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PVR Partners and Hess Corp. have struck a deal for the former to construct an 45-mile natural gas trunkline and gathering facilities to serve Hess’s lean gas production in the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio. The deal also establishes an area of mutual interest (AMI) to the companies.

More than one year after creating a subcommittee to study hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and develop a consensus for best practices, ASTM International has proposed a new standard for data management and reporting that would cover oil and gas operations in shale plays.

Jobs at the core of Ohio’s growing shale industry, including those in pipeline construction and well drilling, grew nearly 18% and paid an average wage of more than $76,000 during the fourth quarter of 2012, according to a quarterly report by the state’s Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has approved a Sunoco Pipeline LP request to abandon a portion of its petroleum products pipeline transportation service in the state, moving Sunoco Logistics Partners LP’s plans for the Mariner East pipeline project one step closer to fruition.

After multiple delays, Dallas-based Cubic Energy Inc. has obtained nonbinding commitments for up to $107 million of financing to fund the the previously announced acquisition of Gastar Exploration Texas LP’s East Texas properties (see Shale Daily, April 23). The financing is also intended to fund drilling and working capital, potential additional acquisitions, as well as payment of existing debt. Gastar agreed to extend the closing date of the transaction until Sept. 20, and Cubic agreed to increase the price to be paid for the East Texas assets by $1 million, resulting in a final price of $47 million.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed a rule to protect workers exposed to silica, including those involved in hydraulic fracturing that uses silica, or sand, as a proppant.

Viking Gas Transmission has filed an uncontested settlement that would cut its base rates by 2% and end the nearly year-long investigation by FERC into whether the pipeline over-recovered its costs, resulting in unjust and unreasonable rates for its shippers.

Officials with New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG), which was the hardest hit of all the natural gas utilities on the East Coast when Superstorm Sandy struck last October, have submitted a plan to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) that is designed to give the distribution infrastructure and its customers greater protection from the next super storm.

New England power generators will be held responsible for outages based on their economic decisions not to line up deliveries of natural gas or other fuel, but will not be liable if they can demonstrate the fuel/transportation is unavailable, according to a mixed ruling issued by FERC in response to a complaint filed by the New England Power Generators Association (NEPGA).