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Federal regulators have slapped ExxonMobil Corp. subsidiary XTO Energy Inc. with a $2.3 million fine for violations of the Clean Water Act that occurred at eight sites in West Virginia beginning in 2011.

Cuadrilla Resources Ltd. plans to apply for local permission to drill eight test wells at two new sites in northwest England’s Lancashire County, but it will not seek permission to conduct hydraulic fracturing (fracking) at an existing test well there, the company said Tuesday.

Halliburton Co. is teaming up with Nuverra Environmental Solutions Inc. in the Bakken Shale to advance a produced water recycling project for unconventional oil and natural gas drillers.

Following a second vote by the City of Dallas Plan Commission to deny Trinity East Energy LLC permission for three drill sites within the city limits, Trinity East Energy LLC said it will seek to persuade a super-majority of the 15-member Dallas City Council to grant the permits.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shale gas well hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations are significantly lower than previously estimated, according to a study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

North Dakota plans to pursue a series of innovative programs, including producing fertilizer at the well sites, to address natural gas flaring, which has risen to more than 30% in the latest monthly production totals.

Citing continued downward pressure on natural gas prices, Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. on Wednesday reported a 40% increase in production but decreased earnings in the second quarter from a year ago. Both natural gas and liquids production continued to soar, up 37% and 96%, respectively, CEO Dan Dinges said during a conference call with financial analysts.

The California Department of Conservation (DOC) is requesting that oil and natural gas operators voluntarily disclose where they are using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for their drilling operations and what chemicals are being used in the process. Meanwhile, the state legislature has reintroduced a proposal to require the drilling information, which already has been enacted by several states across the country and is being voluntarily disclosed by many of the biggest operators in the shale business (see Shale Daily, March 30).

The Obama administration on Wednesday denied the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline proposal on the recommendation of the U.S. State Department, saying at this time it is not in the U.S. national interest to build the 1,700-mile link from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).