Result

Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Aubrey McClendon’s controversial financing transactions “did not reveal any improper benefit” to him nor did they increases costs to the company “as a result of the overlap in financial relationships,” the board of directors said Wednesday.

Newfield Exploration Co. is considering the sale of its international assets, which consist of offshore oil and natural gas developments in Malaysia and China, the company said.

Rosetta Resources Inc. said it achieved double-digit growth in production and proved reserves while it “significantly reduced” well costs during 2012. The company said it replaced 472% of production from all sources at a reserve replacement cost of $10.03/boe.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) ended three days of hearings in Denver Wednesday as it drew closer to finalizing new setback requirements for oil and natural gas wells, but it still fell short of finishing the unpopular and complex task.

Everyone knows “Texas tea” means oil, but in the Lone Star state, ethylene produced from booming supplies of natural gas liquids (NGL) might come to be known as “Texas sweetened tea” for the profitability it’s bringing to the Gulf Coast petrochemical industry.

Xcel Energy’s combination Colorado utility filed quarterly rate changes with state regulators that could result in monthly retail natural gas utility bills dropping by up to 8% compared to the first quarter this year. The rate for residential natural gas customers would drop 6.9% from 52.06 cents/therm in1Q2012 to 45.17 cents/therm in 1Q2013; for small businesses, rates would drop 8% from 52.28 cents/therm to 44.82 cents/therm. The Denver-based utility is asking the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for the changes to be effective Jan. 1.

Rex Energy Corp., which expanded its operations in Ohio’s Utica Shale earlier this year, said Wednesday it was pleased with the initial production results from its first Ohio Utica Shale well.

New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joseph Martens has rejected a call to conduct an independent review of the public health impacts of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and instead asked the New York State Health commissioner to assess DEC’s health impact analysis to determine whether to permit fracking in the state.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) said it met an industry-leading 30-minute response time criteria for handling natural gas leaks 85% of the time in August. The response time compares to a 58.4% result in August 2011. The San Francisco-based combination utility said it is now ranked in the top quartile for meeting benchmarking criteria established by the American Gas Association (AGA). PG&E applied a more stringent standard in seeking to meet the 30-minute response time, given that the industry and AGA use 60 minutes as the usual test of responsiveness, said a PG&E spokesperson. Executive Vice President Nick Stavropoulos said the utility is seeking to “ease any anxiety” for customers regarding leaking gas.