Included

Economic activity in the Marcellus Shale quadrupled between 2008 and this year, according to an industry-backed study released Wednesday.

A public commission established earlier this year to guide Marcellus Shale policy in Pennsylvania is recommending that the state consider an impact fee on natural gas drillers and look at conservation statutes that include forced pooling, among 96 total recommendations.

Despite the promise of a veto from Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania lawmakers are pushing to get a tax or fee on Marcellus Shale development included in the state’s fiscal 2012 budget, which is due at the end of June.

Russia’s OAO Rosneft apparently no longer is considering BP plc as a partner for its planned Arctic development. The strategic alliance had included an Arctic exploration joint venture as well as a stock swap (see NGI, Jan. 17) BP’s current Russian partner TNK-BP objected and legally blocked the alliance (see NGI, May 30). BP CEO Bob Dudley, who had helped craft the proposed alliance, said the company was “moving on,” readying the launch of 30 global projects by the end of 2016 and returning to work in the Gulf of Mexico.

If natural gas and nuclear power are included as part of the clean energy sector, the United States could already be more than half of the way toward meeting a national clean energy standard (CEC) as outlined by President Obama in his State of the Union address earlier this year, according to a white paper on the CES concept released Monday by the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The Allegheny County (PA) Council has scheduled a hearing for 5 p.m. EST Thursday in Pittsburgh to hear public comment regarding Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling within the county.

Language included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT) relating to the use of diesel fuel in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) “is extremely unclear and is open to interpretation,” making it unclear if the use of diesel fuel in fracking operations would be a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), according to a Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) spokesman.

Natural gas is the key to a “smart energy” future and should be included in plans and funding programs for a future smart grid, according to a white paper released by the Gas Technology Institute Thursday.

Major joint ventures (JV) in North American unconventional resource plays were a driving force in pushing worldwide merger and acquisition (M&A) activity to a record high in 2010, preliminary data indicate.