The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has levied a $40,000 fine on an Ultra Petroleum Corp. subsidiary for several violations from 2011, including operating an illegal transfer station from a Marcellus Shale well pad in Potter County.
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Articles from Middle
Interior Responding to Call for Quicker Permitting
Standing in the middle of North Dakota’s booming oil/gas production fields, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday rolled out new federal government efforts to streamline onshore leasing and drilling processes on federal lands. Salazar made the announcement after two days of touring the Bakken Shale area, a major economic driver in what is now the nation’s third largest oil producing state.
Interior to Speed Up Drilling Permits, Lease Processes
Standing in the middle of North Dakota’s booming oil/gas production fields, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday rolled out new federal government efforts to streamline onshore leasing and drilling processes on federal lands. Salazar made the announcement after two days of touring the Bakken Shale area, a major economic driver in what is now the nation’s third largest oil producing state.
DCP Midstream Eyes More Shale Plays, Chemical Build-Out
Being in the middle is not so much a challenge as an opportunity for DCP Midstream LLC, the Denver-based infrastructure and natural gas liquids (NGL) operator that has an eye on moving into the Bakken, Utica and Marcellus shale plays, according to DCP President Bill Waldheim. He told NGIShale Daily that those are about the only shale plays that fall outside DCP’s reach these days.
Ohio Governor Said Considering Severance Tax Hike, Impact Fee
Ohio Gov. John Kasich is reportedly considering raising severance taxes on oil and natural gas, new taxes for the extraction of natural gas liquids (NGL) and a new impact fee on oil and gas operations.
Bakken Shale Latest Target for Breitling Oil and Gas
The Bakken Shale and underlying Three Forks formation in North Dakota are the latest targets for independent exploration and production company Breitling Oil and Gas Corp., which in 2011 reported progress in oil and gas projects in its focus areas in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
Industry Briefs
Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. is raising its production guidance for this year and next year based upon better-than-expected well results, according to the Houston-based company. Magnum Hunter is currently producing 12,500 boe/d, compared to its 10,000 boe/d guidance for the year. The company expects to close out 2012 producing 14,500 boe/d, up from its previous projection of 13,000 boe/d. Magnum Hunter operates in the Marcellus, Eagle Ford and Bakken shales. “We are very fortunate to have three resource plays within our portfolio that are now ‘hitting on all cylinders’ and providing an increase in our overall production levels well above expectations,” said CEO Gary C. Evans. “This is especially rewarding when our management team has been able to achieve these milestones while also staying within our original capital budget plan.”
Gastar Expanding Marcellus Operations in 2012
Gastar Exploration Ltd. achieved its goal of increasing Marcellus Shale production in northern West Virginia this year, and now the Houston-based company is setting the same goal for itself in the coming year.
Wisconsin Energy Sees Slow Industrial Growth
Wisconsin seems caught right in the middle of current economic woes — not as well off as some Upper Midwest states, but decidedly better off than Michigan, its neighbor across the Great Lakes — and Wisconsin Energy Corp. (WEC) sees continuing signs of slow recovery of the industrial sector, according to CEO Gale Klappa.
ConocoPhillips Ready to Split
ConocoPhillips expects to complete the spinoff its refining arm by the middle of next year, which would absorb the natural gas and oil pipelines as well as joint venture projects, CEO Jim Mulva said last week.