Seven

Shareholders of AGL Resources and Nicor Inc. have approved a merger that would create a holding company with seven regulated gas distribution companies serving 4.5 million customers in Illinois, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee and Maryland, the companies said Tuesday.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has voluntarily suspended all completion operations in Pennsylvania as response crews work to contain a Chesapeake well blowout in the Marcellus Shale in northeast Pennsylvania.

Water samples taken from seven Pennsylvania rivers showed levels of radioactivity at or below “background levels,” according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Depressurization of a leaking salt cavern gas storage cavern in Eminence, MS, was expected to continue through the weekend, said a spokesman for Williams, owner of the seven-cavern facility.

Depressurization of a leaking salt cavern gas storage cavern in Eminence, MS, was expected to continue through the weekend, said a spokesman for Williams, owner of the seven-cavern facility.

Southwestern Energy Co. will devote $1.9 billion to its capital investment program in 2011, down 10% compared with $2.1 billion in 2010, with most of it continuing to be spent on operations in the Fayetteville Shale where the Houston-based producer expects to see a significant increase in production.

A Barnett Shale well operated by Chesapeake Energy Corp. produced on average 17.824 MMcf/d for the month of September, surpassing any of the 14,000-plus wells drilled to date in the North Texas play.

There would be no resistance test of $5.192 for the sixth out of the last seven days on Tuesday as the July natural gas futures contract continued to probe the downside. After mustering a high of only $4.888 on the day, the prompt-month contract recorded a low of $4.691 before closing Tuesday’s regular session at $4.756, down 11.7 cents from Monday’s finish.

About C$1 billion spent over seven years in the form of tax incentives and rebates could accelerate the shift to using natural gas in Canada’s vehicles, industry and advocacy groups, including EnCana Corp., said this week.