Leaseholds

A study of Barnett Shale region water wells has found elevated levels of heavy metals near natural gas extraction sites, but a link to drilling/production activity has not been determined and may not be, researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) said.

ConocoPhillips leaseholds in the Eagle Ford and Bakken shales, along with the Permian Basin, together boosted their year/year output by 42% in the first quarter, management said Thursday.

EOG Resources Inc. CEO Mark Papa said the company has no plans to sell its estimable onshore natural gas leaseholds. But he also doesn’t expect management to spend much time or money on the plays in 2013.

EOG Resources Inc. CEO Mark Papa said the company has no plans to sell its estimable onshore natural gas leaseholds. But he also doesn’t expect management to spend much time or money on the plays in 2013, he told analysts last week.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of Act 13, the state’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law, on Oct. 17 in Pittsburgh.

One of the newer, smaller wildfires raging in Colorado sparked concerns Thursday about natural gas exploration and production (E&P) activities along the Western Slope in the Piceance Basin, but industry sources said there was no cause for alarm among citizens or fire-fighting officials. Any dangers are minimal because facilities can be shut in with the push of a button, an oil and gas official said.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. worked with Encana Corp. to suppress land prices in Michigan’s natural gas and oil leaseholds two years ago, Reuters reported on Monday.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for a unanimous court on Wednesday in a decision that holds implications for natural gas and oil leaseholds, made clear that access to the courts is the proper response to the “strong-arming of regulated parties” by government agencies.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for a unanimous court in a decision that holds implications for natural gas and oil leaseholds, made clear last week that access to the courts is the proper response to the “strong-arming of regulated parties” by government agencies.