Minor

Thanks to Pennsylvania air quality regulations and the “increased use of natural gas in the power generation sector,” Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Mike Krancer said air pollution has “gone down considerably” within the state since 2008, even as the unconventional production of shale oil and gas ramped up.

Oil and gas operators continued to report mostly minor damage as a result of Hurricane Isaac, and production in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) was slowly returning to normal Thursday, the Bureau of Safety Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said.

The federal government would realize only a minor increase in gross oil and natural gas proceeds and production if all federal lands that are off-limits were immediately opened to leasing, according to a study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The federal government would realize only a minor increase in gross oil and natural gas proceeds and production if all federal lands that are off-limits were immediately opened to leasing, according to a study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Infrastructure constraints during the second quarter put a crimp in SM Energy Co.’s operated Eagle Ford Shale output, prompting the Denver-based company to divert some capital to the Permian Basin, where getting production to market is easier for the time being. And a steep drop in net income pummeled the Denver-based producer’s shares.

A geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) believes at least two minor earthquakes in South Texas, including a 3.0-magnitude temblor on Feb. 4, were caused by oil and natural gas drilling.

Despite allegations that a wastewater disposal well in Youngstown may be responsible for about a dozen minor earthquakes in northeast Ohio over the past year, he oil and gas industry supporters told NGI last week that remain confident that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) decision to temporarily shut down a well will not have an impact on the emerging oil and gas industry in the state’s portions of the Marcellus and Utica shales.

A well used to dispose of fracking-related fluids in the northeastern corner of Ohio is believed to have been responsible for about a dozen minor earthquakes in the town of Youngstown over the past year, with the latest one coming on New Year’s Eve, according to state regulators.

Generally minor softness has lasted only one day this week so far, as a large majority of locations resumed climbs Thursday that once again were mostly in single digits. Patches of snow and rain stretched from the Rockies to the Northeast and snow was even expected to reach the panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas by Friday. Subfreezing lows will become more frequent at least through Friday before many areas begin to warm again.