Results

Pennsylvania regulators say “improper” construction at Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. wells in northeastern Pennsylvania led to contamination at nearby private water wells.

North Dakota continues to set all-time records for oil and gas production based on the most recent statistics available as of the end of October, according to Lynn Helms, director of the state Industrial Commission’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). He noted that the oil and gas industry still plans to invest more than $3 billion in the state through 2013.

Recent production test results from the first two horizontal wells completed in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) in Louisiana have been encouraging and there is likely more good news to come, according to the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) secretary.

Pennsylvania issued its 3,000th Marcellus Shale drilling permit of the year in November, but the final well count for 2011 is likely to fall just shy of 2,000, if drilling remains at its current pace.

Comstock Resources Inc. has established a new core area in the Delaware Basin in West Texas, agreeing to pay Eagle Oil & Gas Co. $332.7 million for approximately 68,000 gross (44,000 net) acres in Reeves County, TX, the Frisco, TX-based company said. The deal is expected to close by the end of this month.

Expectations for improved results in California and in its shale plays, along with tightening of its finances, caused Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) to increase its ratings and outlook on Houston-based midsize exploration and production (E&P) company, Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP), the rating agency announced earlier in November.

EQT Corp. plans to stay in the midstream business, but not on its own.

Summit Midstream Partners LLC is acquiring midstream gas assets in the Piceance Basin from Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. for $590 million. The assets include about 260 miles of pipeline and 90,000 hp of compression facilities and serve Mamm Creek, Orchard and South Parachute production in the area around Rifle, CO. They are currently transporting about 500 MMcf/d of gas under long-term contracts with multiple producers, according to Summit. Dallas-based Summit, which is privately held, has also committed to build for Encana the midstream infrastructure necessary to support its emerging Niobrara development. The sale of the Piceance Basin assets is subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions and is expected to close during the current quarter.

As Ohio awaits results of preliminary Utica Shale wells, industry leaders told an audience in Columbus last week that the play, if successful, could revive the state’s manufacturing sector.