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Spring will be warmer than usual in most of the eastern and central United States this year, but colder-than-normal temperatures are expected to dominate further west, according to forecasters at Andover, MA-based Weather Services International (WSI).

With only a partial summer’s drilling program completed last year, Royal Dutch Shell plc now plans to pause exploratory drilling activity this year offshore Alaska in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Spring will be warmer than usual in most of the eastern and central United States this year, but colder-than-normal temperatures are expected to dominate further west, according to forecasters at Andover, MA-based Weather Services International (WSI).

Royal Dutch Shell plc on Wednesday said it would pause exploratory drilling activity this year in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

The $4.3 billion tie-up of Linn Energy LLC and its LinnCo LLC unit with Berry Petroleum Co., announced Thursday, will create one of the largest exploration and production (E&P) companies in North America. The deal also is said to be the first-ever acquisition of a C-corporation by an upstream limited liability company (LLC) or master limited partnership (MLP).

Shares of Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) have taken a beating since the company last week provided its outlook for liquids production growth and announced plans to jettison international assets in favor of U.S. plays. It’s a sign that investors have heard enough talk and are ready to see action.

The Marcellus Shale’s natural gas volumes are continuing to flow higher, but significant revisions in growth expectations by pipeline giant Williams Partners Ltd. (WPZ) have led one analyst to question whether the “excellent adventure” to establish a major natural gas hub is turning into a “bogus journey.”

EOG Resources Inc. said it now holds 2.2 billion boe of potential recoverable crude oil reserves in the Eagle Ford Shale — reportedly the largest share net to one company in the last 40 years — and plans to continue focusing on oil production in 2013, after posting large increases in oil, condensate and natural gas liquids (NGL) production the year before.

The federal government could see an additional $24 billion in annual tax revenue over the next seven years if policymakers would lift restrictions on oil and gas activity on public lands, and $86 billion annually thereafter, according to the Institute for Energy Research (IER).