Thompson

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed canceling 25 oil/natural gas leases that were issued more than a decade ago in the Thompson Divide area of western Colorado. Industry representatives were dismayed by the move.

ExxonMobil Corp. has resumed drilling for natural gas at Point Thomson on Alaska’s North Slope. Construction is ongoing to bring online an initial production system, the company said Thursday. Gas production could one day be liquefied and shipped to Asian markets.

Two producers in the Thompson Divide area of western Colorado that could be an onramp to unleashing Mancos Shale supplies Tuesday received a two-year extension on their natural gas leases, to allow time for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to conduct a new and unprecedented post-leasing environmental review of a broader region, according to the Western Energy Alliance (WEA).

As the majors and other large oil and gas companies deploy up and down the Marcellus and Utica shales, a handful of smaller companies are targeting shallower formations like the Upper Devonian Shale, using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) at less expensive wells to achieve their own measure of success.

The four co-chairs of the House of Representatives’ Natural Gas Caucus Wednesday had one message for the Obama administration: stay out of state regulators’ oil and natural gas activities.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV), which this year has completed six acquisitions worth $2 billion, on Thursday continued its shopping spree with a $2.5 billion cash offer for Texas operator Robbins & Myers (R&M). The deal would mark NOV’s biggest single acquisition since 2008, when it paid $7.7 billion to buy Grant Prideco.

Quest Resource Corp., a Kansas-based independent, has retained Carl Thompson Associates to implement a national investor relations program in the next 12 months. Quest Resource is primarily involved in the exploration, production and transportation of natural gas in a 500-square-mile area of southeast Kansas, operating a 150-mile natural gas pipeline network to serve local and interstate markets. Currently, Quest is producing approximately 2,000 Mcf/d from 40 wells. It plans to drill between 40 and 50 more wells a year in the next several years.

Wisconsin Gov. Tommy G. Thompson says he supports phase two ofANR Pipeline’s Wisconsin 2000 Expansion that would add 194 MMcf/dof firm capacity to meet peak-day requirements and the needs of thegrowing power generation market in the state.

Wisconsin Gov. Tommy G. Thompson said he supports phase two ofANR Pipeline’s Wisconsin 2000 Expansion that would add 194 MMcf/dof firm capacity to meet peak-day requirements and the needs of thegrowing power generation market in the state.