Rex Energy

Appalachian pure-play Rex Energy Corp. said this week it has decided to file for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after talks with its lenders to explore other financial alternatives failed.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has signed into law a bill to direct excess environmental-related funds to the long-term mitigation of abandoned oil and natural gas wells. House Bill 18-1098 addresses the adverse impacts from drilling activities administered by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and mandates that any excess funds in the account at the end of each fiscal year not be diverted to a broader state fund.

Rex Energy Corp.has agreed to sell nonoperated assets in Westmoreland, Centre and Clearfield counties, PA, to privately owned XPR Resources LLC for $17.2 million. The sale is expected to close by the end of March. Included are 61 gross wells producing 8.2 MMcf/d. Rex began divesting noncore assets in 2015 to boost liquidity. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing in February that is exploring financial alternatives to strengthen its balance sheet, including the possibility of filing for bankruptcy.

Appalachian pure-play Rex Energy Corp. disclosed in a regulatory filing this month that it is exploring financial alternatives to strengthen its balance sheet, including the possibility of filing for bankruptcy to restructure.

Gulfport Energy Corp.has hired Donnie Moore asCOO. Moore, unrelated to CEO Michael G. Moore, is formerly a Noble Energy Inc. executive. He was vice president of Noble’s Texas operations in the Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin’s Delaware sub-basin.

Rex Energy Corp. said this week that a four-well pad it recently placed to sales in western Pennsylvania produced the highest condensate rates it’s recorded in the region.

The initial buildout of the Nautilus gas gathering system in the Permian’s Delaware sub-basin is complete and the system has begun flowing gas, Crestwood Equity Partners LP said. The system includes 20 receipt point meters, 60 miles of pipeline, a 24-mile high-pressure header system, 10,800 hp of compression and a high-pressure delivery point. It is owned by Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings LLC, a joint venture of Crestwood and private equity firm First Reserve. Last September, Crestwood made a long-term agreement with SWEPI LP, a unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc, to construct, own and operate a gathering system in Shell’s operating position in the Delaware. Nautilus is designed to serve a dedication area of about 100,000 acres across Loving, Reeves and Ward counties, TX. It is expected to ultimately include 194 miles of low-pressure gathering lines, 36 miles of high-pressure trunklines and centralized compression facilities, which would be expandable as production increases, providing gathering capacity of at least 250 MMcf/d.

In an ongoing effort to better monetize its assets and generate more cash flow for this year’s drilling program, Rex Energy Corp. said late Thursday it has secured another joint venture (JV) with a private investment firm that could net it up to $175 million and reduce this year’s budget.

In a lean commodity price environment, Rex Energy Corp. is focused on financing a drilling program active enough to hold down its acreage in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio heading into 2016.