Independent

PDC Energy wells in the Codell formation of Colorado’s Wattenberg Field are outperforming those in the Niobrara, and the independent plans to drill as many Codell horizontal wells as Niobrara horizontals this year, company officials said during an analyst day conference in New York Thursday.

The Independent Oil and Gas Association (IOGA) of New York has called on the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) to initiate an investigation into apparent violations of lobbying laws by the group known as “Artists Against Fracking,” which is led by Beatles star John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, and their son, Sean Lennon.

The Independent Oil and Gas Association (IOGA) of New York has called on the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) to initiate an investigation into apparent violations of lobbying laws by the group known as “Artists Against Fracking,” which is led by Beatles star John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, and their son, Sean Lennon.

Facing the prospect of historically high levels of power generation retrofits and replacement, the multi-state Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) has identified the need for closer coordination with the region’s natural gas system, an executive told a recent House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing.

During its second fiscal quarter, which ended Feb. 28, Platteville, CO-based independent Synergy Resources Corp. continued its 100% success rate in the Wattenberg Field in the Denver-Julesberg (DJ) Basin. Synergy recently struck a joint venture (JV) agreement in the DJ Basin as well.

Canadian Natural Resources — Canada’s second-largest independent natural gas producer and its largest producer of heavy oils — is considering the sale of about 250,000 net acres of its Montney land base, about one-quarter of its total Montney acreage, President Steve Laut said Thursday during an earnings conference call.

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s Eagle Ford Shale leasehold, now is the top producer within the company, delivering year/year growth in 4Q2012 of 266% and sequential growth of 20%, the independent reported Thursday. Net production in the South Texas play averaged 62,500 boe/d, with 66% of it oil, while 19% was natural gas and 15% liquids.

Aiming to expand its international unconventional resource opportunities, Houston-based exploration and production independent ConocoPhillips said Wednesday it has entered into a set of agreements with PetroChina Co. Ltd., under which PetroChina will acquire an interest in two Western Australia exploration assets and establish a joint study agreement (JSA) for unconventional resource development in China’s Sichuan Basin.

The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York (IOGA) has submitted 119 pages of comments to the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), just before the deadline to comment on the proposed rules governing high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF).