E&P

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has rejected a request by state house minority Democrats for a special legislative session to address possible funding problems tied to keeping up with the Williston Basin oil boom. Dalrymple expressed confidence that the state could provide the financial assistance needed to help communities affected until lawmakers reconvene in January.

Consol Energy Inc. grew its Marcellus Shale production by about 94% during the first quarter of 2014, and executives said the company plans to expand the use of reduced cluster spacing (RCS) and short stage lengths (SSL) over the course of the year.

Accelerated completions and more pad drilling helped Houston-based Sanchez Energy Corp. triple first quarter production from a year ago. Eagle Ford Shale operations are in full development mode, and the company expects to spud its first Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) well next month.

BP plc is taking a $521 million impairment on its Utica Shale acreage in Ohio and will not proceed with development in the play, top management said Tuesday.

Extreme winter weather during the first three months of this year helped BP plc grab the upside in domestic natural gas prices, which offset lower returns elsewhere in the group.

Already considered the leader of the pack in the Marcellus Shale, Range Resources Corp. padded its lead in the play during 1Q2014 with record-setting production from one super-rich well in southwestern Pennsylvania and decreasing well costs.

Encana Corp. is selling close to 90,000 net acres of natural gas-rich properties in the Deep Bossier play of East Texas for $530 million, the company said Tuesday.

Sunoco Logistics Partners LP said that as its former crude oil refinery in Marcus Hook, PA, along the Delaware River south of Philadelphia, transforms into a major East Coast export terminal, it could soon rival similar facilities along the Gulf Coast and provide a number of advantages to Northeast oil and gas producers.

Sunoco Logistics Partners LP has requested an exemption from the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code that, if granted by the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC), would give it the status of a public utility corporation.