From

The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has ruled that state law doesn’t give landowners the right to seek judicial review of well permits issued by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). However, the appeals court urged lawmakers to consider changing the law to give landowners more say.

The Bakken Shale may be booming, but Oneok Partners LP’s recent open season for the proposed Bakken Crude Express Pipeline was a bust, and the project has been scrapped, the partnership said Tuesday.

Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline Inc. is holding a binding open season through Dec. 7 for expansion capacity proposed to carry production from the Granite Wash, Cleveland/Tonkawa and Mississippian Lime areas to markets in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri as well as other intrastate and interstate pipelines. The Straight Blackwell Expansion would involve expanding the capacity of Southern Star’s system beginning in Texas County, OK, along the Straight Blackwell Line (Line Segment 315) extending east to its Blackwell Compressor Station in Kay County, OK. Customer interest will dictate whether Southern Star pursues the expansion and will help define the final parameters of any project, the company said. Southern Star said if the project proceeds, it will, subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, install the necessary facilities to serve all or a portion of the requested capacity. Expansion service could begin Oct. 1. For more information, contact Philip Rullman at (270) 852-4440, Jim Neukam at (270) 852-4665, Pat Coomes at (270) 852-4552, Robbie Clark at (270)-852-4577, or Dale Sanders at (270) 852-4666.

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s second-largest investor Carl Icahn has increased his stake in the Oklahoma City-based operator to 8.98% from 7.6%, according to a regulatory filing by the company. The activist investor earlier this year pushed for governance changes, including replacing Aubrey McClendon as chairman. Icahn was instrumental in shaking up the board of directors and appointed an associate, Vincent J. Intrieri, as one of four new members (see NGI, June 25).

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s second-largest investor Carl Icahn has increased his stake in the Oklahoma City-based operator to 8.98% from 7.6%, according to a regulatory filing by the company. The activist investor earlier this year pushed for governance changes, including replacing Aubrey McClendon as chairman. Icahn was instrumental in shaking up the board of directors and appointed an associate, Vincent J. Intrieri, as one of four new members (see Daily GPI, June 22).

Looking to support local oil and natural gas development operations in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, Valerus and Brilex Industries have established a partnership to manufacture oil and gas production equipment in Youngstown, OH, for building surface facilities operating in the shales.

California energy utilities can spend nearly $2 billion over the next two years on energy efficiency programs, following authorization Thursday from the state regulatory commission. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said the action for 2013-2014 programs will deliver overall savings that prevent the need for two new natural gas-fired power plants and will save “significant” amounts of gas. In addition to approving individual plans for the state’s four major investor-owned utilities and community choice aggregators, the CPUC created two regional energy networks for the San Francisco Bay area and Southern California to complement the utility efforts. CPUC members said the latest plans, budgeted at $1.9 billion, will refocus on “deeper, longer-lasting” results.

MarkWest Energy Partners said Wednesday it plans to add 200 MMcf/d of natural gas processing infrastructure this month at its Mobley complex in Wetzel County, WV, to support rich-gas production in the Marcellus Shale by EQT Corp., Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. and others.

The latest word from New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) is that the entire natural gas distribution system on the barrier island has been compromised, officials of hurricane-ravaged Seaside Heights, NJ, told residents of the borough on its website.