Control

An official with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said the department will not withdraw or modify any previously approved proposals for exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a way to control domestic natural gas prices.

An official with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said the department will not withdraw or modify any previously approved proposals for exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a way to control domestic natural gas prices.

The Idaho Association of Counties (IAC) and the Idaho Petroleum Council (IPC) have struck an agreement on guidelines that would allow counties more control over natural gas exploration operations.

Denver-based Venoco Inc., an independent exploration and production (E&P) company in California’s oil-dominated Monterey Shale, said Monday CEO Tim Marquez intends to buy back all the publicly held shares of the company he founded, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

One day after HB 401 — also known as the Natural Gas Horizontal Wells Control Act –garnered overwhelming support in both houses of the West Virginia legislature (see Shale Daily, Dec. 15), advocates for the shale gas industry, surface owners’ rights and the environment told NGI’s Shale Daily on Thursday that the bill isn’t all they had hoped for.

A moratorium on natural gas well permitting in Flower Mound, TX, is to end Friday, but those applying to drill in the affluent Barnett Shale town from now on will face some tough new requirements recently approved by the Flower Mound Town Council.

Denver-based Inflection Energy has leased 3,000 additional acres in Broome County, NY, in the midst of the Marcellus Shale, bringing the total under its control in the state to approximately 15,000 acres. The county is located on the border with Pennsylvania, where the privately held exploration and production company holds more than 6,000 acres.

A fire that erupted at midday Tuesday at the Mont Belvieu, TX, natural gas liquids (NGL) hub was under control within a few hours and was being allowed to burn out, according to owner and operator Enterprise Products Partners LP.

A proposed severance tax on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania may be dead this year, but the issue could return during the 2011 legislative session and it lives on in the campaigns of the candidates for governor. With Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell leaving office in January and the makeup of the state’s currently Democrat-dominated House and Republican-dominated Senate likely to change with the Nov. 2 election, Pennsylvania’s Marcellus policies could be looking at a facelift next year.