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Crude oil shipments on all U.S. railroads could hit 700,000 b/d by the end of this year, up 40% from current levels, and top 1 million b/d in 18 months, said BNSF Railway Co. CEO Matthew Rose.

Devon Energy Corp.’s North American onshore oil production jumped year/year 20% in 2012 as it continued to makeover its natural gas-weighted portfolio to higher margin liquids and oil targets, but more still needs to be done to squeeze the value of its portfolio, CEO John Richels said Wednesday. Oil appears to be the answer, and dry natural gas development still is off the table.

Another proposal has emerged in the North Dakota state legislature seeking to eliminate exemptions from the state’s current one-year limit for oil production wells flaring associated natural gas.

Suncor Energy Inc. is writing off $1.5 billion of the investment in the centerpiece of its $20.6 billion oilsands expansion, the Voyageur Upgrader, which would turn heavy bitumen into light oil, in part because of stunning production growth in U.S. oil shales.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) finished 2012 with a record backlog of rig technology orders, but there’s a “cross current” for the markets in 2013, especially in North America’s land operations, according to the management team.

Baker Hughes Inc. Chairman Chad Deaton said he is retiring effective April 25. President and CEO Martin Craighead is to assume the chairman’s role in addition to his current responsibilities, the board announced. Deaton joined the oilfield services company in 2004 and served as chair and CEO until January 2012, when he became executive chairman (see Daily GPI, Jan. 25, 2012). Craighead, who began working at Baker in 1986, was appointed COO in 2009 and president in 2010. “I am confident that with Martin, Baker Hughes has the optimal leadership for the future,” Deaton said. The Houston-based company works in 80 countries and has more than 58,000 employees worldwide.

A socially focused investor group has submitted a shareholder resolution aimed at reducing volumes of flared natural gas at oil wellheads. Mercy Investment Services has targeted Oklahoma-based Continental Resources Inc., the leading exploration and production (E&P) operator in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale and Three Forks plays.

An 11-month investigation into an Alberta drilling mishap has confirmed that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) poses a unique fluid spill risk and prompted regulatory steps to control the danger.

East West Petroleum Corp. and Lani LLC on Monday said they jointly plan to explore two prospective areas in California’s San Joaquin Basin, the Tejon Extension and Tejon Main.