Formation

While there are competing proposals to break through the bottlenecks to bringing rich gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the Bakken formation to market, the Alliance Pipeline and Aux Sable NGL systems think they have the inside track. In the meantime, a substantial amount of NGL movement continues through rail and trucking.

In the wake of last week’s decision by the Argentine government to nationalize YPF SA, Moody’s Investors Service has placed Spain’s Repsol and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLC (M&N) under review for possible downgrades.

A judge in New York State has ruled that an ordinance and a zoning requirement enacted last year by the town of Dryden, NY, essentially banning all Marcellus Shale oil and gas activities in the municipality, are not preempted by state law and can remain in effect.

While the debate over hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Cumnock Formation stalls in the North Carolina General Assembly, two municipalities have taken steps to regulate the practice locally.

The Bakken Shale and underlying Three Forks formation in North Dakota are the latest targets for independent exploration and production company Breitling Oil and Gas Corp., which in 2011 reported progress in oil and gas projects in its focus areas in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

D-Lo Gas Storage LLC (DGS), a new entrant in the natural gas storage business, has filed an application to build a facility in the D’Lo Salt Dome underground salt formation in south-central Mississippi.

With recent production from the Eagle Ford Shale and Niobrara Formation, Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. passed its target of 5,000 net b/d, the company announced Wednesday.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently opened a 30-day comment period on the environmental assessment (EA) for EOG Resources’ plans for directional drilling of production wells in an already developed area in the central portion of the Uinta play in northeast Utah. The comment period ends Jan. 13.

The West Virginia legislature overwhelmingly approved a landmark Marcellus Shale regulatory reform bill on Wednesday, opening a new chapter for natural gas development in the state.