Shale Daily

In Denton, TX, the oil/gas industry and city leaders remain in limbo when it comes to drilling.

Republican leadership in the Ohio House of Representatives on Tuesday unveiled their version of the state’s two-year operating budget, which would cut nearly all of the tax reforms proposed by Gov. John Kasich, including a 6.5% severance tax on unconventional oil and natural gas production.

House lawmakers said they are frustrated by how long it is taking the Obama administration to create rules governing pipeline and rail car safety, and they questioned why it is taking so long to formally nominate people to top regulatory posts.

With industry support, the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC) on Tuesday extended the minimum setback distance for drilling sites from 350 to 500 feet.

While Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. increased its year-over-year production by 66% to 163.6 MMcfe/d in the first quarter, the company failed to meet Wall Street’s broader expectations after a bumpy finish to 2014 that found it pulling back in the face of falling commodity prices.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are using two pieces of legislation — a standalone bill and an add onto an appropriations bill — to try to block the Obama administration from implementing the Clean Water Rule (CWR), a proposed component to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) derided by the GOP and oil and gas industry groups.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.’s recently filed Susquehanna West Project would add about eight miles of pipeline looping and compression in order to provide shipper Statoil with 145,000 Dth/d of firm capacity to serve Northeast markets. The Pennsylvania project, which was filed at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission earlier in April [CP15-148], would create additional east-to-west capacity on Tennessee’s 300 Line from the Shoemaker Dehy receipt meter in Susquehanna County to the Rose Lake delivery meter in Potter County. The capacity would serve an existing downstream contract on the National Fuel Gas Supply Northern Access Project (see Shale Daily,March 3).

The Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association (PIOGA) is considering legal action against Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration for a series of moves that led to changes at the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and new draft rules for the industry that are expected to be implemented next year.

After opponents of legislation to limit how much Texas municipalities may regulate oil/natural gas drilling activities had been rallying for hours at the state capitol, the bill’s author pulled it from the House floor Tuesday because of discrepancies in a committee report on the legislation and for further consideration of amendments.