E&P

Three U.S. senators from fossil fuel-rich North Dakota and Wyoming introduced legislation Wednesday to combat associated natural gas flaring at the wellhead on federal and Native American lands.

For the first time since going public in January, senior officials at Rice Energy Inc. on Thursday laid out a development plan that looks as far ahead as 2016 and made a case for why they believe the pure-play Appalachian company is poised for unique growth.

A state legislative committee on Wednesday approved industry-supported rule changes for oil and natural gas drilling in North Dakota, according to the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). The changes take effect April 1.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has made a long-awaited decision to hold a special two-day hearing in Lawrence County later this month to gather input from stakeholders about whether Hilcorp Energy Co. should be allowed to create a forced pool drilling unit that would require landowners to share royalties.

Royal Dutch Shell plc plans to lay off staff in its U.S. exploration and production (E&P) arm and cut upstream Americas spending by 20% this year to right its capital spending with cash flow.

The North American energy sector — from exploration and production (E&P), oilfield services and midstream — still has a big target on its back again this year among activists that want to force changes, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Production from five of the top six major tight/shale oil and natural gas regions in the United States are projected to increase over the next year, reaching totals comparable to nations on the world stage, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

California Gov. Jerry Brown was shouted down by anti-hydraulic fracturing (fracking) advocates last weekend in Los Angeles at a state Democratic Party meeting in which a majority of the political party attendees forced a call for a ban on the drilling practice as part of the official platform this election year.

Resolute Energy Corp. said its first horizontal wells targeting the Delaware Basin and part of the Powder River Basin have exceeded its expectations, and the company plans to devote most of its 2014 budget to capital expenditures (capex) in the two plays.