Portion

Economic contributions from unconventional development mostly are driven by the 16 states with oil and natural gas production, but a “significant portion” comes from states with no production, according to a state-by-state analysis by IHS Inc.

Lacking anything like the Bakken to its north and not seeing a major new play on the horizon, South Dakota oil and natural gas authorities nevertheless have begun the process for upgrading the state’s exploration and production (E&P) regulations, including adding provisions addressing hydraulic fracturing.

Economic contributions from unconventional development mostly are driven by the 16 states with oil and natural gas production, but a “significant portion” comes from states with no production, according to a state-by-state analysis by IHS Inc.

BP plc plans to begin drilling the first of 10 appraisal wells in Trumbull County, OH, next April, but developing eastern Ohio’s portion of the Utica Shale may be hampered by a lack of pipeline infrastructure, officials said this week.

DTE Pipeline Co. began Tuesday began operation of its Bluestone Gathering pipeline system in Susquehanna County, PA. The southern portion of the pipeline connects gas production of Southwestern Energy to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Lenox Township, PA (see Shale Daily, July 6, 2011). The pipeline has a capacity of 275 million cubic feet per day. The remaining 32 miles of pipeline will interconnect with the Millennium Pipeline in Sanford, NY and should be completed in January, DTE said. Bluestone Gathering is being developed as the Bluestone Pipeline Co. of Pennsylvania LLC, Bluestone Gas Corp. of New York Inc. and Susquehanna Gathering Co. I LLC, all of which are subsidiaries of DTE Pipeline, an affiliate of DTE Energy. Bluestone is DTE’s first natural gas gathering project outside Michigan. DTE Pipeline also is a 40% owner of the Vector Pipeline, 26.25% owner of the Millennium Pipeline and 33% owner of the recently announced Nexus Gas Transmission System.

Although it will take another year or more to fully assess the value, Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. is staking a lot of its long-term oil and natural gas value on its Mancos Shale acreage in both the Piceance and San Juan Basins, CEO David Emery said during a 3Q2012 earnings conference call Thursday.

New Brunswick should require a portion of any natural gas found in its shale plays be set aside for use in the province and should put in place a water use strategy for the shale gas industry, but it should not place a moratorium on the industry, according to a report by Louis LaPierre, a professor emeritus in biology at the University of Moncton.

New Brunswick should require a portion of any natural gas found in its shale plays be set aside for use in the province and should put in place a water use strategy for the shale gas industry, but it should not place a moratorium on the industry, according to a report by Louis LaPierre, a professor emeritus in biology at the University of Moncton.

Gulfport Energy Corp. reportedly has the best producing well to date in the Utica Shale, according to initial production (IP) data released by the Oklahoma City-based operator.