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Officials in New Brunswick unveiled a list of more than 100 recommended changes to the province’s regulatory framework for oil and natural gas on Thursday, including tougher casing and cementing standards, increased water protections and substantially higher royalties.

Dry natural gas drilling in North America’s onshore, once a big calling for Houston-based Apache Corp., is off the to-do list until pricing improves, but with 60 rigs running in the U.S. onshore today — 58 targeting liquids targets — “we’ve got a very active drilling program going on right now, the most active we’ve been in some time in North America,” said CEO G. Steven Farris.

ConocoPhillips will say goodbye to the ranks of Big Oil and move to the top of the North America’s pure-play explorers list at the end of this month, with a U.S. focus on liquids-rich opportunities, the incoming CEO said Monday.

Fitch Ratings on Friday joined a growing list of energy pundits in predicting no letup in North American natural gas production in 2012, low prices or not.

Fitch Ratings on Friday joined a growing list of energy pundits in predicting no letup in North American natural gas production in 2012, low prices or not.

Encana Corp. last week checked off more items on its “to do” list after agreeing to sell two packages of properties, including a C$920 million deal to sell two natural gas processing plants that service the Cutbank Ridge area to Veresen Inc.

Encana Corp. on Wednesday checked off another item on its “to do” list after agreeing to sell two natural gas processing plants that service the Cutbank Ridge area, which straddles Alberta and British Columbia (BC), to Veresen Inc. for C$920 million.

Topping FERC’s list of pipeline projects that went into service in October were National Fuel Gas Supply’s and Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s Marcellus Shale-related expansions. A new lateral in Illinois also was placed into service, and two expansion projects were approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, according to the latest energy infrastructure update.

Oilfield services provider Platinum Energy Solutions Inc. filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission to sell up to $300 million of common stock in an initial public offering. The Houston-based company, which specializes in hydraulic fracturing in unconventional oil and natural gas plays, coiled tubing and other pressure pumping services, has operations in Texas and northwestern Louisiana. Platinum’s “quintuplex” pumping units are capable of delivering up to 2,500 hydraulic horsepower with an 80% efficiency, according to the company. Platinum said it has applied to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FRAC.