E&P

Production of crude oil, natural gas and condensate out of the Barnett Shale all continued to decline in June compared to both the previous month and to June 2012, according to data from the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).

The Wyoming congressional delegation Monday asked Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to exempt Wyoming and other western states currently regulating hydraulic fracturing (fracking) from the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final rule on the practice, saying not to do so would delay permitting and discourage production on public land.

Meritage Midstream Services II LLC has bought Thunder Creek Gas Services LLC and its more than 500 miles of gathering pipelines in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the company said Tuesday.

Last year, Colorado’s oil and natural gas industry injected $29.6 billion into the state’s economy, supporting 110,000 mostly high-paying jobs, according to a study released Monday by a research unit at the Leeds Business School, University of Colorado (UC), Boulder.

Exploration and production (E&P) companies remain enthusiastic about the U.S. onshore, in particular the Permian Basin, Niobrara formation, Utica Shale and the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS), based on observations at the recent EnerCom Consulting oil and natural gas conference, said two analyst teams who were there. However, Marcellus Shale pricing appears to be a “real concern for the buyside.”

Wyoming and North Dakota are stepping up statewide assessments of ways to cut down on the volumes of associated natural gas flaring at oil wellhead sites, but the economics for oil/gas operators in some cases are complicating the efforts.

Production of oil and natural gas from non-federal lands has skyrocketed while that from federal lands has waned. At least today, the vast majority of shale acreage lies on state and private lands, the Energy Information Administration’ (EIA) Howard Gruenspecht, deputy administrator, said. It’s coal country that is mostly on the government’s property.

Barclays Capital’s energy analysts see the potential for natural gas production from the Marcellus and Utica shales to jump by 3.6 Bcf/d year/year (y/y) in 2013 and almost as much again by the end of 2014.

Royal Dutch Shell plc, which earlier this month launched a review of its entire North American portfolio, is selling some of its operations in northwestern Colorado’s Niobrara formation, according to a spokeswoman.