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Nearly 60 landowners in southeast Ohio have filed a lawsuit against American Energy Partners LP (AELP), one of its affiliates and a land services company that worked on its behalf over claims that the companies owe more than $9.2 million in overdue lease signing bonuses and attorney fees.

New wells in the Marcellus Shale kept natural gas production there on the upswing in May, but declines in several other areas kept total U.S. production to 81.84 Bcf/d, just 0.3% higher than the 81.61 Bcf/d reported in May 2012, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

A multi-pad drilling project to test Marcellus and Utica formations in southern Ohio may answer some of the lingering questions about the real resource potential of the Utica/Point Pleasant Shale, an analyst said Tuesday.

Lower 48 gross natural gas production during April increased 0.8% (0.57 Bcf/d) to 73.24 Bcf/d from a revised March figure of 72.67 Bcf/d, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Friday. In a separate report, EIA said overall April dry gas production set a record for the month, although it was “a small increase” from April 2012.

In what is considered a symbolic gesture, Rochester, NY’s city council voted unanimously on Tuesday to extend by one year a moratorium on natural gas exploration and extraction activities, and in particular, hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Barbara Mariner-Volpe of EIA’s Office of Energy Statistics is heading up the project to report Marcellus gas and other states separately, Cogan said. One of the options being considered would add individual reports on 14 states to the current five Lower 48 states and the GOM, said Barbara Mariner-Volpe of EIA’s Office of Energy Statistics.

With U.S. natural gas prices still the “great uncertainty,” Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) is undertaking a cost-cutting program designed to increase margin while it continues to emphasize oil production growth over natural gas in its domestic U.S. plays, CEO Steve Chazen said Thursday during a 4Q2012 conference call. He reported lower quarter-over-quarter results related to a one-time Midcontinent natural gas assets impairment charge.

With U.S. natural gas prices still the “great uncertainty,” Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) is undertaking a cost-cutting program designed to increase margin while it continues to emphasize oil production growth over gas in its domestic U.S. plays, CEO Steve Chazen said Thursday.

Make no mistake, the shale boom is a great thing for the country, but anyone expecting it to yield energy independence is in need of a reality check, according to Fitch Ratings.