Utica

With up to 18 Bcf/d of natural gas supplies expected by 2018 from the Marcellus and Utica shales, the logical place to carry excess gas is west, according to Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (REX) CEO Bill Moler.

Halcon Resources Corp. will begin seismic testing to find Utica Shale oil and gas deposits in six townships of Mahoning County, OH, after local officials there approved a one-year road use maintenance agreement with the company.

Spectra Energy Transmission’s Texas Eastern Transmission announced an expansion to serve industrial markets in South Louisiana by Spring 2015 with shale gas supplies from multiple basins. An open season runs through Sept. 27.

Blue Racer Midstream LLC, designed to provide expanded services over the next three years in the Utica and Marcellus shales, on Thursday secured an initial five-year, $800 million credit facility that could be expanded to $1 billion.

Nearly all of the workers hired by the natural gas industry for jobs in the Marcellus and Utica shales in 2012 were residents of states in the region, according to a workforce survey conducted by the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC).

Risk-taker and rule-breaker Aubrey McClendon, who co-founded Chesapeake Energy Corp. and then retired on April 1, appears to be making a comeback in the U.S. exploration and production (E&P) arena, with one of his start-ups apparently buying one or two leaseholds in the Utica Shale, sources toldNGI.

Aubrey McClendon hasn’t taken long to gallop back in the U.S. onshore unconventional drilling business, if analysts are to be believed.

Prometheus Energy Group Inc. announced that it had signed a multi-year agreement to supply Antero Resources with enough liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power “a significant portion” of Antero’s natural gas-fueled drilling rigs in the Marcellus and Utica shales.

Exploration and production (E&P) companies remain enthusiastic about the U.S. onshore, in particular the Permian Basin, Niobrara formation, Utica Shale and the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS), based on observations at the recent EnerCom Consulting oil and natural gas conference, said two analyst teams who were there. However, Marcellus Shale pricing appears to be a “real concern for the buyside.”