Initial

Executives at drilling and pressure pumping contractor Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. have experienced a seasonal slowdown in the northeastern U.S. energy patch, they told financial analysts during an earnings conference call.

Enterprise Products Partners LP announced Tuesday that it has agreed to sell about 22.8 million common units of Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) to undisclosed purchasers for approximately $825.1 million.

Penn Virginia Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed to explore a portion of the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas with an undisclosed “major oil and gas company.”

Countering recent reports that drilling activity in the Bakken Shale play in North Dakota was being cut back, an analyst with Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) told NGI’s Shale Daily Monday that drilling and production was still “full steam ahead,” although margins may compress some next year.

After expressing initial reservations, a group representing county governments in Pennsylvania is now supporting a county-level impact fee proposed by Gov. Tom Corbett.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. is reporting “strong initial production” from its first Utica Shale wells.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. is reporting “strong initial production” from its first Utica Shale wells.

Dominion Cove Point LNG Inc. (DCP) is seeking long-term, multi-contract authorization from the Department of Energy (DOE) to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its import terminal in Lusby, MD, south of Baltimore. Export approval would boost activity at DCP’s terminal, ease constraints on northeastern pipelines and give Marcellus Shale gas producers an additional outlet for their supply, according to the company.

Dynamic Offshore Resources LLC, which has been on a buying spree in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) prior to the launch of an initial public offering (IPO), is paying ExxonMobil Corp. $182.5 million to acquire some offshore wells and properties that are 60% weighted to natural gas. The 13.5 million boe in new reserves would pump up Dynamic’s reserves base by nearly one-third (31%).