Prospective

Poland on Wednesday suffered a double dose of bad news regarding its prospective shale plays after Marathon Oil Corp. and Talisman Energy Inc. issued separate statements indicating that they were pulling out of the country.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has entered into a $860 million carried-interest arrangement with an undisclosed party for a 12.7% stake in the prospective Heidelberg development project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The arrangement represents nearly all its expected capital requirements through the anticipated date of first ramp-up in mid-2016. The agreement is similar in scope to one secured in 2012 with Inpex Corp. for a 7.2% stake in the Lucius deepwater development, which Anadarko is developing jointly with Heidelberg (see NGI, Aug. 27, 2012). Two truss spars each would have capacity of 80,000 b/d; Lucius is on schedule to achieve first production in 2014.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has entered into a carried-interest arrangement with an undisclosed party for a stake in the prospective Heidelberg development project in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Officials in the Canadian province of New Brunswick unveiled new rules for oil and natural gas development in the prospective Frederick Brook Shale on Friday, including a requirement that operators disclose all of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

By building positions in the Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin, Comstock Resources Inc. has been Texas two-stepping away from nearly all dry gas production to oil, but the dance hasn’t always been graceful, as fourth quarter results show.

Comstock Resources Inc. announced Monday that it plans to spend about $420 million on exploration and development activities in 2013, with a drilling program focused on its oil-weighted holdings in South and West Texas — in the Eagle Ford Shale and Wolfbone and Wolfcamp formations in the Permian Basin, respectively.

East West Petroleum Corp. and Lani LLC on Monday said they jointly plan to explore two prospective areas in California’s San Joaquin Basin, the Tejon Extension and Tejon Main.

A public-sector water conservancy is appealing to the Colorado Supreme Court for the right to divert and store water for prospective clients, including shale oil and gas operators. A state water court earlier denied the proposal by Yellow Jacket Water Conservancy District.

With its oil and liquids-rich play, the Bakken Shale in North Dakota keeps attracting prospective drilling operations even as the formation’s overall rig count has declined slightly since January, according to the state’s latest monthly statistics at the end of August.