Counties

Aurora Oil & Gas Ltd. is buying a 100% operated working interest in 2,700 net acres in South Texas in the liquids-rich area of the Eagle Ford Shale for $117.5 million.

In the midst of two lawsuits filed by Colorado officials against locally passed oil and natural gas drilling rules, Longmont, CO, gained some support Thursday when the Sierra Club and Earthworks’ attorneys filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit seeking to invalidate an ordinance passed last year.

Hess Corp. won’t sell its unconventional assets in the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Utica shale plays, but it is looking at proposals from a hedge fund that wants a larger stake in the company, Hess officials said during a 4Q2012 earnings call on Wednesday.

EV Energy Partners LP (EVEP) said that although it has received offers for its acreage in the Utica Shale, the company does not expect to announce an agreement before the end of the year.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) late Monday filed a lawsuit in a county district court seeking to invalidate the city of Longmont’s ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) within its city limits. COGA told the court the resolution essentially is a ban on oil/natural gas drilling.

Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) has agreed to pay Chesapeake Energy Corp. $125 million for crude oil and condensate gathering assets in the Eagle Ford Shale. The acquired assets are complementary to and would be connected with PAA’s existing crude oil and condensate gathering systems. Included in the purchase are 40 miles of crude oil/condensate gathering pipelines with a throughput capacity of 50,000 b/d; 150,000 bbl of existing crude oil and condensate storage capacity; 300,000 bbl of storage capacity under construction; and a truck unloading terminal. Chesapeake agreed to provide long-term acreage dedications of future production from its South Texas leasehold in Webb and Dimmit counties.

The San Antonio, TX, metropolitan area has gained about 4,000 jobs from the Eagle Ford shale Play, and its upcoming major road improvements could tap up to $12 million annually from the oil/gas development, according to a report released Tuesday by the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation.

The administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett says new natural gas pipelines should be allowed to share rights-of-way (ROW) with roadways, one of 16 policy recommendations made to fulfill a requirement of the state’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law, Act 13.

Crestwood Marcellus Midstream LLC (CMM) is adding more bolt-on natural gas compression and dehydration assets in West Virginia’s Harrison and Doddridge counties that provide services to a unit of Antero Resources through a $95 million acquisition from Enerven Compression LLC.