The House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday voted out a bipartisan bill that would prohibit the Department of Interior from enforcing federal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) regulations.
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No Utility Status for Gathering Lines, Pennsylvania Lawmaker Says
A Pennsylvania lawmaker plans to introduce a bill soon that would prohibit gas gathering companies from becoming public utilities.
Industry Briefs
Energen Resources Corp. has purchased three-year leases for about 17,000 net acres in the Bone Spring and Avalon shale trends in the Permian Basin from various Texas state agencies and other entities for $15.3 million, said parent Energen Corp. Based on 320-acre spacing, the company estimates that the acreage in Reeves, Ward, Loving and Winkler counties offers potential for approximately 50 Bone Spring locations and 50 Avalon Shale locations. The typical Bone Spring well has estimated ultimate recovery of 400,000-500,000 boe, the company said. Energen Resources estimates that drilling and completion costs are approximately $7.5 million per well. It has drilled eight Bone Spring wells in Ward and Winkler counties and participated in another 23 wells. The company announced plans in December to drill another 13 Bone Spring net wells in 2011 and at least one Avalon Shale well. Potential drilling plans on the new leases in 2011 have not been determined.
Pennsylvania Localities Wrestling With Marcellus Drilling Regulations
The day before the Pittsburgh City Council voted to prohibit natural gas drilling there (see Shale Daily, Nov. 17), commissioners in South Fayette Township, on Pittsburgh’s southwestern edge, voted to ban drilling in conservation areas and all residential zones, including suburban communities and rural farmland.
Pennsylvania Localities Wrestle With Drilling Regulations
The day before the Pittsburgh City Council’s recent vote to prohibit natural gas drilling there, commissioners in South Fayette Township, on Pittsburgh’s southwestern edge, voted to ban drilling in conservation areas and all residential zones, including suburban communities and rural farmland.
No Drilling Plan in Colorado’s Vermillion Basin Criticized
An advisory group to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is blasting plans to prohibit natural gas and oil drilling in the Vermillion Basin northwest of Craig, CO.
Plan to Halt Drilling in Colorado’s Vermillion Basin Criticized
An advisory group to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is blasting plans to prohibit natural gas and oil drilling in the Vermillion Basin northwest of Craig, CO.
Industry Briefs
The New York Senate overwhelmingly approved a temporary ban on drilling in the state’s portion of the Marcellus Shale by a 49-9 vote. The measure would prohibit new drilling permits until May 15, when further environmental studies by the Environmental Protection Agency are expected to be completed. The state’s General Assembly has not yet taken up the measure. The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York has fought the bills. “New York simply cannot afford to wait to tap this homegrown resource,” the association’s website says of the Marcellus Shale.
New York Senate Approves Marcellus Ban
The New York Senate late Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a temporary ban on drilling in the state’s portion of the Marcellus Shale by a vote of 49 to 9.
Spending Bill’s Provision on Flawed 1998-99 Leases Draws Fire
Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) Tuesday criticized a subcommittee panel’s approval of an appropriations measure that would prohibit producers from bidding on future offshore leases unless they agree to renegotiate the flawed 1998 and 1999 leases they currently hold.