Turned

Devon Energy Corp., which took the prospective Barnett Shale and turned it into one for the ages, disclosed Wednesday that it has leased 250,000 net acres in the emerging Tuscaloosa Marine Shale of southwestern Mississippi/central Louisiana for a cost of around $180/acre.

Mainstream media coverage of natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale has turned negative, according to a recent study conducted by a Pennsylvania-based public relations firm in conjunction with a Marcellus online discussion forum.

A federal judge in Erie, PA, has approved a class action lawsuit settlement that could total more than $22 million in a case filed by thousands of landowners in the Marcellus Shale play against Range Resources Appalachia LLC over royalty calculations.

Success at extracting natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) from North American shales has turned the conversation about NGLs and the U.S. petrochemical industry around 180 degrees. The abundance of feedstock and fuel coming from shale plays has caught the attention of the petrochemical industry, but still more confidence is needed before the real investment can begin.

Success at extracting natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) from North American shales has turned the conversation about NGLs and the U.S. petrochemical industry around 180 degrees. The abundance of feedstock and fuel coming from shale plays has caught the attention of the petrochemical industry, but still more confidence is needed before the real investment can begin.

The Gasland documentary film continues to dog the footsteps of the natural gas industry (see Shale Daily, Feb. 16). The film’s director Josh Fox and actor-turned-activist Mark Ruffalo flanked Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Rep Jared Polis (D-CO) and Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) Thursday as they announced plans to reintroduce legislation to regulate the practice of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) at the federal level.

For the first time since the economy turned sour in mid-2008, Canadian natural gas exporters have chalked up a month of across-the-board gains in sales volumes, prices and revenues.

For the first time since the economy turned sour in mid-2008, Canadian natural gas exporters have chalked up a month of across-the-board gains in sales volumes, prices and revenues.

Federal and state authorities last week turned up the heat in parallel but separate investigations and reviews of the Sept. 9 San Bruno natural gas transmission pipeline explosion and fire, and the utility in the middle, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E), moved ahead with stepped up pipeline safety checks and operating/maintenance plans.