Nine

Houston-based Nine Energy Service Inc. has a definitive agreement on the table to acquire Magnum Oil Tools International Ltd. for $493 million in cash and stock, a merger designed to expand its completions offerings in North America’s onshore and beyond.

Boosted by its growing U.S. onshore business, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. reversed year-ago losses in the second quarter and reported production gains in most of its domestic plays.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) wants lawmakers to restore several oil and gas rules that were included in the original version of the state’s biennial budget bill, but were stripped out by the state House of Representatives.

Crude oil production from the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas was up by 74% in February compared with a year ago, reaching an all-time high of 471,258 b/d from the nine fields that comprise the majority of the play, according preliminary data from the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).

The 2013 Atlantic Hurricane season is expected to be active, with 16 named storms, including nine hurricanes, five of them major (Category 3 or higher), according to the first tropical storm forecast of the year from Weather Services International (WSI).

Ohio wells produced about 73.3 Bcf of natural gas and 4.9 million bbl of oil in 2011, according to a report released this week by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shale gas well hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations are significantly lower than previously estimated, according to a study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

An environmental group focused on recreation says industrial-scale development of oil shale is harmful to rivers and could require billions gallons of water annually, significantly more than what would be needed for hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

In a pair of deals announced Thursday, Seneca Resources Corp., the exploration and production unit of National Fuel Gas Co., laid out plans to continue shifting its Marcellus Shale drilling rigs from diesel fuel to liquefied natural gas (LNG).