Eagle Ford Shale

Bills recently introduced in the Texas legislature intended to thwart local municipality interference with oil and gas drilling have raised the ire of the Texas Municipal League (TML), but an industry trade association said the proposed changes would strengthen the relationship between the state and cities in oil/gas regulation.

Production from the nation’s seven most prolific shale and tight oil plays will slow coming out of the winter months, with natural gas production expected to increase less than 0.5% between March and April, and oil production remaining almost unchanged, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Not exporting U.S. crude oil is leaving billions of dollars on the table to be scooped up by Saudi Arabia and Russia, oil and gas interests said at a Texas House joint committee hearing Monday where lawmakers considered resolutions urging Washington to set U.S. oil free and hasten export approvals for liquefied natural gas (LNG).

One month after announcing their intention to merge, Houston-based Lucas Energy Inc. said it has entered into separate collaboration and funding agreements with Austin, TX-based Victory Energy Corp.

Spectra Energy Partners LP’s Texas Eastern Transmission LP has filed a certificate application at FERC for its 650,000 Dth/d Gulf Markets Expansion Project, which would provide capacity to move gas from the Marcellus/Utica shales in Appalachia and the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas to the Gulf Coast through the addition of bi-directional capability.

After reporting record production and revenue in 2014, with oil production doubled and natural gas output up nearly five-fold, Houston-based Sanchez Energy Corp. said it plans to focus on drilling in a project area in the Eagle Ford Shale in 2015.

Seventy Seven Energy Inc. (SSE), which spun off from Chesapeake Energy Corp. last year, has shifted some planned 2015 capital expenses to 2016, reduced product and material costs and cut jobs to deal with challenges ahead.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. is cutting capital spending by one-third, dropping rigs and deferring well completions in response to low oil prices, CEO Al Walker said Tuesday.

EV Energy Partners LP (EVEP) said it plans to reduce the number of rigs it has deployed in the Barnett Shale from three to one during the first quarter of 2015, and defer drilling in the Austin Chalk formation in Central and East Texas as it continues to shop for a buyer of its 21% stake in Utica East Ohio (UEO) midstream.