Heart

Forty-five residents of a northeastern Pennsylvania town in the heart of the Marcellus Shale on Thursday sued Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and a service operator, claiming that their water wells became contaminated when the producer used hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracing) in the course of drilling and stimulating natural gas wells. The plaintiffs claim the hydrofracing “fluid and/or drilling mud includes hazardous chemicals that are carcinogenic and toxic.”

October natural gas futures broke down into the heart of a major support band Thursday morning after the industry received word from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that a hardy 65 Bcf was injected into underground storage for the week ending Aug. 28. The prompt-month contract dipped into the $2.50s in early trade Thursday and never recovered, closing at $2.508, down 20.7 cents from Wednesday’s regular session close.

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman Tuesday checked himself into Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston after experiencing an elevated heart rate. He is “resting comfortably” and will remain in the hospital for a few days to undergo a series of routine tests, according to a department spokeswoman. Bodman is 69.

Even with temperatures expected to be above normal this week in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., in the heart of the winter season that can still mean some pretty chilly conditions. The cash market found enough heating load, supplemented by last Friday’s 16.7-cent advance in February futures and the return of industrial load from weekend hiatus, to register gains at a solid majority of points Monday.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has agreed to acquire approximately 2,000 net undeveloped leasehold acres in the heart of the Barnett Shale play in Tarrant County, TX, from Western Production Co. and a partner, the Oklahoma City-based producer said. Chesapeake also said it has entered into a land services agreement (LSA) whereby Western affiliate Axia Land Services LLC has agreed to work on an exclusive basis in certain areas of Tarrant County to acquire leases on Chesapeake’s behalf. This arrangement is intended to complement similar LSAs that Chesapeake has in place with Dale Property Services LLC, Four Sevens Oil Co. Ltd. and Sinclair Oil Co. covering different portions of Tarrant County. Chesapeake now has approximately 235,000 net acres of leasehold in the Barnett play, including 200,000 net acres in the Core and Tier 1 area of Tarrant, Johnson and Western Dallas Counties. Chesapeake’s drilling inventory in the play has expanded to more than 2,700 net locations. Including the LSAs and its own landmen and lease brokers, Chesapeake now has a substantial competitive advantage with nearly 1,000 landmen and lease brokers dedicated to acquiring additional undeveloped leasehold and surface drillsites in Tarrant County, the company said. Chesapeake said it believes its drillsite and leasehold acquisition commitment to Tarrant County should enable it to continue acquiring up to 40,000 net leasehold acres per year in what is quickly becoming the most prolific county in the Barnett Shale. This anticipated yearly addition to the company’s leasehold inventory should provide up to an additional 500-600 drilling locations per year, largely offsetting the number of wells Chesapeake plans to drill in Tarrant County during the next few years. Chesapeake said it recently initiated production of approximately 30 MMcfe/d of gas from the first 11 wells on its 18,000-acre Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport lease (see NGI, Nov. 5).

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has agreed to acquire approximately 2,000 net undeveloped leasehold acres in the heart of the Barnett Shale play in Tarrant County, TX, from Western Production Co. and a partner, the Oklahoma City-based producer said Monday.

A Category 5 hurricane that passes through the heart of Gulf of Mexico energy platforms could cause producer damage and output losses of more than $65 billion, according to an expert on extreme-risk modeling.

A Category 5 hurricane that passes through the heart of Gulf of Mexico energy platforms could cause producer damage and losses of more than $65 billion, says an expert on extreme-risk modeling.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has acquired or agreed to acquire about 8,500 net undeveloped acres in the heart of the Barnett Shale play in Tarrant County, TX, from Four Sevens Resources Co. Ltd., Sinclair Oil & Gas Co. and several of their affiliates and partners, the company said last week. The company has grown its Barnett position by acquiring leasehold from Four Sevens in the past.