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A coalition of five Senate Republicans and five Democrats — known as the “Gang of 10” — Thursday unveiled comprehensive, bipartisan legislation offering what appeared to be the first real compromise on offshore drilling, proposing to open additional Gulf of Mexico areas and allow the states of Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia to opt into leasing off their shores. The measure would not open coastal areas off states such as New Jersey and California, which have bitterly opposed offshore drilling.

Oklahoma City-based Quest Resource Corp. (QRCP) has completed its purchase of privately held PetroEdge Resources for $142 million, which will give Quest 78,000 net acres of Appalachian Basin acreage with estimated proved reserves of 99.6 Bcfe. PetroEdge’s current net production was around 3.2 MMcfe/d. Simultaneous with the close, QRCP sold some of its producing wells, with estimated proved developed reserves of 32.9 Bcfe, and all of the current net production to its partnership, Quest Energy Partners LP, for $72 million. QRCP owns 100% of the general partner and a 57% limited partner interest in Quest Energy Partners. About 70,600 of the new leasehold is in the Marcellus Shale, including 41,200 net acres in Ritchie, Wetzel and Lewis counties of West Virginia and 22,200 net acres in Lycoming County, PA. Together with its existing acreage and development rights, QRCP would own the right to develop 122,600 net acres within the fairway of the Marcellus Shale and 7,300 net acres outside the fairway.

Amaranth LLC, also known as “the Fund,” Monday asked FERC to dismiss charges that it shares the responsibility for Amaranth Advisors’ alleged manipulation of the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) natural gas futures contract, which subsequently influenced the price of jurisdictional physical gas transactions in 2006.

Inergy subsidiary Arlington Storage Co. LLC (ASC) has filed with FERC to develop and operate a depleted reservoir natural gas storage project in Steuben County, NY, known as the Thomas Corners project.

In what brings to an end nearly all the major lawsuits still pending against the failed energy trader formerly known as Enron Corp., Citigroup will pay Enron Creditors Recovery Corp. $1.66 billion under terms of a MegaClaims settlement approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The settlement was reached March 26, Enron said. Citigroup also agreed that indemnification claims, to which the bankruptcy court had already established a $4 billion claim reserve, and an additional $249.4 million of claims against the Enron estate held by the bank, would be waived. In addition to the cash settlement, about $1.7 billion of cash held in a disputed claims reserve will be included in a special distribution to creditors in the near term, Enron said. “The settlement with Citigroup marks an important milestone in winding up the Enron estate,” said Enron CEO John Ray III. “Upon implementation of the settlement, the Enron estate expects to return approximately $5 billion to creditors, which brings us to nearly $20 billion in total returned to creditors.”

Rockies Express Pipeline LLC’s (REX) projected time frame — early February — for completing the remainder of its western leg known as REX-West has come and gone. The company now expects the remaining 213 miles of the REX-West project, running eastward from an ANR Pipeline interconnect in Brown County, KS, to Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line (PEPL) in Audrain County, MO, to be in service some time in March.

Rockies Express Pipeline LLC’s (REX) projected time frame — early February — for completing the remainder of its western leg known as REX-West has come and gone.

The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) agency overseeing pipeline safety allowed the bulk of the western portion of the Rockies Express Pipeline (REX), known as REX-West, to go into operation last month despite certain concerns related to welds on the system, according to documents filed at FERC.

The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) agency overseeing pipeline safety allowed the bulk of the western portion of the Rockies Express Pipeline (REX), known as REX-West, to go into operation earlier this month despite certain concerns related to welds on the system, according to documents filed at FERC.