Trust

To avoid the unavoidable price volatility that accompanies oil and natural gas development, states that have become dependent on energy revenues should consider creating permanent trust funds that overcome boom-and-bust price cycles, the Brookings Institution said Tuesday.

Elected officials in West Virginia are considering establishing an oil and gas trust fund similar to one enacted in other states, in hopes of providing future generations in the state with a source of revenue.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told a Senate panel Thursday that the public comment period on the proposed hydraulic fracturing (fracking) rule would be extended by 60 days, giving producers, state regulators and environmentalists a total of 90 days to pore over the 171-page document.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has finalized the process it will use for encouraging and reviewing proposals to use mine-influenced water, such as acid mine drainage, in oil and gas extraction operations from shale formations.

Shell Canada Ltd. is looking for a partner to help develop its gassy Chinook leasehold, 102,000 acres in the Nikanassin Formation, a shale play in the Deep Basin of Western Canada.

A unit of S&T Bank has formed an alliance with Oklahoma-based Heritage Trust Co. to provide financial services for landowners who lease their property to natural gas drilling companies in the Marcellus Shale. S&T Wealth Management services will include lease and lease renewal offers and negotiation; negotiation of surface damage rights; and verification, monitoring and administration of royalty payments. Indiana, PA-based S&T Bank operates 51 offices in 10 counties in western and central Pennsylvania, including Allegheny, Butler and Westmoreland counties.

Calgary’s Penn West Energy Trust last week took on Mitsubishi Corp. (MC) as a 50-50 joint venture (JV) partner to fund natural gas development in northeastern British Columbia (BC).

Calgary’s Penn West Energy Trust said Tuesday it will partner in a 50-50 joint venture (JV) with a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp. (MC) to develop natural gas properties in northeastern British Columbia (BC).

Warwick Gas Storage Inc. (WGSI), a subsidiary of Calgary-based gas producer Paramount Energy Trust, is proceeding with plans to develop a natural gas storage facility near Vegreville, AB, the companies said Thursday.