The composition of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) is changing with the election of one new member in the recent state primary and the prospect for a second new regulator following the general election in November. Current District 1 Commissioner Jason Marks is term-limited out this year. Bernalillo County Assessor Karen Montoya won a Democratic primary and will face Republican candidate Christopher Ocksrider in November for the seat. In the meantime, Valerie Espinoza, a county clerk in Santa Fe, gained sufficient votes for the District 3 seat to allow her to bypass a runoff and head straight to the PRC, replacing Douglas Howe. Howe was appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez on an interim basis to fill a vacancy created when Jerome Block resigned last year after pleading guilty to felony charges involving embezzlement of public funds.
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Researchers to Make Marcellus Geodatabase Available Online
Information gathered from six separate natural gas development datasets — all currently available on the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) website — have been formatted into a single geodatabase file by the Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystems (CBE) at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, which plans to make the information available through an interactive online map by the end of the year.
Pennsylvania DEP Finds Methane in Three Wells, Two Streams
Inspectors with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) found methane gas in three residential water wells and two streams in Bradford County. DEP has launched an investigation to determine the source.
Shale Gas Innovations Highlight Diversity of Industry
Technology spawned from shale gas got special notice this month in Pennsylvania, with two innovations taking top honors in a competition geared to maximize the economic return from the Marcellus and Utica shales.
Industry Brief
Management of Australia’s Eureka Energy Ltd., which has acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas, told shareholders they should reject an unsolicited offer from Aurora Oil and Gas Ltd., also of Australia and an Eagle Ford player. “The board considers the offer to be opportunistic and designed to solicit shareholders to sell their shares at a time when the company’s strategic direction and underlying potential is still emerging,” said Eureka Acting Managing Director Bill Bloking. Aurora has made an A$107 (US$111.7 million) unsolicited offer for Eureka. Aurora said the unconditional, all-cash offer represents “an attractive premium” (36.4% to Eureka’s previous closing price) and gives Eureka shareholders the opportunity to “crystallize immediate and certain value for their shares.” The acquisition would build Aurora’s “already strong presence in the Sugarkane Field, growing its portfolio of Eagle Ford interests” in line with its strategy, said Aurora CEO Jon Stewart (see Shale Daily, May 1).
MarkWest Expanding Marcellus Midstream Capacity
MarkWest Energy Partners LP has launched midstream expansions for gathering facilities in two areas of West Virginia and in southwestern Pennsylvania to support growing natural gas production for affiliates of Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Antero Resources Corp.
Shell Pencils in September for Alaska Drilling
With hopes high that all required permits will be in hand and all legal challenges will be overcome, Royal Dutch Shell plc officials have penciled in a late third quarter start for drilling offshore Alaska, CFO Simon Henry said last week.
Shell Pencils in September for Alaska Drilling
With hopes high that all required permits will be in hand and all legal challenges will be overcome, Royal Dutch Shell plc officials have penciled in a late third quarter start for drilling offshore Alaska, CFO Simon Henry said Thursday.
Industry Brief
A regional approach to siting drilling infrastructure in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale is needed to help minimize development in core forest and productive agricultural lands and to decrease potential risk to waterways, according to researchers at Pennsylvania State University. A study conducted by the university’s College of Agricultural Sciences found that shale gas development is causing rapid landscape change. “The development of new roads to support drilling could affect forest ecosystem integrity via increased fragmentation,” said Patrick Drohan, assistant professor of pedology. Drohan estimated that slightly more than half of the well pads in Pennsylvania are on agricultural land and most of the rest are on forestland. The study found that drilling is competing with food production for space on the landscape.
Industry Brief
The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has outlined an initiative for wrestling with the growing mix of economic, political and environmental issues cropping up on public lands. BLM’s “Landscape Approach for Managing the Public Lands” initiative is to examine ecological conditions, patterns and management opportunities that may not be evident when managing smaller land areas, a BLM spokesperson said. This approach is designed to help the federal agency better manage the increasing demand for the use of public lands for recreation and energy development. BLM said its “landscape” approach will be a national program built on, connected to and supported by efforts in its field offices. The program was put together by a 12-member team consisting of managers from the Washington, DC, office, National Operations Center and state field offices in Alaska, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. The program will focus on two components: rapid ecoregional assessments and ecoregional direction.
