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Anyone familiar with the Eagle Ford Shale shouldn’t be surprised that U.S. Capital Advisors analyst Cameron Horowitz would title his latest note on the play “South Texas Swagger.”

With questions lingering about whether hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and the chemicals used in the process are to blame for contaminating the water supply of some Wyoming residents, Encana Corp. has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for “key technical data and information” about water wells re-tested near its natural gas development in Pavillion, WY, to enable the company to properly respond by an October deadline. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), however, issued two reports Wednesday that may fill in some of the blanks.

Drilling technologies have transformed the competitive landscape within the oil and gas industry and altered the traditional pricing relationship between crude oil and natural gas, but there’s still plenty of room for horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) services to grow, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P).

Drilling technologies have transformed the competitive landscape within the oil and gas industry and altered the traditional pricing relationship between crude oil and natural gas, but there’s still plenty of room for horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) services to grow, according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P).

North Dakota continued its torrid pace for month-over-month production increases in oil and natural gas, driven principally by the Bakken Shale play, according to statistics released Wednesday by the state Department of Mineral Resources’ (DMR) Industrial Commission. The latest statistics are as of the end of July.

Enterprise Products Partners LP has started operation of the second 300 MMcf/d train at its Yoakum cryogenic gas processing plant in Lavaca County, TX. The facility handles production from the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.

There are no detectable concentrations of natural gas or chemicals and no elevated radiation in the area of a swampy sinkhole in South Louisiana, according to a recent aerial survey, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told Louisiana officials. However, the sinkhole is requiring a natural gas pipeline operator to relocate facilities.

A 10-inch diameter natural gas gathering pipeline owned by Copano Energy LLC ruptured several miles north of Alice, TX, Thursday afternoon. There were no injuries or damage to property in the rural area except for a small grass fire, Copano spokesman Craig Brown told NGI. The pipeline was moving less than 5,000 Mcf/d of gas at the time at less than 500 psi operating pressure. A small amount of production from the field being served by the line is shut in. An investigation is to be conducted into the cause of the explosion, Brown said. Alice is 239 miles southwest of Houston.

City council members in Lafayette, CO, agreed Tuesday to consider a temporary ban on oil and natural gas drilling while they revise regulations that have not been updated since 1994.