Department

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has permanently revoked the operating permits for two companies, D&L Energy Inc. and Hardrock Excavating LLC, after employees were seen dumping oilfield waste into a storm drain in Youngstown that empties into the Mahoning River.

The Interior Department said Thursday it will offer 38.6 million acres offshore Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama for oil and natural gas exploration and development in the Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 227 to be held in March. The sale could potentially result in almost 4 Tcf of natural gas production and nearly one billion bbl of oil production, according to the agency.

The federal government is eyeing the possibility of regulating the safety of gathering lines that serve the Marcellus Shale play in Pennsylvania, the head of the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administrator (PHMSA) told a Senate panel last Monday.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has finalized revisions to general permits for natural gas-fired engines and equipment at compressor stations, which are “75-90%” stricter than current limits for the largest, most common types of engines used at compressor stations. DEP also is suggesting revisions to one section of the air quality permit exemption list governing well drilling sites.

Utica Shale operators are discovering that with some patience and seasoning, estimated ultimate recoveries (EUR) for liquids reserves appear to move higher.

Although the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has missed deadlines for two of the three studies it was required to perform under the state’s Marcellus Shale regulatory reform law, the agency is close to completing one of the studies and should present it to legislators soon.

A federal judge in New Orleans on Tuesday approved an agreement between BP plc and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the company to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges, including manslaughter, and pay more than $4 billion in criminal fines related to the Macondo deepwater well blowout in April 2010.

The federal government is considering the possibility of regulating the safety of gathering lines that serve the Marcellus Shale play in Pennsylvania, the head of the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) told a Senate panel Monday.

The federal government is eyeing the possibility of regulating the safety of gathering lines that serve the Marcellus Shale play in Pennsylvania, the head of the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administrator (PHMSA) told a Senate panel Monday.