Oily

Canada’s BNK Petroleum Inc. announced Sunday that its subsidiary in the United States has so far seen “very encouraging results” from a test well in southern Oklahoma’s Tishomingo field, in the Ardmore Basin of the Woodford Shale.

BP plc CEO Bob Dudley last week said the beleaguered oil major will become a “simpler,” more oily company over the next few years.

BP plc CEO Bob Dudley on Monday said the beleaguered oil major will become a “simpler,” more oily company over the next few years.

Encana Corp., one of the biggest natural gas producers in North America, is taking a walk on the oily side in 2012, redirecting a substantial portion of its 2012 budget to more profitable liquids-rich plays, CEO Randy Eresman said on Thursday.

With persistently low prices and a production glut, U.S. natural gas markets are in flux. Keeping track of the ups and downs in production data, as rigs move to more oily plays, which in turn affects output and pipeline capacity, can be a challenge for market forecasters.

What a difference a year makes in shale gas drilling. NGI’s Shale Daily Unconventional Rig Count dramatically demonstrates the ascendance of oil and oily gas shale plays as the Bakken Shale/Sanish/Three Forks claimed the top spot on the chart for the greatest number of active rigs with 170, up from 102 and third place a year ago.

With rapidly expanding development in the oily Bakken Shale and Three Forks formations of North Dakota, Enbridge Energy Partners LP (EEP) and Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (EIF) said last week that additional shippers have finalized capacity commitments to the Bakken Expansion Program and the companies expect that additional capacity will be required by producers in the near future.

With rapidly expanding development in the oily Bakken Shale and Three Forks formations of North Dakota, Enbridge Energy Partners LP (EEP) and Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (EIF) said Monday that additional shippers have finalized capacity commitments to the Bakken Expansion Program and the companies expect that additional capacity will be required by producers in the near future.

Marathon Oil Corp. is dipping its toes into the liquids-rich Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas through a deal with Houston-based Denali Oil & Gas, the company said Monday.