Fees

Wyoming’s Office of State Lands and Investments garnered $11.6 million for first-year rental and application fees on state trust land parcels offered at a quarterly oil/natural gas lease sale last Wednesday in Cheyenne. The state lands office sold all 199 parcels it offered covering approximately 83,609 acres of state trust lands. Bids ranged from $1 to $5,500/acre, the state unit said. Revenue generated from the state trust lands oil/gas lease auction is distributed to public education, the University of Wyoming and the Veteran’s Home of Wyoming. The “real revenue” from the auction comes later when there is production from the leases, according to Ryan Lance, director of the lands/investment office. The office will hold its next oil/gas lease auction Aug. 8.

Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) has launched a campaign to prevent Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania’s state parks. The campaign was unveiled by John H. Quigley, a special adviser to PennFuture and former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, also known as PennFuture, has filed a lawsuit against an Ultra Petroleum subsidiary, alleging that some of the company’s facilities in the Marcellus Shale violate the federal Clean Air Act and state regulations.

A decision by Encana Corp. to pull out of an investor conference this week ramped up rumors that the natural gas giant may be close to a joint venture agreement with China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) to develop its vast British Columbia (BC) shale holdings.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is working on a set of draft rules that would require natural gas producers to submit comprehensive water management plans when they apply to drill horizontal wells in the Marcellus Shale.

Natural gas explorers that hope to tap into Quebec’s emerging Utica Shale and St. Lawrence River lowlands face more scrutiny going forward, Environment Minister Pierre Arcand said Monday.

Wyoming’s Bureau of Land Management garnered more than $6.17 million for leasing rights and rental fees offered at its bimonthly federal oil and gas lease auction held in Cheyenne Aug. 1. That marks a more than 40% increase over proceeds from the state’s previous sale in June. By comparison, the June sale garnered $4.4 million. The state gets half of the sale proceeds.

Wyoming’s Bureau of Land Management garnered more than $6.17 million for leasing rights and rental fees offered at its bimonthly federal oil and gas lease auction held in Cheyenne Aug. 1. That marks a more than 40% increase over proceeds from the state’s previous sale in June. By comparison, the June sale garnered $4.4 million. The state gets half of the sale proceeds.

Natural gas utility AmerenUE, at the request of the Missouri governor and state officials, has agreed to waive all reconnection fees and suspend deposit requirements for customers receiving assistance through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or Missouri’s Utilicare program as part of an initiative to help residents cope with expected high heating costs this winter.