Investments

As Appalachian Basin operators cut back dry gas investments to focus on liquids, MarkWest Energy Partners LP is accommodating with a major expansion of its Marcellus, Utica and Huron shale operations.

As Appalachian Basin operators cut back dry gas investments to focus on liquids, MarkWest Energy Partners LP is accommodating with a major expansion of its Marcellus, Utica and Huron shale operations.

Southwestern Energy Services Co. (SESC), an anchor shipper on a Millennium Pipeline expansion project that will transport Marcellus Shale gas, has urged FERC to approve the mostly compression expansion of Millennium by Feb. 1 so that it can be in operation by Nov. 1, delivering additional supplies to Northeast and New England markets.

Exploration and production (E&P) companies are in the early stages of a “multi-year, double-digit growth spending upcycle” around the globe that is characterized by increased drilling in complex geologies on land, as well as deepwater development, according to a new survey by Barclays Capital analysts.

Seeking to coordinate more closely with other state stakeholders, Wyoming’s Office of State Lands and Investments decided to delay action on the state’s draft policy on natural gas flaring until January. That would put off action until the State Board of Lands Commissioners, which includes Gov. Matt Mead, meets next year.

Seeking to coordinate more closely with other state stakeholders, Wyoming’s Office of State Lands and Investments plans to delay action on the state’s draft policy on natural gas flaring until January next year. That would put off action until the State Board of Lands Commissioners, which includes Gov. Matt Mead, meets next year.

Interest in acquiring shale acreage, midstream transactions and foreign investments in the United States drove domestic natural gas and oil mergers and acquisitions (M&A) value to $39 billion in the second quarter, according to an analysis by PwC US.

Setbacks in several production regions, including the Bakken Shale, resulted in an overall decline in Hess Corp.’s 2Q2011 daily output, but those setbacks were mostly short-term, and the company was able to post a 62% earnings increase compared with 2Q2010.

Arkansas regulators Wednesday afternoon established a permanent moratorium area for any new drilling wastewater injection wells in an area of the Fayetteville Shale where four such wells are thought to have contributed to earthquakes.