Step

Texas lawmakers have sent a bill to Gov. Rick Perry that would provide $225 million in general revenue funds to help repair and maintain county roads damaged by oil and gas production activity, mainly in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale regions.

U.S. financial markets “took a step closer…to enhanced transparency,” Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said Thursday after the Commission voted out final rules covering the vast swap transactions market.

U.S. financial markets “took a step closer today to enhanced transparency,” Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said Thursday after the Commission voted out final rules covering the vast swap transactions market.

Forest Oil Corp. continues to step up its activity in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas with the aid of a recently struck joint venture while it expands activity in the Texas Panhandle. East Texas results remain consistent and predictable, and the company is developing a new oil project in the area, said CEO Patrick R. McDonald.

Liquids-rich onshore plays from a stable of better-known assets, including the San Juan Basin, and an emerging portfolio of unconventionals will “almost double” domestic liquids production this year, Encana Corp. U.S. chief Jeff Wojahn said Tuesday.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced Friday that Michael Krancer, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), will step down on April 15 and return to practice law in Philadelphia. But the decision to replace him on an interim basis with the governor’s deputy chief of staff is being derided by Krancer’s predecessor, John Hanger.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced Friday that Michael Krancer, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), will step down on April 15 and return to practice law in Philadelphia. But the decision to replace him on an interim basis with the governor’s deputy chief of staff is being derided by Krancer’s predecessor, John Hanger.

As another step forward to use dedicated liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered barges in its maritime transport, Royal Dutch Shell plc recently launched the first dedicated LNG barge from a shipyard in the Netherlands for transporting liquids products on the Rhine River. Shell already has touted similar petroleum product shipping in the United States (see Daily GPI, March 6).

Marathon Oil Corp. CEO Charles Cazalot will be required to step down in three years when he turns age 65, but the company has a succession planning process in place, Cazalot said during an earnings conference call. Last December COO David Roberts left the company with less than a week’s notice “to pursue other interests.” Cazalot said Marathon has a “very strong team and the company is in very good hands, and succession planning for the leadership team is a critical priority.” Roberts had been viewed by some as a successor to Cazalot.