Meeting

The Ohio Oil and Gas Association (OOGA) reported at its annual winter meeting that in 2012 more wells were permitted and completed, and the state saw a substantial increase in the amount of footage drilled.

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Tuesday that his office has opened an investigation of a crude oil spill near Mayflower, AR, which ExxonMobil was working to clean up. The cause of the spill is still under investigation, but Exxon said the spill did not involve tar sands oil.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) independent Science Advisory Board (SAB) has formed a Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory panel of independent experts to peer review the EPA’s 2014 draft report of results for its national study on potential health and environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. EPA said the SAB panel will provide scientific feedback on EPA’s research in “an open and transparent manner.”

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.

Since its analyst meeting early last year, Sempra Energy senior management has signaled that its newly designated U.S. Gas & Power (USGP) unit was intent on moving away from merchant power assets in the West and deploying more capital in the Southeast to support its gas infrastructure strategy. USGP maintains a regional headquarters in Greenville, SC.

Since its analyst meeting early last year, Sempra Energy senior management has signaled that its newly designated U.S. Gas & Power (USGP) unit was intent on moving away from merchant power assets in the West and deploying more capital in the Southeast to support its gas infrastructure strategy. USGP maintains a regional headquarters in Greenville, SC.

Now that it’s getting out of the local distribution company (LDC) business, Appalachia-focused EQT Corp. will have more time and money to devote to the Marcellus Shale, America’s emerging natural gas breadbasket.

At a one-day meeting of California’s state legislature Monday a new bill was introduced calling for public disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in oil/natural gas drilling by the same state lawmaker who has unsuccessfully sponsored similar bills the past two years.

Customer fuel-switching, growing gas-fired generation needs tied to more reliance on renewable power and pipeline infrastructure expansions in the western parts of the state have Wisconsin’s major combination utility anticipating a growing role for natural gas, according to the CEO of Wisconsin Energy (WE).