Williams

Tulsa-based WPX Energy, which recently spun off from Williams as an independent exploration and production company, has elected its 10-member board of directors. William G. Lowrie, the former deputy CEO of a BP plc predecessor company, is to chair the company, which is focused on natural gas, natural gas liquids and oil reserves, particularly in the Piceance Basin, Bakken Shale and Marcellus Shale. The directors are WPX CEO Ralph A. Hill, Kimberly S. Bowers, John A. Carrig, William R. Granberry, Don J. Gunther, Robert K. Herdman, Henry E. Lentz, George A. Lorch and David F. Work. Lorch is to serve as chair of the board’s nominating and governance committee. Granberry was appointed to serve as chair of the compensation committee, while Herdman will chair the audit committee.

Rex Energy Corp. is reporting results from its first Utica Shale test well that exceed initial results from a Chesapeake Energy Corp. well drilled nearby earlier this year.

Inspectors with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are on pace to find more cementing and casing violations in the Marcellus Shale than before, but a spokesman for the agency said the uptick is the result of tighter regulations, not an industry problem.

FERC has approved Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s (Transco) proposed 225,000 Dth/d expansion of its system to serve growing natural gas markets in the Southeast region, the Williams Partners LP subsidiary said Wednesday.

A voluntary first-in-the-nation effort to start a baseline groundwater quality sampling program before and after drilling was announced Tuesday as a joint effort among oil/gas producers, Gov. John Hickenlooper and the state Department of Natural Resources at an annual energy conference in Denver hosted by the Colorado Oil & Gas Association (COGA).

Williams Partners LP (WPZ) has been awarded a contract by Hess Corp. to provide production handling services in the Tubular Bells field of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Clayton Williams Energy Inc. (CWEI), an independent energy company based in Midland, TX, has entered into an agreement with Chesapeake Exploration LLC in the Delaware Basin oil play. Under the terms of the agreement, CWEI can earn 75% interest in leases held by Chesapeake on about 75,000 net acres in southern Reeves County, TX. CWEI will drill at least 20 earning wells in the first year and have an option to drill an additional 20 wells per year during the next four years to earn all of Chesapeake’s acreage. CWEI will also carry Chesapeake for one-quarter of the costs in earning wells, which will earn CWEI a 75% interest in 640 net acres. Subsequent wells in an earned area will be drilled on a heads-up basis. CWEI will receive credit towards its annual drilling obligations for drilling more than 20 earning wells in any year.

Fort Worth-based Quicksilver Resources Inc. reported 2010 net income of $435.1 million ($2.45/share) compared to a net loss of $557.5 million (minus $3.30 share) for 2009. The 2009 net loss was primarily attributable to a $656 million after-tax impairment charge on oil and gas properties. For 2010 production averaged 355.2 MMcfe/d, up 9% from 2009, primarily driven by higher volumes from the Barnett Shale. The 2010 production volumes were 79% natural gas, 20% natural gas liquids (NGL) and 1% crude oil and condensate. Sales of natural gas, NGLs and crude oil totaled $856.3 million, up about 7% from 2009, mainly due to a 9% increase in production coupled with increased realized prices for NGLs and crude oil, which were offset in part by lower gas prices. The company is active in the Barnett Shale of North Texas, The greater Green River Basin in Colorado and Wyoming and the Wind River Formation in Oklahoma, as well as in northwestern Montana, Alberta coalbed methane and the Horn River Basin in British Columbia.

Southwestern Energy Co. will devote $1.9 billion to its capital investment program in 2011, down 10% compared with $2.1 billion in 2010, with most of it continuing to be spent on operations in the Fayetteville Shale where the Houston-based producer expects to see a significant increase in production.