Items

After drilling some disappointing wells targeting the Hogshooter interval of the Granite Wash in the Texas Panhandle, Linn Energy LLC is now concentrating its efforts on the Oklahoma Hogshooter, where the reservoir is seen to be of better quality with less variability, CEO Mark E. Ellis said Thursday.

Hess Corp. won’t sell its unconventional assets in the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Utica shale plays, but it is looking at proposals from a hedge fund that wants a larger stake in the company, Hess officials said during a 4Q2012 earnings call on Wednesday.

EQT Corp. announced Thursday that horizontal drilling in the Marcellus Shale helped the company achieve record sales volumes overall and in the Marcellus in 2012 — the latter an 85% increase from 2011 — as it posted net income of $183.4 million for the year.

MarkWest Energy Partners is getting ready for “explosive growth” in the Northeast “in 2013 and beyond,” CEO Frank Semple said Thursday. Next year, natural gas liquids (NGL) processing in the Marcellus and Utica shales combined should increase to 4.8 Bcf/d from 2.7 Bcf/d to serve producer customers.

During the third quarter Irving, TX-based Pioneer Natural Resources Co. set a new production record in the Eagle Ford Shale, where it said its choke management program continues to improve well performance. Continued development of the Wolfcamp Shale in West Texas is setting the play up to be a “significant” contributor to production growth in the future, the company said.

First quarter results of Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. improved over the year-ago period, thanks mainly to expansion of the company’s production base. Oil and gas production volumes both set company records, although low gas prices weighed on the Houston-based producer.

Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources Co. reported a 9% sequential increase in production for the fourth quarter and attributed the success to “three core liquids-rich growth assets in Texas.” In light of low prices for dry gas, the company has tweaked some of its drilling plans while it continues to high-grade liquids-rich drilling.

Encana Corp. last week checked off more items on its “to do” list after agreeing to sell two packages of properties, including a C$920 million deal to sell two natural gas processing plants that service the Cutbank Ridge area to Veresen Inc.

Devon Energy Corp.’s exit from the Gulf of Mexico last year and the recent sale of its Brazilian assets in order to focus on North American onshore drilling have begun to pay significant dividends for the Oklahoma City-based independent, including record high North American onshore production, CEO John Richels said Wednesday.