Shale Daily

With one of the nation’s most fossil fuel-intense state economies, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead is pushing a state/private sector initiative for a new testing center at the University of Wyoming to find ways to effectively store carbon dioxide (CO2) to develop markets for carbon and enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

The days of freely spending money at Chesapeake Energy Corp. are through as capital discipline takes over from wheeling and dealing, CEO Doug Lawler said Thursday.

Rex Energy Corp.’s proved reserves increased 37% to 849.8 Bcfe at the end of 2013, mostly due to its Marcellus Shale operations in central and western Pennsylvania, the company said.

Ceramic proppant leader Carbo Ceramics Inc. is attempting to get the word out that “low quality” products from China aren’t worth the lower price producers pay to increase oil and gas recoveries.

Appalachian heavyweight Range Resources Corp. increased its proved reserves last year by 26%, driven largely by improved well performance across its 955,000 net acres in the Marcellus Shale, where it has focused on completing wells with longer laterals and more hydraulic fracture (frack) stages.

While it has deemphasized natural gas production, Bismarck, ND-based MDU Resources Group is betting even bigger on oil/gas infrastructure centered in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale play in addition to its stable of four utilities spread over eight states.

Proppant consumption is increasing rapidly in the Anadarko and Denver-Julesburg basins, and the Bakken and Eagle Ford shales, as operators look to punch up reserves from horizontal well completions, PacWest Consulting Partners said in a new report.

The U.S. Transportation Department’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has concluded an investigation launched last year looking at Bakken Shale crude rail shipments and said fines may be assessed against three shippers for allegedly not properly testing and classifying the crude.

Starting the year flush with a $350 million commitment from its backers at Riverstone Holdings LLC, Denver-based Liberty Resources II and a few other private backers on Thursday entered an agreement to buy 53,000 net acres in four counties in the Williston Basin, according to both companies. The purchase price was $455 million.