John

Scotland-based oilfield services provider The Weir Group plc continues to expand its U.S. onshore holdings, the latest deal being the acquisition of Oklahoma’s Mathena Inc.

John Hanger, the former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), said he plans to challenge Gov. Tom Corbett in 2014. Hanger, 55, would be the first of several Democrats who are expected to challenge the Republican governor. The attorney, who is special counsel at Eckert Seamans, served as DEP secretary under Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell and was a commissioner on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for five years. He also was president of advocacy group Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future. Hanger in early 2011 defended the state’s regulation of the natural gas industry, calling a story on drilling by a New York Times reporter “deliberately misleading” (see Daily GPI, March 1, 2011).

Rara Terra Minerals Corp. has reportedly acquired a 75% working interest in oil and natural gas leases in Trego County, KS, for $393,750.

EnerVest Ltd. is taking lemons and making lemonade, CEO John Walker said Friday. The privately held Houston operator has a plethora of prospects in unconventional and conventional basins around the country, but dry gas today has soured, so the company and its publicly traded arm EV Energy Partners (EVEP) are turning to sweeter gas liquids, he told analysts.

A policy analyst for a conservative think tank in Ohio blasted Gov. John Kasich’s plans to levy new severance taxes for natural gas, accused the Obama administration of waging a “war on coal” that hurts the state and urged legislators to repeal renewable energy requirements.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper responded Thursday to criticism from local elected officials in his state who are upset over his government taking the city of Longmont, CO, to court over its oil and natural gas drilling rules. Legal action was what Hickenlooper called a “last resort” in a letter he sent to various local officials considering similar local drilling rules.

The United States now has an “incredible” opportunity to be energy self-sufficient, John Pinkerton, executive chairman of Range Resources Corp., told an industry audience last week, urging the development of a diverse energy policy using all of the nation’s resources.

Local government officials from around Colorado took a swipe at Gov. John Hickenlooper for suing the city of Longmont, CO, to turn back its ordinance establishing natural gas and oil drilling regulations within its boundaries. The state maintains exclusive jurisdiction in this area under the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC).

The United States now has an “incredible” opportunity to be energy self-sufficient, John Pinkerton, executive chairman of Range Resources Corp., told an industry audience last week, urging the development of a diverse energy policy using all of the nation’s resources.