Producers

Producers have shifted from growth to survival mode, applying technology to overcome the constraints of diminished revenue expectations, according to Barclays Capital. The investment firm held its annual energy conference last week, which featured presentations by exploration and production (E&P) companies.

It is unlikely that producers will be able to meet North Dakota’s next natural gas capture goal early next year, so the state’s chief energy regulator on Wednesday asked elected officials to postpone the requirement, which is set to begin Jan. 1.

The active drilling rig count saw losses for the week nearly across the board, with declines of 4-8% in all categories except for disposal wells and inland/barge drilling, according to Baker Hughes data.

More than three years after Northern Natural Gas Co. was allowed to condemn more than 9,000 acres in south-central Kansas to contain gas migrating from an underground storage facility, the company got the bill for its action: about $7.3 million. That is far less than what landowners and oil/gas producers were seeking.

After decades of attempts to commercialize its vast North Slope natural gas reserves, Alaska is on the cusp of years more work. But now, producer, pipeline and state interests are aligned; there’s a mandate from lawmakers to get a project done; and a real plan has begun to take shape.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. is once again fighting to stave off a class action lawsuit in Pennsylvania as it confronts a growing chorus of those that allege it is improperly deducting post-production costs from royalty payments.

The Obama administration, joined by Royal Dutch Shell plc, has asked an Alaska district court to allow the U.S. Department of Interior to revise an environmental impact statement (EIS) used to support the Chukchi Sea lease sale in 2008.

The word “Marcellus” doesn’t need a translation anywhere in the world; now all its developers have to do is find new markets for their products.

Independent oil and natural gas producers could see a drop of 25% in their capital expenditures (capex) under Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’ (D-MT) draft tax reform plan, according to a spokesman for the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA).