Municipalities

Texas state Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) has introduced two bills for the upcoming legislative session that target potential future anti-drilling/hydraulic fracturing (fracking) actions in the Lone Star State, such as what happened in the Barnett Shale town of Denton earlier this year.

The New York Court of Appeals on Thursday agreed to review two lawsuits that protest bans on unconventional drilling, and specifically hydraulic fracturing (fracking), that were imposed by Middlefield and Dryden, Southern Tier municipalities that top the Marcellus Shale.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said it found naturally occurring dissolved methane at several household wells used for drinking water in Sullivan County, PA, during pre-drill baseline testing at sites not near existing oil and gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

Attorneys for energy companies and landowners looking to advance shale development in New York State said Thursday morning’s proceedings in state appellate court went well and they expect to hear rulings on two key cases in six to eight weeks, or by mid-May.

Constitution Pipeline Co. has finalized the route it will propose for a Marcellus Pipeline in a certification application it expects to file with FERC this spring, the company said in a project update newsletter sent to landowners and other stakeholders.

Maine’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Thursday approved a Summit Natural Gas of Maine request to provide service to customers in 17 municipalities in the Kennebec Valley region, a decision that could complicate matters for a competitor that already is building a new gas pipeline in part of the area.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) said Monday that natural gas producers have paid most of about $206 million owed under the drilling impact fee enacted under Act 13, surging past the $180 million the state thought it would take in this year from its new omnibus Marcellus Shale law.

Two municipalities in upstate New York have decided to remain neutral on the issue of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) and will wait until the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issues its report on the practice.

Armada Oil Inc. has signed a geophysical data acquisition agreement with Geokinetics USA Inc. to conduct seismic testing on land in the Niobrara and Casper formations in southern Wyoming, the Houston-based independent oil and gas company said.