Landowners

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is proposing to protect six species of aquatic invertebrates native to West Texas as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Such an ESA listing could have implications for the West Texas oil patch, analysts warned.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Wednesday said it would appeal a U.S. District Court decision Tuesday that ordered the producer to pay more than $100 million for reneging on agreements to purchase some natural gas mineral rights in Texas four years ago.

Wyoming Oil and Gas Supervisor Tom Doll suddenly resigned Thursday, Gov. Matt Mead’s office announced late in the day. The resignation came a little more than a week after Doll publicly lambasted the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its handling of the well water and natural gas drilling case near Pavillion, WY, that has evolved into lingering state-federal issue.

Skepticism of conventional wisdom is rarely out of place, particularly in the energy patch. But when the oil and gas industry is dealing with consumers, citizens and landowners, sincerity is the order of the day.

Skepticism of conventional wisdom is rarely out of place, particularly in the energy patch. But when the oil and gas industry is dealing with consumers, citizens and landowners, sincerity is the order of the day.

Following through with market commitments to break through the Midcontinent crude bottleneck, Enbridge Inc. and Enterprise Products Partners LP said late Monday they will double the capacity of the Seaway Pipeline to 850,000 b/d by mid-2014 after lining up capacity commitments from shippers.

Indigo II Louisiana Operating LLC said it has made a new oil discovery in central Louisiana with its first horizontal well targeting the Louisiana Eagle Ford Shale (LA Eagle Ford).

The chief of New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said Thursday he was considering whether to extend a 60-day comment period on DEC’s hydraulic fracturing (fracking) report, which was issued in July.

The Sierra Club alleges in a letter to the National Park Service (NPS) that Pennsylvania is violating federal law by allowing natural gas drilling on protected state park and forest land.