Separate

Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. said Wednesday it has agreed to purchase 13,500 net acres in the Bakken Shale play from an undisclosed private oil and gas company for about $235 million in cash. It also agreed to assume the terms of a contract for its sixth drilling rig.

While separate regulatory commission and fire department investigations are ongoing, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) determined Tuesday it is probable that a wind-toppled tree in a north Seattle residential neighborhood caused a gas leak at a home blocks away that resulted in an explosion at 6 a.m . Monday. The married couple inside the home were being treated for various burn-related injuries and the home was leveled, a PSE spokesperson told NGI Tuesday.

Producers in northeastern Pennsylvania will get a respite from the region’s pipeline capacity pinch — but not for long — according to Bentek Energy LLC.

The Canadian government is launching two separate studies on the science of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and its potential impact on the environment.

NuStar Energy LP has signed separate deals with Valero Energy Corp. and EOG Resources Inc. that will affect several shale plays. Under the Valero deal, NuStar will construct a new pipeline to transport Eagle Ford crude oil to Valero’s processing plants. Meanwhile, EOG will ship 70,000 b/d of crude oil from the Bakken, Eagle Ford and other shale plays by train to NuStar’s terminal at St. James, LA, and will add 360,000 bbl of storage capacity there. NuStar’s share of construction costs should be between $30 million and $40 million.

Chief Oil & Gas LLC announced Thursday that separate investigations by the company and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have concluded that Chief is not responsible for contaminating the water well of a woman in Bradford County, PA, who went on to become a vocal critic of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Chief Oil & Gas LLC announced Thursday that separate investigations by the company and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have concluded that Chief is not responsible for contaminating the water well of a woman in Bradford County, PA, who went on to become a vocal critic of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) on Wednesday warned potential takeover target Southern Union Co. that opening up separate discussions with Williams would be a “willful and intentional breach” of their merger agreement.

Two separate bills calling for a comprehensive study of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) in North Carolina — a state where the practice is currently illegal — are expected to be sent to Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue this week.