February

Natural gas production in the Lower 48 states declined by 0.2% to 72.54 Bcf/d in December from November’s record 72.68 Bcf/d. It was the first monthly decline in Lower 48 production since February 2011, according to figures released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

UK-based Weir Group plc this week struck a $176 million deal to acquire Dallas-based Novatech LLC, its second oilfield services purchase in two months. The transaction would give Weir an even bigger footprint in North America’s onshore.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) said Monday it would hold a public hearing in February as it reconsiders about 20 water withdrawal permits it approved for Marcellus Shale gas drillers during a raucous meeting in December.

The freefall in natural gas futures prices of the last few weeks received a small reprieve on Friday after the February contract managed to eke out a 2.1-cent gain to close the week at $2.343. However, market bulls might as well cool their heels as Friday’s close marked a 32.7-cent decline from the previous week’s close.

Not even forecasts of next-day weather staying relatively moderate, combined with Monday’s drop of 5.1 cents by February futures, were able to knock continued general firmness out of the cash market Tuesday. Somehow the widely acknowledged fact of abundant storage remaining available is having little impact on continued purchases of spot gas.

Chesapeake Energy Corp., one of the biggest deal makers in the U.S. energy patch, has secured more funding for its onshore exploration and production program after it agreed to sell its natural gas pipeline gathering system in the Marcellus Shale to an affiliate for $865 million, analysts said.

Pennsylvania will end another year without an impact fee on natural gas drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shales.

Penn Virginia Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed to explore a portion of the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas with an undisclosed “major oil and gas company.”

Westmont Resources Inc. said Thursday it has purchased 3,400 total leasehold acres and 120 existing oil wells in the Marcellus Shale, part of the company’s goal to produce more than 3,500 bbl of oil per month by the end of 2011.