Shale Daily

Seneca Resources Corp. said its Utica Shale well in north-central Pennsylvania in an unproven area more than 100 miles northeast from the formation’s nearest horizontal operator has tested at a 24-hour peak production rate of 22.7 MMcf/d.

A long-awaited decision by the Ohio Supreme Court that was expected to clarify the conflicts between local zoning and the state’s preemptive regulatory authority over the oil and gas industry did little to resolve the issue, with sources in agreement that the opinion was more of a setback than a gain for drillers.

Sunoco Logistics Partners LP is no longer seeking public utility status for its Mariner East pipeline project, withdrawing the last of its requests with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) for exemption from local zoning ordinances along the proposed route.

Oil and natural gas drillers in Pennsylvania would likely face more red tape under a comprehensive package of environmental regulations that top officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said Monday should be implemented by the Spring of 2016.

Whiting Petroleum Corp. isn’t confirming Wall Street talk about a sale being afoot, and an analyst at BMO Capital Markets isn’t convinced that the Denver-based Bakken Shale producer is up for sale within three months of closing a $6 billion acquisition of Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp.

One month after announcing their intention to merge, Houston-based Lucas Energy Inc. said it has entered into separate collaboration and funding agreements with Austin, TX-based Victory Energy Corp.

With flaring an issue in North Dakota’s Bakken and other shale plays, emerging technologies, such as those from New Jersey-based Primus Green Energy Inc., offer the potential for operators to turn associated natural gas production into commercially viable liquid products, including gasoline and methanol.

A shakeup in the shale gas industry involving the acquisitions of technology providers and developers is coming this year, along with grudging growth in the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) sector, according to Mountain View, CA-based consulting/research firm Frost & Sullivan (F&S).

Land drilling expert Nabors Industries Ltd. saw its average U.S. rig utilization rate drop to 78% in the fourth quarter, with its active domestic rig count down by one-third from the peak a year ago. Customers are “indifferent” to the types of rigs they are dropping, the company’s CEO said.