Reportedly

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett is looking for a new secretary to lead the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), but in a strange twist the outgoing secretary, Michael Krancer, is reportedly on a short list of names to replace a state Supreme Court justice who resigned Monday after being convicted on corruption charges.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was reportedly considering a plan to allow 10 to 40 horizontal test wells on a trial basis in the state’s Southern Tier, but changed his mind after discussing high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his former brother-in-law and an avid environmentalist.

EOG Resources Inc. said it now holds 2.2 billion boe of potential recoverable crude oil reserves in the Eagle Ford Shale — reportedly the largest share net to one company in the last 40 years — and plans to continue focusing on oil production in 2013, after posting large increases in oil, condensate and natural gas liquids (NGL) production the year before.

EOG Resources Inc. said it now holds 2.2 billion boe of potential recoverable crude oil reserves in the Eagle Ford Shale — reportedly the largest share net to one company in the last 40 years — and plans to continue focusing on oil production in 2013, after posting large increases in oil, condensate and natural gas liquids (NGL) production the year before.

BP plc plans to begin drilling the first of 10 appraisal wells in Trumbull County, OH, next April, but developing eastern Ohio’s portion of the Utica Shale may be hampered by a lack of pipeline infrastructure, officials said this week.

CNOOC Ltd. has reportedly agreed to management and employment conditions set by the Canadian government as prerequisites to its proposed C$15.1 billion takeover bid for Calgary-based oil and gas producer Nexen Inc. Two sources familiar with the matter said CNOOC, an arm of state-controlled China National Offshore Oil Co., has agreed to reserve at least half of Nexen’s board and management positions for Canadians, along with other conditions recently requested by Alberta Premier Alison Redford, Bloomberg reported. Shareholders of Nexen voted 99% in favor of accepting CNOOC’s takeover offer (see Daily GPI, Sept. 21). But Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has repeatedly cautioned North American money managers against assuming the bid is a done deal, and some polls indicate that a majority of Canadians oppose the deal. The final Canadian say is in the hands of the federal cabinet under the national Foreign Investment Review Act, which gives ministers wide discretion under a “benefits test” for big corporate deals.

Rara Terra Minerals Corp. has reportedly acquired a 75% working interest in oil and natural gas leases in Trego County, KS, for $393,750.

With a Nov. 29 deadline quickly approaching, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) has reportedly hired experts from three universities to conduct a health impact analysis of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in the state.

A West Virginia city in the Marcellus Shale has enacted a 6% business and occupation (B&O) tax on natural gas companies operating within the city limits, reportedly to raise revenue to fix roads and bridges that could be damaged by drilling there.