Shale Daily

A fire that erupted Tuesday morning at a Chevron Appalachia LLC natural gas well site in Greene County, PA continued to burn Wednesday, and it may not be clear for some time what caused it, officials said.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. plans to keep tearing it up in the Midland Basin of West Texas, where horizontal drilling in the Spraberry/Wolfcamp, as well as in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas, grew reserves and production during a year that CEO Scott Sheffield said was “…the best year in Pioneer’s 17-year history.”

The abundance of market-area gas that has crushed basis differentials and flattened seasonal spreads has bedeviled Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP for several quarters now. But on Monday investors got pinched hard when the partnership cut its distribution by 81% and the price of its units plunged 46%.

There hasn’t been much to see by Pennsylvania oil and gas producers, who have adopted a “wait and see” approach to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision on Act 13 returning zoning authority to local entities, according to the head of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC).

Gulfport Energy Corp. continues to bolster its acreage position in the Utica Shale of southeast Ohio, inking a deal last week that will find it paying $478,500 in signing bonuses and 20% of production royalties to a small village along the Ohio River.

WPX Energy Inc.’s remarkable results from natural gas drilling in the Piceance Basin will play second fiddle to oil targets this year as the Tulsa producer attempts to right its financial performance, the CEO said Tuesday.

State and local officials said an explosion early Tuesday at Chevron Appalachia LLC’s Lanco 7H well in Greene County, PA, was one of the worst the state has seen in modern history and the largest accident yet at an unconventional well in the state.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday released revised underground injection control (UIC) program permitting guidance for wells that use diesel fuels during fracking activities.

Private equity fund EnCap Flatrock Midstream plans to invest up to $500 million in startup Tall Oak Midstream LLC, based in Oklahoma City, to fund purchases in emerging resource plays across North America, with an initial focus on the Midcontinent. The EnCap Investments LP affiliate is providing $100 million and has pledged up to $400 million more over time. Tall Oak CEO Ryan Lewellyn formerly was a managing director of DCP Midstream Partners LP’s Midcontinent business. CFO Carlos Evanspreviously was a Chesapeake Energy Corp. natural gas sales executive. COO Lindel R. Larison also most recently was a Chesapeake executive, where he served as the manager of construction and engineering.