Shale Daily

The Ohio House of Representatives late Wednesday afternoon voted 55-35 in favor of a bill that would levy a 2.5% severance tax on oil and natural gas produced from horizontal wells.

The first three months of 2014, in which Rice Energy Inc. completed a $594.5 million initial public offering (IPO), also brought the Canonsburg, PA-based company good news out of the Marcellus and Utica shales.

EV Energy Partners LP (EVEP) continued struggling with the cold weather of North Texas in the first quarter, which curtailed production from legacy operations in the Barnett Shale that account for more than 50% of the partnership’s overall volumes.

Encana Corp. made the move from natural gas-heavy to liquids-rich generator in the first quarter as new well designs and a sharper focus highlighted the strength of its onshore portfolio.

North Dakota’s Public Service Commission (PSC) has been asked to approve plans to convert a crude oil gathering pipeline into a crude transmission link into a Wyoming hub and other market interconnections.

Although still reflecting some remnants of winter’s slowdown, North Dakota production of oil and natural gas hit new all-time highs in March, rising from February’s lull. Rig counts were down slightly, but well completions increased sharply and the producing well count hit a new high.

A top official from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Tuesday told hundreds of members from one of the state’s largest oil and gas trade associations that it could be two years before a comprehensive package of new environmental regulations is implemented. It was not what they wanted to hear.

Minor earthquakes blamed on drilling waste disposal wells have been shaking up small towns overlying the Barnett Shale of North Texas for a while now. On Monday, state lawmakers put their ears to the ground during the first hearing of a subcommittee formed on the matter, hearing from local mayors, academic, environmental, regulatory and industry representatives.

Amelia Resources LLC is hosting a data room through Monday (May 19) to market 138,000 net acres in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS). “Recent results have created a lot of interest in the TMS play [see Shale Daily,May 12;May 8;April 29;April 14],” said Amelia President Kirk Barrell. “Drill times have greatly improved along with a decrease in associated costs.” The parcel being sold is “the only remaining large aggregate block of acreage in the play. We believe that the repeatability and economics of this play will be extremely competitive with other U.S. oil plays.” Barrell said, “The initial potentials, production volumes, and decline curves indicate large recoverable reserves in the range of 400-900 million boe. The play economics, consistency of the reservoir, and resulting reserves will make this a very competitive play for years to come.”