Reports

Two colleges already playing a significant role in shaping the development of the Marcellus and Utica shales — Ohio State University (OSU) and West Virginia University (WVU) — have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to create a joint program on shale energy research.

Unlike natural gas, oil can be carried in a bucket — or in a rail car — as is increasingly the case in the Bakken Shale, for instance, where the drill bit has gotten ahead of the pipeline, way ahead of the pipeline, in offering oil producers a route to market.

Pennsylvania’s new auditor general, Eugene DePasquale, will conduct a performance audit of the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) water testing and waste disposal programs to assess their effectiveness in regulating shale gas development.

Gasco Energy Inc. will submit a plan of compliance next month to NYSE MKT to address how it intends to right its financial ship and avoid being delisted by the exchange, the Denver-based company said Wednesday.

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. plans to spend $500 million on drilling and completions this year, with the lion’s share going to the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.

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.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) revision of distribution figures for impact fee revenue generated by Act 13 is mixed news for municipalities, with a bigger pot of revenue to divvy up, but most will get a smaller share.

Cash natural gas prices overall jumped on average more than 10 cents Monday, largely driven by weather reports calling for a brutal nor’easter to pummel New England and the Mid Atlantic. Gulf locations softened, but California locations bounded higher. At the close of trading December futures were unchanged at $3.554 and January had slipped 0.2 cent to $3.678. December crude oil added 79 cents to $85.65/bbl.

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. on Thursday said international energy companies OIL India Ltd. and Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. (IOC) will make their first foray into U.S. shale by taking a 30% stake in the Houston operator’s holdings in the Niobrara Formation of Colorado.