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Increased natural gas sales by BP plc weren’t enough to overcome mild winter-sparked decreases reported by several other big name companies, resulting in a 4% (5.86 Bcf/d) decline in gas sales transactions in 4Q2012 (135.01 Bcf/d) compared with 4Q2011 (140.87 Bcf/d), according to NGI’s 4Q2012 Top North American Gas Marketers Ranking. The full-year 2012 total for participating companies was virtually unchanged from 2011.

After resigning earlier this year as Wyoming’s oil/natural gas supervisor after being openly critical of federal environmental regulators (see Shale Daily, June 18), Tom Doll has secured a position as a senior petroleum engineer with the Energy and Environmental Research Center, a nonprofit unit of the University of North Dakota. Doll now works for the center’s oil/natural gas technical group, focusing on reservoir characterization and simulation, geomechanics and providing “operational excellence” for clients. Working remotely from his Wyoming base, Doll also works in emissions control, coal utilization and water management for the Grand Forks, ND-based organization. Wyoming has yet to name a supervisor in its Oil/Gas Conservation Commission to replace Doll.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear an appeal of a property rights case and rule on whether the owner of the property in the Marcellus Shale also owns the shale gas it contains.

Houston-based NorTex Gas Storage Co. has changed its name to NorTex Midstream Partners LLC to reflect its new midstream energy market focus and asset acquisition strategy. “NorTex is in an active acquisition mode, committed to securing a full range of midstream assets and creating an unrivaled set of commercial solutions,” said CEO Robert Foss. NorTex owns and operates Worsham-Steed Gas Storage and Hill-Lake Gas Storage, high-deliverability, multi-cycle facilities serving the greater Dallas-Fort Worth market. These assets are in the Barnett Shale region and have multiple interconnections with several major pipelines serving energy markets from the Permian Basin at Waha to East Texas at Carthage, TX.

In a merger that would create a formidable onshore oilfield services company, Superior Energy Services Inc. on Monday agreed to pay $2.7 billion in cash and stock to buy Complete Production Services Inc. — a 62% premium to Complete’s closing share price on Friday.

McMoRan Exploration Co., which has made its name through discoveries of big, gassy fields in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), said Tuesday soaring costs from an unproductive well and impairment expenses ate into its revenues in the second quarter, sending the company to a loss for the sixth straight quarter.

Denali will still be a national park in Alaska and the name of GMC’s luxury SUV, but it’s not going to be “The Alaska Gas Pipeline.” BP plc and ConocoPhillips, partners in the project to pipe Alaska North Slope Gas to Canada and Lower 48 markets, threw in the towel Tuesday following an unsuccessful open season.

A bill that would change the name of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) to the Texas Oil and Gas Commission, as well as make other reforms, was approved Monday by the Texas House of Representatives. The legislation is slated for a conference committee with the state Senate.

Demand for oilfield services from North America’s unconventional resource drillers continues unabated and Halliburton Co. could complete contracts “in any terms we wanted to dictate at this point in time,” CEO Dave Lesar said Monday.