Entered

Continuing its strategy of increasing its acreage in the liquids-rich Bakken Shale and Three Forks Formation, a QEP Resources Inc. subsidiary has entered into two deals with multiple sellers to acquire “significant crude oil development properties” in the Williston Basin for an aggregate purchase price of close to $1.38 billion.

To build its “shale-related businesses,” Houston-based oilfield services operator FMC Technologies Inc., better known for its subsea business, is acquiring Calgary’s Pure Energy Services Ltd. for US$285 million.

Littleton, CO-based American Eagle Energy Corp. expanded its existing carry agreement to accelerate drilling. Last May the company entered into a six-well carry agreement; the amended agreement extends the terms of the financing to an additional four wells, all of which will be drilled in the Bakken or Three Forks zones of its Spyglass Project. “The expansion of our existing carry agreement…allows us to continue aggressively pursuing our development program within the Spyglass Property while minimizing our capital outlay,” said President Brad Colby. The expansion of the scope of the agreement allows American Eagle to contract a second drilling rig to begin drilling infill locations on the Spyglass property. American Eagle expects a second Nabors Drilling rig to arrive by the middle of September and anticipates drilling and completing a total of 12 gross wells (4.2 net) with the two rigs by the end of 2012, including all 10 wells covered by the amended carry agreement.

Swift Energy Co. has entered into a long-term agreement for natural gas gathering and processing services in the Eagle Ford Shale with Eagle Ford Gathering LLC, a 50-50 joint venture of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP and Copano Energy LLC.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP’s (KMP) Crude/Condensate pipeline (KMCC) has entered service, carrying crude oil and condensate from the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas to the Houston Ship Channel.

Although keeping a lid on the details of the deal for now, Rex Energy Corp. said the Utica Shale joint venture it recently entered into with MFC Drilling Inc. and Abarta Oil & Gas Co. Inc. requires it to drill and complete one well and begin drilling two others by Nov. 15, and requires three additional wells each year until the company satisfies the carry obligation. The JV covers a three county region of eastern Ohio.

Oneok Partners LP plans to invest $1.5-1.8 billion to build a 1,300-mile crude oil pipeline with capacity to transport 200,000 b/d of light sweet crude from the Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin in North Dakota to the Cushing, OK, crude oil market hub, the partnership said Monday.

Atlas Resource Partners LP (ARP) has entered into a joint venture (JV) agreement with subsidiaries of Canada’s Equal Energy Ltd. in the core area of the Mississippian Lime, a formation in Oklahoma and Kansas rich in oil and natural gas liquids (NGL).

The first glimpse of Utica Shale productivity makes two things clear: Chesapeake Energy Corp. is leading the way and it is producing a fair amount of natural gas.