West Virginia

Viper Capital Partners LLC, a Houston-based investment firm, has acquired rights across two conventional oilfields in western West Virginia, where an affiliate plans to develop Berea Sandstone wells with shallow horizontal drilling technology.

West Virginia oil and natural gas production both grew by double-digits last year, reflecting similar increases from unconventional wells in nearby Ohio and Pennsylvania that are likely to be tempered as operators continue to pull back across the Appalachian Basin.

Plans for a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker in West Virginia are once again uncertain, as Braskem SA confirmed late Wednesday that it has hired a financial adviser to evaluate strategic alternatives for a nearly 400 acre site it owns in the state.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice in an unexpected move has vetoed two bills aimed at helping smaller natural gas producers in the state.

A high-priority bill to modernize deep well spacing laws has failed in West Virginia, where the legislature’s 60-day regular session came to an end last weekend with mixed results for the oil and natural gas industry.

With less than a month before the West Virginia Legislature’s 60-day regular session concludes, a suite of oil and natural gas-related bills is advancing in what has so far been a calmer year for the industry at the capitol, especially compared to 2018 when it won a long-fought battle for co-tenancy.

Antero Resources Corp. has reached a settlement with federal and West Virginia regulators to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations at 32 sites that could find it paying more than $11 million for penalties and environmental restoration work.

Tulsa-based Samson Resources II LLC reported 30-day initial production of 2,339 boe/d (97% oil) from the Spearhead (Federal 11-2635 4075) well in the Shannon formation in Converse County, WY, within the Powder River Basin. With about 145,000 net acres in the PRB, the board is considering expanding its delineation program. An operating budget is be finalized late in 1Q2019.

Diversified Gas & Oil plc is doubling down on its well plugging obligations across the Appalachian Basin, defending its commitment to the process in West Virginia, where it’s being challenged by a skeptical landowner rights organization that’s concerned about how far the company is willing to go to fulfill its responsibilities.