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An appeals court in Ohio upheld a local court’s ruling that an operator is not required to fully develop leased property, and disagreed with a landowner’s demand that the undeveloped portion be surrendered and subsequently leased to other oil and gas companies.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told a Senate panel Thursday that the public comment period on the proposed hydraulic fracturing (fracking) rule would be extended by 60 days, giving producers, state regulators and environmentalists a total of 90 days to pore over the 171-page document.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. transferred nearly 1,100 oil and natural gas leases in and around an underground natural gas storage field in Columbiana County, OH, to Hilcorp Energy Co. in February.

Sharply lower natural gas prices year/year in 2012, used under required 12-month average price tests, resulted in significant negative revisions for many domestic gas- and liquids-weighted producers, which rendered some current projects uneconomic and pushed a boat load of proved undeveloped reserves (PUD) out of the five-year development window, according to an analysis by Fitch Ratings.

Sharply lower natural gas prices in 2012 from 2011, used under required 12-month average price tests, resulted in significant negative revisions for many domestic gas- and liquids-weighted producers, rendering some current projects uneconomic and pushing a boat load of proved undeveloped reserves (PUD) out of the five-year development window, according to an analysis by Fitch Ratings.

A bill to require oil and natural gas companies to meet enhanced water and air emissions standards in order to earn streamlined state environmental permitting was introduced Tuesday by the majority leaders of both houses in the Colorado legislature.

With the price of gold now down nearly 30% from its record September 2011 high of $1,920.30/oz to around $1,377, analysts looking for a commodity to be bullish about have turned their focus to natural gas as a new commodity “safe haven,” thanks to the shale revolution.

Federal officials have given a green light for a project in eastern Utah to drill an exploratory well in the Harley Dome natural gas field to capture helium, which, if the operation proves successful, could result in a helping to build supplies of the scarce gas.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has upheld a lower court’s ruling supporting the Interior Department’s arguments that it is not required to immediately issue leases to oil and natural gas producers following purchases.