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The co-chairs of a West Virginia panel trying to reach a consensus on Marcellus Shale regulatory reform testified Monday that they believe compromise legislation is within reach and could be enacted in the near future.

Less than three months ago, Norse Energy Corp. ASA was the first company in line seeking permission to drill unconventional gas wells in New York’s portion of the Marcellus and Utica shales.

Oil well drilling significantly outpaced natural gas activity in the third quarter, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported Wednesday. For every two oil wells that were completed during the period, only one gas well was completed.

The third quarter production of Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. has not been affected by “recent operational challenges and the logistics of moving gas in northeast Pennsylvania,” the company said Friday.

Dominion Cove Point LNG Inc. (DCP) is seeking long-term, multi-contract authorization from the Department of Energy (DOE) to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its import terminal in Lusby, MD, south of Baltimore. Export approval would boost activity at DCP’s terminal, ease constraints on northeastern pipelines and give Marcellus Shale gas producers an additional outlet for their supply, according to the company.

Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale operators produced nearly as much natural gas in the first six months of 2011 as they did in the previous year and a half, according to new Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) data.

The desire to acquire shale acreage and midstream assets in the United States continues to be strong, with domestic natural gas and oil mergers and acquisitions (M&A) values reaching $39 billion in the second quarter, according to an analysis by PwC US.

September natural gas managed a modest gain Wednesday as traders positioned themselves ahead of the weekly inventory report. For every trader anxious to cover a short position there seemed to be another willing initiate a new sale. At the close September had risen nine-tenths of a cent to $4.003 and October added nine-tenths of a cent as well to $4.024. September crude oil rebounded from steep losses in the last two sessions, adding $3.59 to $82.89/bbl.

Limited demand for natural gas could keep 9 Bcf/d of production from shale plays off the market over the next four years, a Bentek Energy LLC executivetold an audience in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.