Shale Daily

Ohio’s Republican Gov. John Kasich continued his push for a 6.5% severance tax on oil and natural gas produced by the state’s shale drillers, calling current rates “unconscionable” and outdated during his State of the State Address on Tuesday.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) took preliminary steps Wednesday that could lead to the leasing of heretofore untouched federal forest lands in south-central Utah for possible oil and natural gas exploration. The appeal period for the action ends March 25.

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. has inked agreements for an $85 million expansion of the Vantage pipeline system, which it bought last year.

With restructuring completed and streamlined operations, Encana Corp. could make a play for strategic assets in North America’s onshore, CEO Doug Suttles said Wednesday.

Not long ago, Texas could boast about half of the nation’s operating drilling rigs. The Lone Star State’s slice of the drilling pie — a shrinking pie at that — is now down to 46% as producers drop rigs in a low-price environment. January well completions were down almost 45% from a year ago, according to the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC).

Ohio’s horizontal shale wells produced 3.5 million bbl of oil and about 164.8 Bcf of natural gas in the fourth quarter, according to newly released data from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).

The United States may have become the world’s swing oil producer but it won’t be for too long, according to BHP Billiton plc.

Colorado’s 21-member task force on Tuesday issued nine recommendations regarding local control issues on oil and natural gas development after failing to get majority support for more than 30.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has cut its 2015 capital spending plans by more than one-third and trimmed its rig count to the lowest level in 11 years, but production still should increase by 3-5%, lifted, perhaps surprisingly, by the Haynesville Shale and Mississippian Lime.