River

Goodrich Petroleum Corp. officials said they were “extremely pleased” with results from several wells in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS), while the company’s “balanced portfolio” saw net crude oil production climb to 1.1 million bbl in 2012, a 70% increase over 2011.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) said it has reversed course and now plans to conduct a docket review of two completed natural gas transmission line projects in northeast Pennsylvania, but it is resisting calls from an environmental group to reexamine a third pipeline.

U.S. manufacturers of ammonia-based nitrogen fertilizer made with low cost natural gas feedstock are raking in profits and moving ahead with plans to expand domestic operations.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), which governs water use for a portion of the Marcellus Shale, has launched an online reporting system for the Water Supply Charges Program (WSCP) to streamline operations. All reports beginning this year must be completed online; reporting and payment deadlines are unchanged.

An interim study committee in the South Dakota state legislature has agreed to pursue as many as eight different bills this year covering oil and natural drilling, including one aimed at hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Sempra Energy’s U.S. power and gas unit has agreed to sell half of its natural gas-fired 1,250 MW Mesquite Power Plant in Arizona to Phoenix-based Salt River Project (SRP) for $371 million. The agreement, which also includes a half-interest in infrastructure shared by the two 625 MW units at Mesquite, requires approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other agencies. San Diego-based Sempra said it expects all the approvals will be received in the first quarter. SRP’s board earlier this year approved its acquisition of a 100% interest in one of Mesquite’s 625 MW units. Sempra U.S. Gas and Power CEO Jeffrey Martin said the sale helps Sempra fulfill its goal of “reducing exposure to the merchant power market, while also allowing us to put greater emphasis on growing our Southeast natural gas portfolio.”

Marathon Oil Corp.’s $5.2 billion capital, investment and exploration budget for 2013 is about 65% targeted toward liquids-rich areas, particularly the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas.

Less than a month after renewing its fight for the right to drill its leases at Hensley Field in southwest Dallas, ExxonMobil Corp.’s XTO Energy told the Dallas City Planning Commission to strike its request for specific use permits from the agenda for its Dec. 20 meeting.

Denbury Resources Inc. said Monday that it has completed the first phase of its sale of 196,000 net acres in the Bakken Shale to ExxonMobil Corp. for $1.6 billion in cash and ExxonMobil’s operating interests in Webster Field in Texas, Hartzog Draw Field in Wyoming and an interest in the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) reserves in ExxonMobil’s LaBarge Field in Wyoming.