Marcellus

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), in an 18-page report released Wednesday, said human error likely led to a deadly explosion and fire that raged for days at a Chevron Appalachia LLC site in February (see Shale Daily, Feb. 11).

Chesapeake Energy Corp. reported strong production gains in the second quarter, but failed to turn those into earnings gains as the prices it collected for natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL) and oil declined.

Calumet Specialty Products LP said it has acquired substantially all of the assets of one of its competitors, privately-held Specialty Oilfield Solutions Ltd. (SOS), in a cash deal valued at $30 million.

The Marcellus Shale has passed another milestone, this time exceeding 15 Bcf/d of natural gas production in July, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

With natural gas pricing differentials continuing to accentuate the negative in the Appalachian Basin, Ultra Petroleum Corp. plans to continue to escalate operations in the Rockies while continuing to decrease operations in the Marcellus Shale, CEO Mike Watford said last week.

The Fayetteville and Marcellus shales continued driving gains for Southwestern Energy Co. in the second quarter, giving it cause to increase its capital expenditures for those positions and a new venture in Colorado’s Niobrara formation.

Sunoco Logistics Partners LP has been dealt an early setback in a bid to earn the status of a public utility corporation, which would exempt its Mariner East pipeline from local zoning ordinances.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) outlined a number of proposals for what will be classified as a surface disturbance in state forests and parks during a meeting of its natural gas advisory committee on Wednesday.

Steadily improving completion techniques, declining costs in the Marcellus Shale and progress in the Utica Shale last quarter found Consol Energy Inc. achieving record production of 51.9 Bcfe, up from the 38.6 Bcfe it produced at the same time last year.