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A follow-up documentary on natural gas drilling by propagandist Josh Fox premiered on HBO last week, offering some half-truths and outright distortions about the oil and gas industry, as well as President Obama’s energy policies.

An Oklahoma tax break for horizontal wells enacted in 2010 is depriving the Sooner State of revenue that could beef up its rainy day fund and should be reconsidered, the state’s secretary of finance and revenue said.

Ben van Beurden, 55, who was appointed downstream director and a member of the executive committee for Royal Dutch Shell plc in January, was named to succeed Peter Voser as CEO on Jan. 1 (see NGI, May 6). Van Beurden has been responsible for refining and marketing businesses, as well as overseeing the trading companies. He also is responsible for the petrochemicals manufacturing and marketing business, which has been eyeing expansions in the United States because of increased natural gas activity, as well as the gas-to-liquids business. He joined Shell in 1983 and has worked in Houston, the Netherlands, Africa, Malaysia and most recently, the UK. He is credited with helping to turn the petrochemicals operations to profitability after several quarters of big losses. The Dutch national earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed 29 bills into law last Tuesday, including SB 259, which the state’s chapter of the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) has derided as “a kissing cousin to forced pooling.”

A follow-up documentary on natural gas drilling by propagandist Josh Fox premiered on HBO last week, offering some half-truths and outright distortions about the oil and gas industry, as well as President Obama’s energy policies.

Researchers at Columbia University said earthquakes that occur on the other side of the world could create smaller temblors near wastewater injection sites in the United States.

Driven primarily by the continued success of its drilling program in the Marcellus Shale, Range Resources Corp. saw its production volumes surge to a record high of 910 MMcfe/d in 2Q2013, a 27% increase over 2Q2012, the Forth Worth, TX-based company said. Production during the quarter was 79% natural gas, 15% natural gas liquids (NGL) and 6% crude oil and condensate. Oil and condensate production increased 39% compared with 2Q2012, NGL production rose 35% and natural gas production increased 24%, Range said. Total 2Q2013 production exceeded the high end of Range’s guidance of 880-890 MMcfe/d due to the timing of turning wells to production and continued positive performance of wells in the Marcellus Shale. Range’s production number came in “well ahead of both Street and our estimate of 904 MMcfe/d,” said Wells Fargo Securities analysts, who added that they are looking for an update from the company on Marcellus infrastructure and pricing.

Natural gas and oil production is vulnerable to decreasing water availability and operations in Arctic Alaska to thawing permafrost, both of which are potential impacts of climate change, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The total volume of Canadian reserves earmarked for liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales to Asia from the northern Pacific coast of British Columbia (BC) has hit an astronomical 137 Tcf, according to the National Energy Board (NEB).