Testing

After exiting the Appalachian Basin earlier in the year, Gastar Exploration Inc. plans to spend the rest of 2016 delineating its multiple reservoirs within Oklahoma’s Sooner Trend of the Anadarko Basin, mostly in Canadian and Kingfisher counties, more commonly known as the STACK.

North Carolina has sent back grant funds that it received from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study the effects of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on surface water quality.

Organizers at a meeting in early June in Indonesia will be reviewing the beta testing of an international natural gas database expected to be launched to the public later this year. About 70 countries representing about 75% of global natural gas supply and demand are currently submitting data to the JODI-Gas (Joint Organizations Data Initiative) database on a monthly basis. JODI-Gas joins JODI-Oil, which has been in operation for 10 years providing information on oil production, consumption and trade movements. The database initiative is designed to increase transparency of oil and gas supply and demand. The agenda at the Third Gas Data Transparency Conference June 4-5 in Indonesia will also involve an expert review of the final draft of the JODI-Gas Training Manual, and establishing a timeline for the public launch the JODI-Gas database later this year. Organizations involved in the data and transparency initiative include the International Energy Forum, Eurostat, the International Energy Agency, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Latin American Energy Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the United Nations statistics division.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) ordered Noble Energy Inc. to cease operations and regain control of an impoundment pit in Marshall County after thousands of gallons of drilling wastewater spilled into a waterway in February.

Despite the threat of legal action from Gov. John Hickenlooper, the city council of Fort Collins, CO, has adopted a resolution banning hydraulic fracturing (fracking) within city limits.

Operators of horizontal oil and natural gas wells in Ohio face a bevy of regulatory changes — including quarterly production reports, a $25,000 per well impact fee, and new testing and disposal requirements for drilling waste — under Gov. John Kasich’s biennial budget proposal.

Operators of horizontal oil and natural gas wells in Ohio face a bevy of regulatory changes — including quarterly production reports, a $25,000 per well impact fee, and new testing and disposal requirements for drilling waste — under Gov. John Kasich’s biennial budget proposal.

A proposed Wyoming Senate bill (Senate File 157) that would require baseline groundwater testing by oil and natural gas operators before drilling begins has stirred up controversy, with industry officials questioning whether the law is needed.

Is the next U.S. energy boom following shale going to evolve around oilsands? A Canadian producer is testing the viability of the unconventional oil based on its work to date in Utah.