Significance

Unconventional oil and gas activities and production continued to make their significance felt in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the oil and gas sector last year, with much of the new domestic investment coming from foreign companies, according to Deloitte.

Unit Petroleum Co., a subsidiary of Unit Corp., has agreed to pay $617 million to Noble Energy Inc. for oil and natural gas properties in western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. The deal doubles Unit’s acreage in its Granite Wash core area.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee last Tuesday disagreed about the significance of declining oil and gas production on federal lands during a hearing on the department’s proposed 2013 budget.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee on Tuesday disagreed about the significance of declining oil and gas production on federal lands during a hearing on the department’s proposed 2013 budget.

Citing the proximity of certain parcels to landscapes of national significance and the need to conduct additional environmental review, Interior Secretary Ken Zalazar last Wednesday said the federal government will withdraw leases to develop oil and natural gas on more than 100,000 acres of public lands in northeastern Utah. His action, which drew criticism from producers, overturned the results of an oil and gas lease auction held in the final days of the Bush administration.

Citing the proximity of certain parcels to landscapes of national significance and the need to conduct additional environmental review, Interior Secretary Ken Zalazar Wednesday said the federal government will cancel producer leases to develop oil and natural gas on 130,000 acres of public lands in Utah. His action overturns the results of a final oil and gas lease auction held in the final days of the Bush administration.

Rep. Timothy Bishop (D-NY) plans to introduce stand-alone legislation in the near term to ban the construction of facilities in estuaries of national significance, such as Broadwater Energy LLC’s controversial deepwater liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal that is proposed for Long Island Sound, a spokesman said.

In recognition of the growing significance of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the nation’s fuel supply mix, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) last Tuesday unveiled a proposed plan to begin surveying the storage data of approximately 100 active LNG storage facilities in the U.S. on a monthly and annual basis. The agency is seeking comments from potential survey respondents and other interested parties by Nov. 17.

In recognition of the growing significance of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the nation’s supply mix, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Tuesday unveiled a proposed plan to begin surveying the storage data of approximately 100 active LNG storage facilities in the U.S. on a monthly and annual basis. The agency is seeking comments from potential survey respondents and other interested parties by Nov. 17.