Fifth

Buoyed by a new gas processing plant and 10 Marcellus Shale wells drilled in the first quarter, Rex Energy Corp. is increasing its capital budget by $26.7 million for the year to support increased drilling activities.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement’s (BOEM) permit-issuing process is gathering steam. The Interior Department approved a fifth permit — this time for Chevron USA Inc. — to resume drilling in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM). This is the first permit issued for completely new exploration since the federal moratorium was lifted last October.

Denver-based Forest Oil Corp. is spinning off its natural gas-weighted operations in Canada by selling one-fifth of its Lone Pine Resources unit for up to $375 million in shares through an initial public offering (IPO).

In a one-sentence ruling the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans denied a request by former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey K. Skilling to be released from prison on bail while he appeals his 2006 convictions. A Houston jury sentenced Skilling to 24 years in prison after he was convicted on 18 criminal charges related to Enron’s bankruptcy in 2001, but a resentencing was ordered by the circuit court in early 2009 (see Daily GPI, Jan. 7, 2009). In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that some of the charges against Skilling should be retried or dismissed (see Daily GPI, June 25).

The number of rigs activity exploring for natural gas in the United States continued to climb last week, marking the fifth week in a row for an uptick, said three oilfield service firms that keep track of U.S. drilling.

President Obama last Monday announced his intent to nominate a former New England electricity executive for the fifth seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, giving the panel a Democratic majority.

President Obama has announced his intent to nominate a former New England electricity executive for the fifth seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, giving the panel a Democratic majority and filling the last vacancy.

President Obama has announced his intent to nominate a former New England electricity executive for the fifth seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, giving the panel a Democratic majority and filling the last vacancy.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans has ruled that a group of Mississippi landowners can move forward with a lawsuit in which they claim gas and coal companies contributed to global warming and “added to the ferocity of Hurricane Katrina” by emitting greenhouse gases (GHG).