Substantially

Magnum Hunter Resources Corp.’s production in the Appalachian Basin remains “substantially curtailed” nearly three months after an unusually severe thunderstorm knocked out electricity service to much of the region, the Houston-based independent said Wednesday.

Two and a half million gallons sounds like a lot of water, and producers can use that much and more to stimulate a well with hydraulic fracturing (fracking), but other uses consume a lot more, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson told an audience on the Council on Foreign Relations Wednesday.

Foreign energy producers Statoil ASA, BHP Billiton Ltd. and BG Group plc, which have eagerly — and substantially — invested in U.S. unconventional natural gas over the past few years, are eschewing the low-priced fuel and following other operators to domestic liquids and oil plays, executives said last week.

Foreign energy producers Statoil ASA, BHP Billiton Ltd. and BG Group plc, which have eagerly — and substantially — invested in U.S. unconventional natural gas over the past few years, are eschewing the low-priced fuel and following other operators to domestic liquids and oil plays, executives said this week.

The stature of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s shale operations in the United States grew substantially last year, the company said. Going forward, emphasis at home will continue to be on shales and liquids-rich production.

Gastar Exploration Ltd. will devote $100.5 million of its $134.2 million 2012 capital budget to drilling and completion costs, with 89% of that amount ($88.9 million) to be spent on activities in the liquids-rich window of the Marcellus Shale, the company said Tuesday.

The rich are different, and the nouveau riche are different still. Newly premiered reality television show “Bayou Billionaires” demonstrates that it’s a long way from the fictitious East Egg of The Great Gatsby to Shreveport, LA, where Gerald and Kitten Dowden and kin have struck it rich in the Haynesville Shale. Now they want into the country club.

Northwest said nominated northbound volumes through Kemmerer Compressor Station and the Plymouth South constraint point continue to substantially exceed design capacity, impacting the pipeline’s operational integrity. As a result, effective Wednesday until further notice Northwest is declaring OFOs at both points If scheduled quantities for Wednesday’s gas day exceed the design capacity of 655,000 Dth/d at Kemmerer or 536,300 Dth/d at Plymouth South, Northwest will provide shippers with their contract-specific, realignment or must-flow OFO obligations by 4 p.m. MST.

Ten years on, drilling in the Barnett Shale has expanded the economy of the 24-county region in North Texas by 38%, according to a new study that said cumulative economic benefits of the Barnett from 2001 to 2011 include $65.4 billion in gross product for the region and $80.7 billion for the state.