The Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will hold its annual Cook Inlet and Alaska Peninsula area-wide oil and gas lease sales, as well as a lease sale for geothermal resources on Augustine Island, on Wednesday, May 8. Terms can be obtained in the “Headlines” section of the DNR website. The Augustine Island lease sale is the fourth geothermal lease sale in state history. The last lease sale of this kind was held in 2008 for acreage on Mount Spurr. The Cook Inlet sale includes 815 tracts encompassing 4 million acres. The Alaska Peninsula lease sale includes 1,047 tracts covering 5.8 million acres. The Augustine Island geothermal sale includes 26 tracts on nearly 66,000 acres. In the past two years, the Cook Inlet hydrocarbon basin has seen a resurgence in investment by small, medium and large energy companies, DNR said. Bidders must be qualified by 4 p.m. May 3, and bids must be received no later than 4 p.m. May 6.
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Articles from Well
Colorado Governor Threatens to Sue Cities That Ban Fracking
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said Wednesday he will continue to take legal action against cities and counties that insist on passing bans on the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
CNG Speeds Activity in Transportation
Compressed natural gas (CNG) continues to gain attention in the transportation fleet, fuel and vehicle sectors, as well as more integration in the states.
ConocoPhillips Teams With PetroChina On Chinese, Australian Targets
Aiming to expand its international unconventional resource opportunities, Houston-based exploration and production independent ConocoPhillips said Wednesday it has entered into a set of agreements with PetroChina Co. Ltd., under which PetroChina will acquire an interest in two Western Australia exploration assets and establish a joint study agreement (JSA) for unconventional resource development in China’s Sichuan Basin.
Industry Brief
Transocean Ltd.’s agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pay $1 billion in civil penalties related to the 2010 Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico has been approved by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans. Transocean had employed nine of the 11 men who were killed when the company’s Deepwater Horizon drilling platform was destroyed. The company already has pleaded guilty to a criminal misdemeanor and agreed to pay a separate $400 million fine to DOJ (see Daily GPI, Feb. 15; Jan. 4).
Encana Moves Back into Haynesville
Natural gas prices may not be attractive enough for some producers, but Encana Corp.’s management team said it’s possible to make enough money in the Haynesville Shale to justify a five-rig program this year.
McMoRan Loses Big in 2012
Gulf of Mexico operator McMoRan Exploration Co. on Friday reported a big loss in the final three months of 2012 as well as for the year on impairments and a sharp revenue decrease related in part to its gassy shallow-water operations.
Ohio Bill Would Require State Registration of Landmen, Disclosures
Legislators and state government officials in Ohio, as well as industry groups, are discussing a bill that, if enacted, would require oil and natural gas land agents to register with the state and provide homeowners with several disclosure forms.
Industry Briefs
The City of Dallas Plan Commission late Thursday voted unanimously to deny without prejudice an application by Trinity East Energy LLC for specific use permits to perform the first natural gas drilling within the city limits. The commission refused to recommend to Dallas City Council approval of the company’s plans to drill on two city-owned sites and one private site in northwest Dallas. The city-owned sites are in a floodplain, and the private site is near where a soccer complex is being developed. Drilling in a floodplain is against city ordinance, and council would need to amend the city’s floodplain ordinance before voting on zoning approvals for drilling. The city has yet to adopt a new ordinance to deal with gas drilling despite the completion earlier this year of a set of recommendations developed by the Dallas Gas Drilling Task Force (see Shale Daily, Dec. 10). Dallas City Council next month is expected to have the final say on Trinity’s request.
Colorado Producers Challenge Longmont’s Fracking Ban
The Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) late Monday filed a lawsuit in a county district court seeking to invalidate the city of Longmont’s ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) within its city limits. COGA told the court the resolution essentially is a ban on oil/natural gas drilling.
