Offered

Researchers commissioned by state government agencies have offered differing opinions over whether a housing shortage is on the horizon in eastern Ohio, where development is ramping up in the state’s portions of the Marcellus and Utica shales.

Researchers commissioned by state government agencies have offered differing opinions over whether a housing shortage is on the horizon in eastern Ohio, where development is ramping up in the state’s portions of the Marcellus and Utica shales.

In a split decision, the Allegheny County Council voted on Tuesday to accept a deal with Consol Energy Inc. for Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling rights at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Ryckman Creek Resources LLC, a unit of Peregrine Midstream Partners LLC, said it received bids for three and a half times the capacity offered during a recent open season for firm gas storage service at its high-deliverability, multi-cycle Ryckman Creek Gas Storage facility in Uinta County, WY. The offer of 8 Bcf of capacity available April 1 received market-priced bids from 23 companies, the company said. The facility began commercial operations last August (see Daily GPI, Aug. 22). “We will now begin working with the top bidders to finalize new firm service agreements that will commence next spring with our initial firm service agreements that we entered into after our first open season two years ago,” said Peregrine COO Jeff Foutch.

ExxonMobil Corp. last week offered US$3.14 billion to buy Celtic Exploration Ltd., a Calgary producer with a rich array of unconventional acreage spread across the Montney and Duvernay shales, as well as leaseholds in other formations in Alberta (AB) and British Columbia (BC). The offer has a cash value of about $2.6 billion, excluding debt.

ExxonMobil Corp. has offered US$3.14 billion in a cash and debt deal to buy Celtic Exploration Ltd., a Calgary producer with a rich array of unconventional acreage spread across the Montney and Duvernay shales, as well as leaseholds in other formations in Alberta (AB) and British Columbia (BC). The offer that was announced on Wednesday has a cash value of about $2.6 billion, excluding debt.

Halliburton Co. on Thursday disclosed details on the performance of its new hydraulic fracturing (fracking) service, which uses a fluid based on a derivatized natural polymer rather than guar gum.

A Senate bill offered by Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia and Republicans’ Susan Collins and Rob Portman could undermine the authority of independent agencies, such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to implement many of the regulations under Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.

Transocean Ltd., which owned the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, has offered to pay about $1.5 billion to settle U.S. claims for the April 2010 deepwater disaster, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on Monday.