Half

Reports posted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) indicate that the state saw substantial growth in natural gas production during the first half of 2012, perhaps more than 82%, although production totals from some operators are missing from the latest report and the reporting criteria had changed.

Houston-based Sanchez Energy Corp.’s proved reserves grew by 125% to 15 million boe during the first half of the year, up from 6.7 million boe at the end of last year, the company said. The company has about 95,000 acres in the Eagle Ford Shale.

Using Colorado as its example, a Boulder, CO-based nonprofit law and conservation group, added its two cents to the growing list of advocate-sponsored studies of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), concluding there are definite impacts on water supplies and the communities they serve from the widespread use of the oil/gas drilling technology.

Williams Partners LP (WPZ) agreed late Tuesday to expand its business venture in the Utica Shale with Caiman Energy II by funding almost half of a midstream infrastructure development in Ohio and northwestern Pennsylvania.

The top gas executive for San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) told NGI last week that the combination utility is less than half way toward becoming a “top quartile” gas distribution and transmission pipeline operation and still needs to fulfill almost a dozen federal recommendations made following the September 2010 explosion of a transmission pipeline in San Bruno, CA.

The top gas executive for San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) told NGI Tuesday the combination utility is less than half way toward becoming a “top quartile” gas distribution and transmission pipeline operation but it still needs to fulfill a dozen recommendations from federal regulators following the September 2010 rupture and explosion of the transmission pipeline in San Bruno, CA, he said.

Until the bell rang on Friday, things appeared to be looking up for Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s management team. Its decision to sell a half million acres in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin, which previously hadn’t been on the company’s list of publicly disclosed assets to sell, had been praised, with analysts noting that it might fetch up to $1 billion and help the company reach its capital commitment goals this year.

Energy Transfer Partners LP’s (ETP) $5.3 billion purchase of Sunoco Inc. isn’t expected to close until the second half of this year, but integration of the two companies “is well under way,” according to ETP CFO Martin Salinas.

Energy Transfer Partners LP’s (ETP) $5.3 billion purchase of Sunoco Inc. isn’t expected to close until the second half of this year, but integration of the two companies “is well under way,” according to ETP CFO Martin Salinas.