Longer

The head of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy (WRLC) said the organization is not opposed to Utica Shale development and hydraulic fracturing (fracking), but wants to see the industry, landowners and other stakeholders come to an agreement over developing eastern Ohio’s portion of the play.

A follow-up documentary on natural gas drilling by propagandist Josh Fox premiered on HBO Monday night, offering some half-truths and outright distortions about the oil and gas industry and on President Obama’s energy policies.

Oneok Inc.’s energy services segment, which markets and contracts to provide natural gas and transportation, has “contributed greatly” to the company’s past, but it’s no longer a good fit with today’s marketplace, CEO John Gibson said in a conference call Tuesday.

Gulf of Mexico explorer McMoRan Exploration Co. (MMR) is no longer a publicly traded stock after shareholders on Monday (June 3) approved a merger with a subsidiary of affiliated conglomerate Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Under a friendly agreement in late 2012, Freeport agreed to pay close to $3 billion for MMR and more than $9 billion including debt for Plains Exploration & Production Co.; the Plains deal closed at the end of May (see Daily GPI, June 3; Dec. 6, 2012). Freeport Chairman Jim Bob Moffatt co-chaired McMoRan with Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson. MMR shareholders are to receive $14.75/share in cash, or $2.2 billion for shares not owned by Freeport, as well as 1.15 units in Gulf Coast Ultra Deep Royalty Trust, which would hold a 5% overriding royalty stake in future output from 20 specified ultra-deep exploration targets.

There appears to be no scarcity of global shale gas opportunities, but it may be two years — or longer — before drilling progresses to commercial success, according to Raymond James & Associates Inc.

California regulators last week took action that longer term could lower natural gas demand in a state with a 5 Bcf/d appetite by approving a less gas-dependent long-term plan for Southern California Edison Co.’s (SCE) future sources of electricity and launching a rulemaking to examine how to integrate biomethane into the state’s extensive gas pipeline grid.

Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. did something in the final three months of 2012 that no other onshore oilfield services provider has announced yet: hydraulic fracturing (fracking) services climbed and sales surpassed expectations — surprising even company executives.

MSC also released a longer video on social media channels and is asking viewers to submit their questions about natural gas production and use. The video includes a series of clips from a variety of news programs detailing the economic benefits of developing the Marcellus Shale.

Boulder County, CO, officials may need to keep in place longer than expected a moratorium on the processing of development plans for oil and gas permits. County Planning Commission members said Wednesday they need more time to complete new regulations meant to address potential public health and environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration in unincorporated areas of the county, according to news reports. In February Boulder County commissioners passed a resolution that placed a moratorium on accepting applications until Feb. 4, 2013. The Planning Commission asked the Board of County Commissioners to extend the moratorium by three to six months. Government officials from around Colorado have challenged the state’s authority to regulate energy operations (see Shale Daily, Sept. 24; Aug. 17). The state maintains exclusive jurisdiction in this area under the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.