Permitting

While unconventional energy plays require more water than their conventional counterparts, it’s the rapid growth of those new plays that is shining a spotlight on how the oil and gas industries use water, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor told attendees at CERAWeek 2011 in Houston last week.

In a March 2 letter to Gov. Tom Corbett, a group of 80 Pennsylvania state representatives said they would hold up royalty revenues if the state leased additional forest land for natural gas development.

New York’s ban on permitting for drilling operations involving hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has prompted Norway’s Norse Energy Corp. ASA to send notices of force majeure to landowners covering its leased acres, thereby extending its leases and awaiting shale developments under the incoming state administration.

Despite what he sees as excessive federal government regulation and unnecessarily lengthy permitting processes, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell still believes his state will become “the energy capital of the East Coast” and an offshore energy leader.

Legislation has been introduced in the Senate and House aimed at speeding up permitting for oil and natural gas operators in the Gulf of Mexico who have complied with the new safety and inspection regulations issued by the Interior Department.

The Texas Petro Index (TPI) rose for the second consecutive month to 191.6, following a 14-month string of declines, said the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. TPI rose from 188.2 in December to 189.1 in January to the latest TPI of 191.6 in February. However, the index remains 27.5% below its level of 264.4 a year ago.

The Texas Petro Index (TPI) rose for the second consecutive month to 191.6, following a 14-month string of declines, said the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. TPI rose from 188.2 in December to 189.1 in January to the latest TPI of 191.6 in February. However, the index remains 27.5% below its level of 264.4 a year ago.

The Texas Petro Index (TPI) rose for the second consecutive month to 191.6, following a 14-month string of declines, said the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. TPI rose from 188.2 in December to 189.1 in January to the latest TPI of 191.6 in February. However, the index remains 27.5% below its level of 264.4 a year ago.

After more than a year of negotiations, a landmark agreement to protect Utah’s cultural resources while permitting “orderly and environmentally responsible” natural gas development on the West Tavaputs Plateau near Nine Mile Canyon by Bill Barrett Corp. is to be finalized Tuesday (Jan. 5) with a signing ceremony at the state capitol in Salt Lake City, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Utah said.