Separate

Two separate mega projects to develop oil and natural gas resources in the Walker Ridge blocks of the ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) have been launched by Royal Dutch Shell plc and partners ExxonMobil Corp. and Statoil ASA.

Energen Corp. management said the first quarter of 2013 was “both encouraging and challenging” as test wells in the Third Bone Spring and Wolfberry formations of the Permian Basin performed well, but cold weather and interference issues worked against the company as profits fell slightly.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced that it has levied a $125,000 fine against a driller, Pennsylvania General Energy Co. LLC (PGE), for two separate incidents in Lycoming County.

The Interior Department’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) said Tuesday that it penalized Chesapeake Energy Corp. $765,000 for “knowing or willful submission of inaccurate information” on its oil and natural gas royalty reports.

The top executives that own and operate the idle San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (Songs) in Southern California indicated in separate conference calls on Tuesday that the plant’s fate remains uncertain, along with the 2,200 MW associated with it, which puts uncertainty into the state’s summer energy plans.

ConocoPhillips has entered into an agreement with China Petrochemical Corp., a state-owned company also known as Sinopec Group, to perform a study of unconventional oil and natural gas resources in China’s Sichuan Basin.

Preliminary draft rules for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) were unveiled Tuesday by California’s state oil and natural gas drilling regulators who indicated the development process will take at least all of next year.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. late Tuesday said for the first time in its history the Marcellus Shale operations surpassed 1 Bcf/d gross of natural gas production, primarily because of new wells and additional infrastructure.

A landowners group in central New York that supports natural gas development has established a legal fund to fight local bans and moratoriums on hydraulic fracturing (fracking).