Program

Two graduate students at The Ohio State University say their state’s policymakers should levy appropriate taxes on the oil and gas industry, be wary of hidden shale extraction costs and commit to good governance if they want to avoid the perils of boom-and-bust cycles common to other regions of the country rich in natural resources.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon’s cumulative spending under the company’s unique Founder Well Participation Program (FWPP) has “significantly exceeded cumulative production revenues to date” because the company’s capital spending also has been rising year-to-year, the latest annual proxy statement revealed.

Florida-based Waste Pro USA has committed to a $100 million program to develop a network of compressed natural gas (CNG) refuse hauling trucks and the fueling stations to support them. It is working to transform a portion of its fleet from diesel to CNG. As part of that longer term effort, the recycling and disposal company said Clean Energy Fuels Corp. would build and operate a CNG fueling station at Waste Pro’s headquarters in Fort Pierce, FL, to support the company’s growing fleet. Permits have been obtained, and the facility is scheduled to be in operation by 3Q2012. About 150 heavy-duty CNG-fueled waste collection and recycling trucks are to be deployed to serve residential and commercial customers. Waste Pro operates in 70 locations in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Appalachian Basin producer Consol Energy Inc. said Monday its estimated proved, probable and possible (3P) reserves totaled 20.2 Tcf at the end of 2011, which was 41% higher than in 2010.

With a market capitalization of $406.3 billion, ExxonMobil Corp. once again led the world’s top oil and natural gas producers in 2011, according to the annual ranking PFC Energy 50. Irving, TX-based ExxonMobil has led all of the world’s producers except in 2007 and 2009, when PetroChina Co. Ltd. was the No. 1 producer, PFC noted. In the latest ranking PetroChina is in second place with a market valuation of $276.6 billion. Six supermajors posted the best group performance among companies returning to this year’s list: ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell plc, Chevron Corp., BP plc, Total SA and ConocoPhillips increased their combined market capitalization 8% in 2011 to $1.2 trillion. Chevron, in fourth place with a market capitalization of nearly $212 billion, increased its valuation by 15% from $183.6 billion, which was the largest percentage increase of any returning company. Four midstream and pipeline companies made the list: Enterprise Products Partners LLC in the 25th spot; TransCanada Corp., 37th; Enbridge Inc., 40th; and Kinder Morgan Inc., 41st.

EQT Corp. is suspending its Huron Shale program “indefinitely” in light of low commodity prices, the Pittsburgh company announced in a one line statement Friday.

Chesapeake Energy Corp., one of the biggest deal makers in the U.S. energy patch, has secured more funding for its onshore exploration and production program after it agreed to sell its natural gas pipeline gathering system in the Marcellus Shale to an affiliate for $865 million, analysts said.

With recent production from the Eagle Ford Shale and Niobrara Formation, Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. passed its target of 5,000 net b/d, the company announced Wednesday.

The nine-member city council in Colorado’s second largest city, Colorado Springs (pop. 416,000), voted unanimously Wednesday to invoke a 60-day moratorium on oil and gas drilling within the city limits. The action was taken in an emergency meeting scheduled to look at exploration and production (E&P) activity.