E&P

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).

Since 2005, North Dakota’s oil and natural gas industry economic output jumped by 750%, topping $43 billion in 2013, according to a study released Tuesday by North Dakota State University (NDSU).

Oil and natural gas drillers in Pennsylvania would likely face more red tape under a comprehensive package of environmental regulations that top officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said Monday should be implemented by the Spring of 2016.

Whiting Petroleum Corp. isn’t confirming Wall Street talk about a sale being afoot, and an analyst at BMO Capital Markets isn’t convinced that the Denver-based Bakken Shale producer is up for sale within three months of closing a $6 billion acquisition of Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp.

Seneca Resources Corp. said its Utica Shale well in north-central Pennsylvania in an unproven area more than 100 miles northeast from the formation’s nearest horizontal operator has tested at a 24-hour peak production rate of 22.7 MMcf/d.

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.