Consistent

In an attempt to make the process smoother for oil and gas companies applying for unitization in the emerging Utica Shale, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has unveiled a series of new application requirements.

Prolific oil production from U.S. shales is weighing on the need for imports, OPEC acknowledged in its latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), and analysts at Barclays predicted that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will see its influence over market balances decline over the next few years.

The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) has a new $6 million grant program to help companies replace their older forklifts and medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles with ultra low-emission natural gas- and propane-fueled equipment. The grant program is funded by the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Since 2005, the RRC has awarded $39.5 million in grants to Texas companies and school districts, and has reduced emissions of smog-forming nitrogen oxides by nearly 5,000 tons. To be eligible for the grants, new equipment must meet the latest emissions standards and operate in one of the 43 counties designated by the TCEQ as having substandard air quality. The grant amount averages $9,500. For more information, visit www.altenergy.rrc.state.tx.us.

Master integrated planning in the shale natural gas and liquids markets reduces working capital and makes the end-to-end process more consistent and predictable, according to an analysis by PwC.

Elected officials in Ft. Collins, CO, the university town about 57 miles north of Denver, have passed a ban on oil and natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) within the city limits. The measure still must pass on a second reading in early March.

Making good on its plan to continue a “strategic redirection” of its business, NuStar Energy LP on Monday said it has agreed sell its San Antonio refinery and related assets, including a terminal in Elmendorf, TX, and a pipeline connecting the terminal and refinery, to Calumet Specialty Products Partners, LP for $100 million, plus closing date inventory estimated to be $15 million.

Williams, which has been expanding its onshore presence in the Marcellus and Utica shales, late Tuesday snagged a deal to significantly expand its onshore footprint in a $2.4 billion transaction to acquire half of the natural gas pipeline system once owned by Chesapeake Energy Corp.

A drop in northern Pennsylvania stream flow levels once again has forced the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) to suspend water withdrawal permits for more than 22 companies holding 37 separate permits in Pennsylvania and New York. More than half of the companies affected are energy operators working in the Marcellus Shale.

Whether the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale turns out to be the kind of prospect that ranks among energy industry biggies is still a waiting game, one of the trend’s followers said Tuesday.