Drill

Range Resources Corp. said its estimated unproved resource potential at the end of 2010 reached 35-52 Tcfe, versus 2009’s estimate of 24-32 Tcfe, which was fueled by stronger drilling results. By itself, the resource potential in the Marcellus Shale leasehold jumped to 20-31 Tcfe on higher per/well reserves.

W&T Offshore Inc. said its 2011 capital budget is $310 million and will be funded entirely from cash flow.

A Pennsylvania municipal authority has filed a lawsuit to prevent a Marcellus Shale-related drilling project from proceeding until more watershed protections are in place.

Shale gas basins are responsible for North America’s gas boom, but it’s producer joint ventures (JV) that are in part responsible for the seemingly relentless drilling in a low-price environment. JVs with drilling carries will help support drilling activity, supporting a rig count that will “only fall modestly in 2011,” Barclays Capital analysts said Tuesday.

One Pittsburgh city councilman has a message for natural gas producers that would drill within his city’s boundaries: You’re not in Fort Worth, TX, anymore.

W&T Offshore Inc. had planned to drill one well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico this year, but those plans have been put on hold while the company waits for the end of the federal government’s drilling moratorium and to see what new regulations might apply, CEO Tracy W. Krohn told financial analysts last week.

W&T Offshore Inc. had planned to drill one well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico this year, but those plans have been put on hold while the company waits for the end of the federal government’s drilling moratorium and to see what new regulations might apply, CEO Tracy W. Krohn told financial analysts Tuesday.

The Interior Department on Friday granted Apache Corp. a permit to drill a natural gas well in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the producer said Monday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has scheduled a meeting in May with natural gas and oil companies that hold permits to drill in the Marcellus Shale to discuss what steps the industry will be required to take to prevent gas from mitigating from wells and polluting the state’s natural resources.