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Well permitting in Texas during January was up sharply from a year ago, as were well completions. December crude oil production was also up sharply compared with a year ago, but natural gas production slipped, according to the latest figures from the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).

The battle between companies that stand to benefit from liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and those that benefit from the low price and abundance of natural gas in the United States is intensifying. Chemical giant Dow Chemical Co. left the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) over an export dispute, while Huntsman Corp. joined America’s Energy Advantage, a coalition opposed to LNG exports.

U.S. natural gas prices may well go higher over the next 18 months to two years, but a few things could stand in their way, including stronger-than-forecast dry gas output from unconventional plays, including the Haynesville and Barnett shales, Credit Suisse analysts said Wednesday.

Several municipalities in the Southern Tier of New York have adopted nonbinding resolutions that take a stand that would allow high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a position that dovetails with an assertion by state officials that the drilling stimulation practice, if eventually approved by regulators, only would be permitted in communities that allowed it.

ExxonMobil Corp. added 1.8 billion boe to its proved reserves base in 2011, replacing 107% of natural gas and production, the company said last week. Proved reserves now stand at 24.9 billion boe, weighted 51% to natural gas and 49% to liquids.

The Texas Supreme Court may soon decide on a request to revisit a 2011 opinion on the use of eminent domain that some industry representatives say could stymie the efforts of companies trying to build oil and gas pipelines to service growing production in the state’s shale plays.

For the second time since its ordinance banning hydraulic fracturing was ruled illegal, the Morgantown City Council voted to table a decision to repeal the ban in order to make a “political statement” against the West Virginia state government.

Weakness in the equity markets has forced Williams to revamp a plan that will create two stand-alone publicly traded companies from its exploration and production (E&P) business and natural gas pipeline unit, the Tulsa -based company said Tuesday.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) filed an emergency rule regarding Marcellus Shale drilling on Monday, following through on Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s executive order from July mandating regulatory changes.