E&P

A long-awaited decision by the Ohio Supreme Court that was expected to clarify the conflicts between local zoning and the state’s preemptive regulatory authority over the oil and gas industry did little to resolve the issue, with sources in agreement that the opinion was more of a setback than a gain for drillers.

Calgary-based Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. said its proved plus probable (2P) reserves grew 18% to 250 million boe at the end of 2014, as its annual production increased 74% — from 8.0 million boe at the end of 2013 to 13.9 million boe.

Sunoco Logistics Partners LP is no longer seeking public utility status for its Mariner East pipeline project, withdrawing the last of its requests with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) for exemption from local zoning ordinances along the proposed route.

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.

With flaring an issue in North Dakota’s Bakken and other shale plays, emerging technologies, such as those from New Jersey-based Primus Green Energy Inc., offer the potential for operators to turn associated natural gas production into commercially viable liquid products, including gasoline and methanol.

A shakeup in the shale gas industry involving the acquisitions of technology providers and developers is coming this year, along with grudging growth in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) sector, according to Mountain View, CA-based consulting/research firm Frost & Sullivan (F&S).

Land drilling expert Nabors Industries Ltd. saw its average U.S. rig utilization rate drop to 78% in the fourth quarter, with its active domestic rig count down by one-third from the peak a year ago. Customers are “indifferent” to the types of rigs they are dropping, the company’s CEO said.

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.

A freight train operated by the BNSF Railway Co. and loaded with crude oil from the Bakken Shale derailed and caught fire near Galena, IL, on Thursday. There were no injuries.