Temporarily

It may take some time before fewer drilling rigs and curtailed output make a dent in domestic onshore natural gas production. Dry gas production skyrocketed 11.6% in January from a year earlier to 2,047 Bcf gross, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

PDC Mountaineer (PDCM), a joint venture (JV) of Petroleum Development Corp. (PDC) and Lime Rock Partners V LP, will temporarily suspend drilling in the Marcellus Shale “due to the current depressed natural gas price environment,” according to Denver-based PDC.

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has asked four companies operating in the Haynesville Shale to temporarily refrain from withdrawing water for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) from Bayou Pierre because of an ongoing severe drought.

Oil and natural gas producers have dodged — at least temporarily — a bullet in the deficit-reduction package that President Obama and congressional leaders agreed to in time to avert a default on the government’s debt obligations.

Oil and natural gas producers have dodged — at least temporarily — a bullet in the deficit-reduction package that President Obama and congressional leaders agreed to late Sunday.

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. has agreed to purchase more than 13,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford Shale in a deal valued at about $71.5 million, and it has temporarily moved one of its rigs from the Barnett Shale to the Eagle Ford in order to speed up production.

Talisman Energy Inc. temporarily shut down all hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations in North America while it investigated a well control incident that occurred Jan. 17 at a Talisman natural gas well on state forest land in Tioga County, PA, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said Tuesday. DEP is conducting a separate investigation of the incident.

The Town Council of Flower Mound, TX, which sits atop the Barnett Shale, has combined two existed drilling permit moratoriums into one and extended it until April 15 while it awaits an advisory board’s report on oil and natural gas development activities in the town.

Nearly a week after a bill that would temporarily block hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Empire State landed on his desk, New York Gov. David Paterson has not decided if he will sign or veto the legislation.