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A study published in Groundwater, a scientific journal for groundwater hydrogeologists published by the National Ground Water Association (NGWA), said Marcellus Shale gas drilling did not cause methane contamination in private water wells in Dimock Township, PA.

A unit of Chevron Corp. and affiliates of Argentina’s state-controlled YPF SA have struck a long-sought agreement for the U.S. major to provide an initial $1.24 billion to further development of shale oil and gas resources from the Vaca Muerta formation in Argentina’s Neuquen province.

Sunoco Logistics Partners’ Sunoco Pipeline is holding a binding open season for its Granite Wash Extension pipeline to provide crude oil takeaway capacity for growing production from the Granite Wash Shale in the northeastern Texas Panhandle and portions of western Oklahoma. The pipeline would originate in Wheeler County, TX, and terminate in Ringgold, TX, where it would interconnect with an existing Sunoco Logistics pipeline with the ability to provide transportation to Corsicana, TX. From Corsicana, access to multiple Sunoco Logistics and third-party pipelines would provide producers the ability to reach various markets and refineries on the Gulf Coast and in the Midcontinent. The partnership would lay 200 miles of new pipeline and construct pump stations, tankage and truck unloading facilities. The Granite Wash Extension is anticipated to have an initial capacity of 70,000 b/d to Ringgold and is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2014.

With a flat U.S. horizontal rig count and a lower-priced backlog still to be worked through, the oilfield services sector didn’t have a lot of “classic” catalysts to propel them in 2Q2013, according to a preview by Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH).

Valero Energy Corp. is planning to make its first big splash in the petrochemicals market by constructing a $700 million methanol plant on the same site in St. Charles Parish, LA, where its transportation fuel refinery is located.

Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) Chairman Michele Sierkerka said the organization is working to advance natural gas regulations in the basin, with “thousands of hours” logged so far by its staff and those of its member states on the process since November 2011.

Senate Republicans appear to have tempered their opposition to the nomination of Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a vote appears imminent.

Houston-based ZaZa Energy LLC has struck a deal to sell about 10,300 acres in Fayette, Gonzalez and Lavaca counties in Texas for about $28.8 million to a unit of Sanchez Energy after a deal fell through with another buyer that was unable to fund and close a transaction, parent ZaZa Energy Corp. said. ZaZa calls the acreage its Moulton properties. In March, ZaZa announced two pending Moulton sales: one for $43.3 million for 10,000 acres and another for the remainder of its Moulton properties for $9.2 million (see Shale Daily, March 26). “Given the current landscape, we believe that transacting at this metric was the best and most prudent action for the company at this time,” ZaZa CEO Todd Brooks said of the latest deal. “We remain focused on monetizing select Eagle Ford assets in order to improve our balance sheet, and we are currently pursuing other joint ventures in the area. In the Eaglebine, our joint venture is progressing as planned, and we anticipate timely drilling of the first three wells as part of the agreement [see Shale Daily, April 8].” ZaZa has received a down payment of $1.4 million for the Moulton properties; closing of the sale is expected by July 31.

Backed by Germany’s government, three global firms have begun a three-year project that will attempt to make the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into a useful component of various industrial processes, starting with abundant natural gas supplies as a feedstock.