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Devon Energy Corp. is renewing long-pursued efforts to form a midstream master limited partnership (MLP) to hold some of its natural gas gathering and processing assets in Texas, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

Although investors were disappointed by the Utica Shale production figures released last week by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), a surge in production should be at hand in the play as infrastructure comes online, according to an analysis from RBN Energy LLC.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has altered former CEO Aubrey McClendon’s noncompete agreement, giving him the right to acquire oil and natural gas holdings that are adjacent to the company’s wells in which he holds a stake. However, McClendon first would have to offer to Chesapeake the rights to purchase the adjacent properties on the same terms, and if more than 40% of the properties are next to the company’s operations, he would have to obtain its consent, according to a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing indicated that Chesapeake would pay McClendon almost $50 million in severance, with the last payment in July 2014. He also is allowed the use of a company aircraft through 2016. McClendon agreed, for one year from the effective date of Jan. 29, 2013, not to hire any Chesapeake employee after April 1 except an employee assigned to provide accounting support or as an assistant; who had been terminated, but had not voluntarily departed; elected to accept any voluntary severance or retirement program offered by the company; or for whom the company consented in advance.

Williams Partners LP and a unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc have partnered on an ambitious midstream venture to invest in natural gas liquids (NGL) and dry gas handling infrastructure to serve Marcellus and Utica shale operators in northwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio.

Gastar Exploration Ltd. announced a three-way deal with Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Monday, in which Gastar purchased proven reserves in the prospective Hunton Limestone formation in Oklahoma, as well as close to 10% of its common stock. The companies also agreed to settle outstanding litigation.

A county judge in Pennsylvania has refused to remove himself from presiding over a lawsuit filed by Range Resources Corp., stating that he can remain objective in the case despite his wife’s activities with an environmental group opposed to hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

The New York State Assembly’s passage of a bill calling for a two-year moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in the state could divide the fragile bipartisan coalition that controls the Senate.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (APUC) is assuming Laclede Group Inc.’s right to buy New England Gas Co. (NEG), Laclede said late Monday.

Royal Dutch Shell plc has clinched a production sharing agreement in Ukraine to explore shale gas deposits in the Yuzivske gas field, which may evolve into the “largest investment in Ukrainian history,” according to the nation’s energy minister.