Lime

Tulsa-based Midstates Petroleum Co. Inc., whose focus is on the Mississippian Lime in Oklahoma, said Tuesday it does not intend to operate any drilling rigs in the first half of 2019 and would continue to evaluate its future activity levels and capital expenditures on an ongoing basis.

BCE-Mach LLC, formed earlier this year with the ousted founder of SandRidge Energy Inc., Tom L. Ward, on Monday said it would buy a bundle of properties in the Mississippian Lime that are primarily operated by Ward’s former company.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) is reportedly selling its 300,000 acres in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale play to Houston-based private equity fund Lime Rock Resources in a deal valued at $500 million, far less than Oxy’s holdings were estimated to be worth less than two years ago.

A U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell plc is throwing in the towel in the Kansas portion of the Mississippian Lime, selling off 45 producing wells and about 600,000 net lease acres.

Driven primarily by the continued success of its drilling program in the Marcellus Shale, Range Resources Corp. saw its production volumes surge to a record high of 910 MMcfe/d in 2Q2013, a 27% increase over 2Q2012, the Forth Worth, TX-based company said Thursday.

The transition to U.S. oil targets by the exploration and production (E&P) industry now is complete, with operators more able to concentrate on drilling efficiencies and the higher capital outlays required, according to Canaccord Genuity.

In its efforts to maximize the opportunities provided by the domestic shale oil and gas boom, Houston-based Phillips 66 said it plans to develop a 100,000 b/d natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionator in Old Ocean, TX, which would provide an alternative for suppliers wary of congestion at facilities located in and around Mont Belvieu, TX.

SandRidge Energy Inc.’s transition from a natural gas producer to an oil explorer appears to be paying off, with the company’s Mississippian Lime operations experiencing success and its bottom line improving, but the market seems unconvinced.

SandRidge Energy Inc.’s transition from a natural gas producer to an oil explorer appears to be paying off, with the company’s Mississippian Lime operations experiencing success and its bottom line improving, but the market seems unconvinced.