Fayette

A county commission in southern West Virginia, more than 100 miles away from active unconventional drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shales, has unanimously passed the state’s first ordinance banning the injection and storage of oil and gas drilling wastes.

The zoning board of South Fayette, PA, has agreed with Range Resources Corp. to indefinitely postpone a hearing for the company’s challenge to a 2010 ordinance that essentially restricts drilling in the small township.

Houston-based ZaZa Energy LLC has struck a deal to sell about 10,300 acres in Fayette, Gonzalez and Lavaca counties in Texas for about $28.8 million to a unit of Sanchez Energy after a deal fell through with another buyer that was unable to fund and close a transaction, parent ZaZa Energy Corp. said. ZaZa calls the acreage its Moulton properties. In March, ZaZa announced two pending Moulton sales: one for $43.3 million for 10,000 acres and another for the remainder of its Moulton properties for $9.2 million (see Shale Daily, March 26). “Given the current landscape, we believe that transacting at this metric was the best and most prudent action for the company at this time,” ZaZa CEO Todd Brooks said of the latest deal. “We remain focused on monetizing select Eagle Ford assets in order to improve our balance sheet, and we are currently pursuing other joint ventures in the area. In the Eaglebine, our joint venture is progressing as planned, and we anticipate timely drilling of the first three wells as part of the agreement [see Shale Daily, April 8].” ZaZa has received a down payment of $1.4 million for the Moulton properties; closing of the sale is expected by July 31.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Michael Krancer took aim at a state lawmaker for accusing his agency of wrongdoing when it tested water supplies allegedly tainted by natural gas drilling.

One of the seven Pennsylvania municipalities that sued over the legality of Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law, is now considering changes to its local drilling ordinance to comply with the measure, a move intended to help it collect more than half a million dollars in impact fee revenue.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is asking the state Supreme Court to expedite its appeal of an appellate court ruling that said portions of Act 13, the state’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law, are unconstitutional.

As Marcellus Shale development accelerates in Pennsylvania, it is also expanding.

Gastar Exploration Ltd. is ramping up its Marcellus Shale operations in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, the company said.

Triana Energy LLC and a unit of Marathon Oil Corp. will develop 82,000 acres of Marcellus Shale prospects in Fayette County, PA, and several counties in northern West Virginia, Triana said Thursday.