Resources

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is proposing to streamline the approval process for oil and natural gas development in national forests and grasslands. The proposed rule, issued on Tuesday, is posted in the Federal Register and available for public comment until Nov. 2. The overhaul, part of a larger mandate by the Trump administration to…

Ohio pure-play Ascent Resources Utica Holdings LLC, the state’s largest natural gas producer, plans to slash capital spending significantly this year as it battles low commodity prices across the Appalachian Basin.

With the backing of Japan’s largest natural gas utility, Castleton Resources LLC has 222,400 net acres of gassy leasehold to explore, develop and potentially export from the Haynesville Shale/Cotton Valley after completing a deal with Royal Dutch Shell plc.

Appalachian pure-play Montage Resources Corp. plans to run only one rig through the remainder of the year and in 2020 as it weathers the current low-cost commodity cycle.

Resource Energy Can-Am LLC is adding to its inventory in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale, buying up 2.2 million boe of proved producing net reserves from an undisclosed seller, management for the producer announced Tuesday.

Blue Ridge Mountain Resources Inc. stockholders have approved the company’s merger with Eclipse Resources Corp., clearing one of the last hurdles for the combination. The deal has already been approved by boths boards and Eclipse’s stockholders. Once the transaction is completed, which is expected in the last week of February, the new company is to be renamed Montage Resources Corp. and trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “MR.” The new company would have a 227,000 net acre position in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and produce about 560 MMcfe/d.

Global oil and gas resources from mature conventional, unconventional and offshore fields rose by 151 billion bbl over a four-year period through 2017, almost 17% higher than the total amount produced over the period, according to Rystad Energy.

Shale deposits on land, declared off limits to industry in 2014, are rich enough to replace Atlantic Canada’s depleted offshore natural gas production network, says a fresh review by government scientists.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Utah is planning to offer 75 oil and gas parcels within 94,000 acres in Duchesne, Uintah and Emery counties in an online December quarterly lease sale. BLM said the leases would contain stipulations and best-management practices aimed at addressing air quality and water resources and ensuring the “safe and environmentally responsible” development. BLM also may modify the stipulations to accommodate site-specific resources. Last year, leasing on BLM lands in Utah contributed $1.7 billion to the economy, supporting 9,700 jobs, according to the federal agency.