans to develop coalbed methane in British Columbia (BC) following the provincial government’s decision to ban natural gas and oil exploration in the Klappan, an aboriginal area in the northern part of the province.