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A unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc has inked a milestone agreement with Chinese officials to use its technical know-how to develop shale gas in a first-ever production sharing contract (PSC).

A unit of Japan’s Marubeni Corp. has struck a deal to acquire a 35% stake in Dallas-based Hunt Oil Co.’s Eagle Ford Shale holdings. Marubeni pledged Friday to grow its stake in shales, in the United States and around the world.

With one transaction, Chesapeake Midstream Partners LP (CHKM) has become the “biggest gathering system in the Marcellus Shale,” CEO J. Mike Stice said Thursday.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently opened a 30-day comment period on the environmental assessment (EA) for EOG Resources’ plans for directional drilling of production wells in an already developed area in the central portion of the Uinta play in northeast Utah. The comment period ends Jan. 13.

For the second time in as many months analysts at Raymond James & Associates Inc. cut their 2012 natural gas price forecast, this time by 12.5% to $3.50/Mcf from $4.00/Mcf. “…[Y]ou all know the story — an unrelenting supply glut…” they said in a note Monday.

Although it is not likely to subside in the months ahead, concern among state officials regarding proposed federal rules on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is creating a lot of posturing from both political and legal standpoints. North Dakota is in the middle of the messy states’ rights public debate.

EQT Corp. plans to stay in the midstream business, but not on its own.

Energy experts predict that natural gas will surpass coal and become the second most widely used fossil fuel on Earth by 2030, but said challenges remain for the industry to make that a reality.

It will be another two to three months before the backers of the FERC-approved Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal project will know if they will try to transform their project into an export facility. Jordan Cove earlier confirmed that it has taken its first step toward seeking an export license.