Ever

With seemingly more oil and gas development going on in Texas than ever, perhaps it’s time to finally change the name of the state’s principal regulator of the industry to something that reflects its purpose, something other than Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).

With seemingly more oil and gas development going on in Texas than ever, perhaps it’s time to finally change the name of the state’s principal regulator of the industry to something that reflects its purpose, something other than Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).

Helping lead the charge for an eventual bipartisan and serious discussion about the future U.S. energy policy, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead said Friday the federal government “doesn’t have a corner on the market” for regulating the oil and natural gas drilling process of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Michael Krancer said late last month he is “not convinced” that wastewater injection wells are an issue in the state, and said he disagreed with a state legislator’s plan to enact a two-year moratorium.

In an attempt to leverage the state’s two biggest industries, North Dakota is considering construction of a world-scale, $1.5 billion nitrogen fertilizer plant. The plant could make use of some of the state’s natural gas now being flared in the face of low prices to fuel the facility, while the North Dakota Corn Growers Association (CGA) would use the plant to make anhydrous ammonia.

A longtime foe of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Pennsylvania General Assembly has introduced a bill that would require companies applying for permits to drill Marcellus Shale natural gas wells to conduct pre-drill water quality tests for nearby landowners that request it.

Revenues from natural gas liquids (NGL) — particularly those from liquids-rich shale plays — have been like a mega vitamin for anemic dry gas economics, but it’s not the fourth quarter of 2011 anymore, and currently depressed NGL prices are expected to stick around for a while.

(The following is reprinted with permission of Jim Willis, editor of Marcellus Drilling News (MDN). Jobs in the shale gas industry were the focus of the first ever Natural Gas Career and Education Expo held at Broome Community College in Binghamton, NY Wednesday. MDN editor Jim Willis attended and published a very interesting account. Unfortunately, NGI wasn’t there, but, thanks to MDN, our readers won’t miss out.)

Continental Resources Inc. on Wednesday made a $340 million pitch to buy Bakken Shale-focused Wheatland Oil Inc., a company controlled by Continental CEO Harold Hamm.