Final

Maryland’s fledgling Marcellus Shale industry — which would be based solely in two of the state’s westernmost counties — has ended even before it began, according to Robert Summers, secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).

A federal judge has given final approval to the economic portion of a multibillion dollar class action settlement between BP plc and thousands of individuals and businesses affected by the April 2010 deepwater Macondo well blowout.

A federal judge has given final approval to the economic portion of a multibillion dollar class action settlement between BP plc and thousands of individuals and businesses affected by the April 2010 deepwater Macondo well blowout.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Gas Resources Committee, last week blasted the Obama administration’s final environmental impact statement (EIS) on the land management plan that will guide oil and natural gas development in the years ahead in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), saying it would restrict access to more than 80% of the gas reserves.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Gas Resources Committee, blasted the Obama administration’s final environmental impact statement (EIS) on the land management plan that will guide oil and natural gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) in the years ahead, saying it would restrict access to more than 80% of the gas reserves.

Schlumberger Ltd. and Baker Hughes Inc. said they plan to report lower-than-expected profits for the final quarter of 2012 because of a slowdown in North American drilling activity and overcapacity in pressure pumping services.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called on FERC to expand the scope of its environmental analysis of Dominion Cove Point’s proposed liquefaction facilities, looking into the “foreseeable future” and exceeding its jurisdiction to include an investigation into the “indirect effects” related to natural gas drilling and combustion.

Upstart onshore operator Halcon Resources Corp. expects to produce 17,000-20,000 boe/d in the final three months of this year and should produce 40,000-45,000 boe/d in 2013, management said Thursday.

Barclays Capital has lifted its natural gas price forecast for the final three months of this year to $3.35/MMBtu, up from $3.00. Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) last week also raised its 2013 gas price forecast.