Early

A 24-inch diameter natural gas pipeline operated by Williams Partners Ltd. in Marshall County, WV, ruptured early Friday afternoon, forcing the evacuation of homes and businesses in the Reid Ridge area, said Marshall County Sheriff Kevin Cecil.

Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc. is considering a plan to exit shale development in Poland, a move that helps the company focus elsewhere but is also a blow to what was once considered Europe’s best source for shale natural gas and a hedge against pipeline gas supplies from Russia.

Based on success to date in developing a midstream system in the Utica Shale, The Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) said it plans to spend an additional $450 million for its joint venture (JV) with MarkWest Energy Partners LP.

A petroleum geosciences professor said hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can be performed safely in New Brunswick, and believes that Canadian province and others will eventually establish appropriate regulations to govern the practice.

Trans Energy Inc. announced Wednesday that it had sold its drilling rights and working interest in shallow wells targeting the Devonian Shale for $2.75 million before adjustments, but had retained a royalty interest on most wells and drilling rights to deeper formations, such as the Rhinestreet, Marcellus and Utica shales.

Consol Energy Inc. announced Monday that it plans to spend most its capital expenditure (capex) budget in 2013 on natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica shales, and will sell millions in other assets.

As a study emerged Monday in Canada raising public health concerns about oilsands, groups long opposed to TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL oil pipeline blasted a report released Friday evaluating a rerouting of the oilsands-linked pipeline in Nebraska by the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

The New York Department of Health (DOH) conducted a draft assessment of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in early 2012 and concluded that, with appropriate regulation, the practice could be performed safely in the state, according to reports.

Since its analyst meeting early last year, Sempra Energy senior management has signaled that its newly designated U.S. Gas & Power (USGP) unit was intent on moving away from merchant power assets in the West and deploying more capital in the Southeast to support its gas infrastructure strategy. USGP maintains a regional headquarters in Greenville, SC.