Shale Daily

Oil and natural gas producers and environmental groups routinely have been at odds with each other over the practice of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), but they are now working together to draft a framework for regulation.

Baker Hughes Inc.’s management team reported Monday that the purchase of pressure pumping specialist BJ Services Inc. already is paying off, helping to boost quarterly profits both year/year and sequentially, with most of the uptick coming from work in North America’s unconventional basins.

EXCO Resources Inc. CEO Douglas Miller has proposed a buyout of the company at $20.50/share cash, the Dallas-based natural gas-focused exploration and production company said Monday. Oilman T. Boone Pickens as well as two investment firms are said to be in on the offer, which is worth $4.36 billion.

Continued growth in production of shale gas and recent discoveries in deep waters offshore is expected to increase domestic natural gas production through 2035 and will be reflected in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) next Annual Energy Outlook, which is due out in December, according to EIA Administrator Richard Newell.

Companies in Arkansas would have to reveal all of the chemicals they will use during hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations at new natural gas wells in the state prior to fracking, according to rule changes being considered by the state’s Oil and Gas Commission (AOGC).

In its efforts to make energy operations in the state more transparent, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Monday launched an online service that details natural gas and oil production and compliance information.

Thanks to its acquisition of Dominion’s natural gas exploration and production business, longtime coal giant Consol Energy is making its name in the natural gas sector as the Canonsburg, PA-based diversified energy producer continues to analyze its position in the Marcellus and Utica shales.

Activity in the Marcellus Shale hasn’t declined even in the face of weak natural gas prices, a Williams Cos. executive said Thursday.

Shale plays figured prominently in the third quarter performance of Denver-based QEP Resources as the company grew production by about 20% from the year-ago period.