operators

Pennsylvania has a “well managed” and professional” regulatory program for oil and gas operations in the state, but should make four specific changes to how it regulates hydraulic fracturing (fracking), according to a report by the nonprofit State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations Inc. (Stronger).

The search for natural gas and oil in ever more remote regions is drawing more prospectors to the U.S. Arctic Ocean, which includes Alaska waters, but there aren’t enough safeguards in place to ensure accidents can be managed, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.

A state lawmaker in Pennsylvania has introduced a bill that would require operators to submit monthly production reports, giving landowners more information to ensure that they are receiving accurate royalty payments.

Big Oil’s attempt to take over the North American onshore from U.S. independents so far hasn’t paid off as some would have imagined just a few years ago, with the majors still struggling to capture the kind of profits and production results they may have been anticipating.

State regulators in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia collectively issued 411 permits for oil and gas drilling during the month of July, most of which targeted the Marcellus and Utica shales.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead on Monday reiterated his dislike of the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Regional Haze Plan, noting the agency denied his state’s haze plan after entering into a consent degree with environmental group WildEarth Guardians, which had filed a lawsuit in Colorado.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed 29 bills into law on Tuesday, including SB 259, which the state’s chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) has derided as “a kissing cousin to forced pooling.”

FERC has green lighted an agreement between the West’s largest grid operators to create a real-time energy imbalance market (EIM) that promises substantial efficiencies and cost savings on the overall grid, and which could have lasting impacts on the region’s natural gas demand.

New Brunswick could see C$13 million in development for every shale gas well drilled in the province, opening up opportunities for the province to prosper, according to an analysis by Deloitte. However, a recent poll found that critics of development are gaining support.