Taking into account depressed commodity prices, Energen Corp. will focus its drilling efforts this year on its Midland Basin Wolfcamp acreage while holding back on the higher-cost Delaware Basin Wolfcamp, CEO James McManus told analysts following the company on Friday. Planned capital spending is lower than last year and is to be bolstered by proceeds from an asset sale.
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Articles from Programs
BP Seeking Removal of Macondo Claims Administrator
BP plc is attempting to oust the controversial court-appointed claims administrator of the Macondo oil spill program.
SM Energy Raises Production Guidance as Completions Improve
Denver-based SM Energy Co. raised its production guidance for 2014 in spite of an anticipated hiccup in the company’s Eagle Ford Shale operations during the third quarter. The company also will be spending more than planned earlier.
Trade Groups to BOEM: Open More of Offshore to Drilling
Eleven oil and gas trade associations have signed a letter urging the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to make new areas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as the eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), available for leasing.
GAO Finds Fault With EPA Oversight of Class II Injection Wells
The safeguards enacted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state regulators to protect underground sources of drinking water from contamination by Class II injection wells don’t adequately address emerging threats like seismic activity, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said.
Bechtel Looks to Bolster U.S. Cybersecurity Ranks
Seeking to shore up the United States’s ability to protect against a cyber attack on government, industry or energy infrastructure, Bechtel on Monday unveiled a program with two U.S. national security laboratories to fund multiyear positions for early-career professionals in critical cybersecurity fields.
Interior Takes First Step to Formulate 2017-2022 OCS Lease Sales
The Department of Interior on Friday took the initial step to develop the next schedule of potential offshore oil and natural gas lease sales from 2017-2022, a multi-year process to evaluate all of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) planning areas.
Pennsylvania Should Revise Fracking Regs, Says Stronger
Pennsylvania has a “well managed” and professional” regulatory program for oil and gas operations in the state, but should make four specific changes to how it regulates hydraulic fracturing (fracking), according to a report by the nonprofit State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations Inc. (Stronger).
California Eyes $50B for Energy Efficiency
Noting that the state’s climate change mediation goals call for investing billions of dollars in energy efficiency, California regulators on Thursday approved $65.9 million to conduct five pilot energy efficiency programs using utility ratepayer-supported financial mechanisms. Pilot programs will be phased in beginning in the fourth quarter.
Gas Processing Capacity Expanding in Utica’s Southern Core
To support rapidly expanding drilling programs in the Utica Shale’s southern core, MarkWest Utica EMG LLC on Friday agreed to construct a third 200 MMcf/d cryogenic natural gas processor at the Seneca complex in Noble County, OH.