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ZaZa Energy Corp. and Hess Corp. have ended a joint venture (JV) agreement they made in 2010 for activities in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas and the Paris Basin in France. ZaZa is taking over the Eagle Ford activities while Hess will hold the exploration licenses in France.

In what eventually could be a breakthrough in reducing the carbon footprint of natural gas-fired and other fossil fuel power generation, the Shaw Group Inc. and Exelon have announced a project with an emissions control technology provider to demonstrate a potential zero-emissions process on a small-scale gas-fired plant during the next three years.

Under a new policy by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), operators will be required to sign a lease and make royalty payments to the state for natural gas gathered from wells adjacent to navigable streams, lakes and waterways.

ExxonMobil Chemical recently made a regulatory filing to add a multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker and other facilities at its Baytown, TX, chemicals complex with the intention of taking advantage of cheap ethane being thrown off by liquids-rich shale gas plays.

Members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly have begun considering House Bill 2399, which among other things would provide a tax credit to companies that create new jobs related to the Marcellus Shale.

A group of five senators has called on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to define swaps, security-based swaps and other key terms so that limits on market speculation can be put into effect.

Production of oil, natural gas and condensate from the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas increased dramatically from 2010 to 2011, according to a new study of the play and its impact on the region. And there’s more to come, thanks in large part to the attractive economics offered by the Eagle Ford’s oil and liquids-rich gas.

Rex Energy Corp. recently spud it first Utica Shale well in Carroll County, OH.

The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) said Monday it plans to conduct a public forum on electric (EV) and natural gas vehicles (NGV) to help the five-member PUC and other state agencies determine how they can best foster stepped up investment in alternative fuel vehicles.