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The first hurricane of 2011 does not appear to be headed for the Gulf of Mexico, but the U.S. East Coast could be in for a tough week as the storm intensifies and moves north, tropical forecasters said Monday.

Officials in a New Jersey township have joined environmental groups in opposition to plans to expand one of the state’s natural gas pipelines, which would bring Marcellus Shale gas to markets in the state and the New York City metropolitan area.

The federal government will ask a judge to dismiss a lawsuit from New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, which he filed to compel a full environmental review of proposed regulations for Marcellus Shale development in the Delaware River Basin.

A citizens group has reversed its call for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in New Brunswick after the provincial government unveiled tougher regulations for the emerging Frederick Brook Shale.

Denbury Resources Inc. has agreed to pay Cimarex Energy Co. $191 million for the 57.5% working interest it does not already own in the 9,700-acre Riley Ridge Federal Unit in southwestern Wyoming and a 33% working interest in an additional 28,000 acres of mineral leases adjoining the unit, the company said Tuesday. The deal, which is expected to close in late July with an effective date of April 1, 2011, would make Denbury the operator of both projects.

Lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly ratified two bills calling for a comprehensive study of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking). Both bills now await the signature of Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue.

State lawmakers in West Virginia have created a bipartisan 10-member panel to discuss and seek a consensus over Marcellus Shale regulatory reform.

FERC has approved Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s proposed changes to its pooling points to accommodate greater natural gas supplies coming from the Marcellus and Haynesville shale formations and the Rocky Mountain region.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has joined a chorus of critics calling for greater oil and natural gas industry representation on a federal panel charged with reviewing the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) used to develop shale gas.