Operator

Nabors Industries Inc., the largest onshore drilling fleet operator and the biggest supplier of pressure pumping equipment, is not optimistic about seeing gains in the U.S. oil or gas patch through the rest of this year, CEO Tony Petrello said Wednesday.

Nabors Industries Inc., the largest onshore drilling fleet operator and the biggest supplier of pressure pumping equipment, is not optimistic about seeing gains in the U.S. oil or gas patch through the rest of this year, CEO Tony Petrello said Wednesday.

A federal district judge last Saturday rejected a bid by SandRidge Energy Inc. to dismiss an investor lawsuit that claims the Oklahoma City operator provided misleading information regarding natural gas drilling programs.

The Macondo well blowout spilled much less oil than the U.S. government estimates of 4.9 million bbl, according to a reservoir engineering expert hired by operator BP plc.

Eddie LeBlanc will take over as CFO and executive vice president at SandRidge Energy Inc. on July 8, the operator said. LeBlanc formerly was CFO at East Resources Inc. from 2010 until 2013. Before that, he also served as CFO at PostRock Energy Corp. (2009-2010), Ascent Energy Co. (2003-2007), Range Resources Corp. (2000-2003), and Coho Energy Inc. (1995-1999). He has a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and is a certified public accountant and chartered financial analyst. LeBlanc is moving into the office formerly occupied by James D. Bennett, who recently was named CEO (see Daily GPI, June 20). Bennett began as SandRidge’s CFO in January 2011 and he was named president in March.

Williams Pacific Connector Gas Operator LLC, acting as the engineering, procurement and construction management contractor on behalf of Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline LP asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for authorization to construct and operate the Pacific Connector Pipeline, a proposed interstate natural gas transmission system designed to deliver up to 1,060,000 Dth/d of natural gas from interconnects with Ruby Pipeline LLC and Gas Transmission Northwest LLC near Malin, OR, to the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal being developed by Jordan Cove Energy Project LP. In late May Jordan Cove, an affiliate of Calgary-based Veresen Inc., filed an application with FERC to construct the liquefied natural gas export facility on the West Coast within the international Port of Coos Bay, OR (see Daily GPI, May 23).

Apache Corp., which now claims to be the second biggest North American onshore operator, reported a 45% increase in total liquids output year/year in the United States and Canada, driven by a revamped drilling program in the legacy Permian and Anadarko basins.

A standout performance in the Permian Basin increased oil production 23% year/year in the first three months of this year, but it’s not the only racehorse in the stable, Devon Energy Corp.’s top executive said Wednesday. Encouraging results from the emerging Mississippian Lime, for example, may provide the “next leg of growth.”

Tulsa-based midstream operator SemGroup on Wednesday agreed to a $300 million cash price for Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s interests in subsidiary Mid-America Midstream Gas Services LLC, that comes with a 20-year gathering and processing contract for 540,000 net acres in the Mississippian Lime play.