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The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and West Virginia University have formed a partnership with eight companies/groups to study the fugitive emissions of methane associated with the routine operation of natural gas fleet vehicles fueled by compressed or liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Apache Corp. said operations have been completed at a well at Main Pass 295 in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico that had an uncontrolled flow of natural gas fluid flowing underneath. The operator detected the flow on Feb. 4 and activated a blowout preventer, but tests indicated that the hydrocarbon had migrated from the bottom of the 8,300-foot hole to a shallower sand formation 1,100 feet below the sea floor (see Daily GPI, Feb. 19). A relief rig was sent to the location in case a separate well had to be drilled. The bottom of the well has been plugged and cemented, and the gas migration has been stopped, Apache said. Management still is evaluating the next steps for the well, which is in 218 feet of water.

ExxonMobil Corp. and Russia’s state-owned OAO Rosneft have agreed to expand a 2011 strategic cooperation agreement that significantly expands exploration and development plans, and offers Rosneft a big stake in the Point Thomson, AK, natural gas and condensate project.

For the third time in less than three months, Gulfport Energy Corp. and Windsor Ohio LLC, an affiliate of Wexford Capital LP, have agreed to make a transaction in the Utica Shale, this time for net acreage and a higher working interest (WI).

Opponents of TransCanada Corp.’s proposed northern portion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada running through parts of Nebraska argued last Thursday in state district court in Lancaster County that Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman lacked the authority to approve a proposed route for the project. In January, he approved a new alternative route (see Shale Daily, Jan. 23). Opponents of the project want Heineman’s decision voided by a district court judge because they allege a state pipeline siting act passed last year by Nebraska’s legislature is unconstitutional. The legislation gave the governor the ultimate decision on the route. At the end of last year Lancaster County District Judge Stephanie Stacy rejected the state’s attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the state Oil and Gas Commission does not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal of oil or gas well permits issued by the chief of the Division of Mineral Resources, a branch of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

Gulfport Energy Corp. Tuesday reported production results for two more Utica Shale wells and said it plans to have natural gas and liquids flowing to pipelines this spring.

The United States likely will surpass Russia and Saudi Arabia this year to become the largest liquids producer in the world because of tight oil and biofuels growth, according to BP plc. North America also is expected to lead in shale gas output to 2030.

Halliburton, Apache Corp. and Caterpillar have developed a dual-fuel technology for using natural gas and diesel to operate pumping equipment used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) at oil and gas well sites.