Value

Malaysian national oil company Petronas plans to combine its liquefied natural gas (LNG) expertise with the unconventional resources abilities of Calgary-based Progress Energy Resources Corp. by acquiring Progress in a deal worth C$5.5 billion including debt. The combined enterprise would deliver Canadian natural gas to world markets.

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s stock lost more than 5% of its value on Wednesday after reports that CEO Aubrey K. McClendon has taken out $1.1 billion in personal loans secured by stakes that he holds in company wells that he then used to cover the operating expenses related to investing in the wells. Close to half of the personal loans apparently were provided by a significant investor in the corporation.

Addressing opposite ends of the value chain in natural gas transportation, Cummins Inc. and separately, GP Strategies Corp. on Wednesday announced advancements in natural gas vehicle (NGV) engines and fueling infrastructure.

While 10% of its 2012 capital program will be spent to maintain dry natural gas activities — in anticipation of better days — EOG Resources Inc.’s focus is on oil and liquids, as it has been for about the last four years, CEO Mark G. Papa told financial analysts Friday during an earnings conference call when he waxed ecstatic about the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas.

A pair of Maryland lawmakers have introduced a bill that would implement a 15% severance tax on the wholesale market value of natural gas produced in the state beginning Jan. 1, 2013.

A recent settlement of a case involving one of the first shale gas wells in the Delaware River Basin will change the way future Marcellus Shale wells are permitted in that region.

North Dakota continues to set all-time records for oil and gas production based on the most recent statistics available as of the end of October, according to Lynn Helms, director of the state Industrial Commission’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). He noted that the oil and gas industry still plans to invest more than $3 billion in the state through 2013.

U.S. shale natural gas resources have the potential to ignite a domestic manufacturing “renaissance” that could create one million jobs and billions in energy cost savings, according to a new report by industry consultant PwC US.

Spectra Energy Corp. said it plans to spend about $1.3 billion on capital expenditures (capex) in 2012 and hopes to continue growing the value of its stock, according to the company’s financial plan for the upcoming year approved by its board of directors.