Personnel

The U.S. Coast Guard in New Orleans Friday enlisted two boats, a cutter, two helicopters and a plane to search for two personnel missing from an oil and natural gas production rig that experienced an explosion and fire at about 8:45 a.m. CST.

Natural gas storage company personnel say they are not concerned that Pennsylvania will run out of underground capacity, despite last winter’s mild weather, higher-than-normal amounts of gas already in storage and increased production from the Marcellus Shale.

All but two of Encana Corp.’s 35 shut-in natural gas wells were back in service Tuesday in the Piceance Basin as the danger from the Pine Ridge fire along the Western Slope in Colorado continued to subside. The two remaining shut-in wells are “low-producing” and located in the north end of the Piceance, an Encana spokesperson told NGI.

There will be no quick replacement for Tom Doll, who resigned as Wyoming Oil and Gas Supervisor suddenly last week (see Shale Daily, June 18), according to a spokesperson for Gov. Matt Mead. The governor and the state’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission are working out the details of the search for a replacement, the spokesperson told NGI’s Shale Daily.

Regulators with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said permit applications for oil and natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale are taking about four months to process — about three months longer than they should take compared with past permitting.

Pennsylvania House Speaker Sam Smith (R-Punxsutawney) accused opponents of shale gas drilling of spreading misinformation about Act 13, calling their claims that the law’s language on chemical disclosure would prevent doctors from treating their patients “outrageous.”

A Jefferies & Co. analyst this week cut his 2012 earnings forecasts and price targets by 30-50% for some of the biggest domestic onshore drillers and well service companies because he expects to see slower growth for oil and gas rigs.

With production and personnel almost completely restored in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) after Tropical Storm Lee’s passing and Tropical Storm Nate likely to steer clear of U.S. energy interests, traders on Friday put downward pressure on natural gas futures values. The October contract ended up dropping 6.5 cents on the day to close at $3.915, which is 4.3 cents higher than the previous week’s finish.

ExxonMobil Corp. and Russia’s OAO Rosneft said Tuesday they have forged an agreement to jointly explore and develop projects in North America, including the tight oilfields of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), as well as in Russia and other countries around the world. The two oil giants also agreed to share technology in the wide-ranging transaction.