Yesterday, state-controlled China National Offshore Oil Corporation Ltd. (CNOOC) – China’s third-largest oil company – agreed to buy Canadian oil producer Nexen Inc. for $15.1 billion, the Toronto Star reports. The move reflects China’s efforts to secure supplies of oil, of which only twenty-five percent of the world’s supply is not held by state-owned companies and is therefore open to acquisition, the article said. For more, read the full story here.

Kandeh Yumkella, the co-head of the United Nations' Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, said on Monday that non-traditional shale gas should play a major role in many of his sustainable energy program's goals, such as “cutting greenhouse gases, protecting forests and improving the health and living standards of the world's poor,” Reuters reports. Although Yumkella insists that natural gas is necessary to provide electricity to people and reduce deaths from firewood-based indoor pollution, leaders of similar organizations argue that shale gas will stall other, cleaner energy sources from being developed and is only being considered now because Yumkella’s panel is “dominated by people who speak for big power industries,” the article said. For more, read the full story here.

The March edition of the Shale Oil and Gas Monthly Recap has just been released. This electronic newsletter helps you capture the latest happenings in the shale, oil and gas industries in Ohio by offering you feature articles as well as a convenient listing of our top five blogs from the past month. In this edition, we have an in-depth analysis of Senate Bill 315.  If you would like to subscribe to receive this monthly e-newsletter, please sign up on our subscription page.

After tense negotiations among representatives from the energy industry, environmental groups and the government, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has brokered an agreement wherein energy companies will publicly disclose on the website FracFocus.org the chemical family of each chemical used in the hydraulic fracturing process, FoxNews.com reports. Environmental groups have long been demanding to know what specific chemicals constitute fracing fluid, but energy companies refused, insisting it was a trade secret. For more read the full story here.

An in-depth Reuters report reveals that Chesapeake Energy Corp. is being accused in court of having used shell companies to sign leases with Michigan landowners that were then rejected for bogus reasons when an exploratory well in the area came up dry. Court documents allege that Chesapeake actively tried to conceal its involvement in an attempt to insulate its reputation after the shell companies canceled numerous leases, the article said. By using shell companies, Chesapeake could have also intended to deceive shareholders by circumventing the requirement to file such incidents as what allegedly happened in Michigan with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the article said. For more, read the full story here.

In a report released on Dec. 8, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the first time "linked fracking for natural gas to groundwater contamination," an article from Ohio.com reports. Analysts expect this increased awareness of the environmental risks associated with hydraulic fracturing to cause oil and gas companies to purchase specialized water service companies, the article said. These companies clean, recycle for re-use and haul away for disposal the "chemical-tainted water that's a byproduct of oil and natural gas drilling and production." Read the full story here.

According to Forbes, analysts and investors are skeptical of Chesapeake Energy's strategy of continuing to accumulate land rich in shale gas and liquid deposits because "the company continues to have a high debt on its balance sheet." As the second largest producer of natural gas in the U.S., Chesapeake's 'Land Grab' strategy may outrun the company's 2012 operating cash by approximately $6 billion, the article said. Exact figures are difficult to determine because the company has "a very complex ownership structure and has multiple joint ventures." For more, read the full story here.

The Morning Journal News reports that a landowner in Columbiana County filed a lawsuit against Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy, seeking to nullify rights under a  2004 oil and gas lease. The landowner—Beaverkettle Farms, Ltd.—contends that the "large-scale fracking techniques used today" were not in use at the time of lease's signing, the article said. Additionally, Beaverkettle claims that Chesapeake has violated several provisions that were intended to protect the land and Little Beaver Creek. Read the full story, including details of the lawsuit, here.

Residents of Appalachia are determining how best to manage their new "fortunes" that have materialized as a result of the shale oil and gas leasing boom, an article in The Plain Dealer reports. Organizations like the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio are encouraging these residents to become philanthropists to help other benefit from the influx of money into the region. Read the full article here.
 

With estimates as high as 200,000 for the number of jobs that will be created  by the oil and gas boom in Ohio, many colleges and universities are working with the oil and gas industry to develop certification programs that will qualify Ohioans for these jobs, Columbus Business First reports.

Zane State University recently concluded its first three-week program to certify students  for work on drilling rigs. According to the Ohio University System of Ohio Board of Regents' website, Ohio colleges and universities are working to develop specialized training programs similar to the one at Zane State. These work force development efforts will be essential to preventing companies from having to look for qualified applicants outside Ohio 's borders.

SAIC, a firm that specializes in working with governmental agencies, issued a 179-page report on the Luther Township, PA, gas-well malfunction, which accidentally released well fluids. This accident was among the most serious that can happen during the completion of an onshore shale-gas well. The report contains extensive water-sampling and other data collected in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the US Environmental Protection Agency. It shows no lasting effect on the environment as a result of a surface release of well fluids from Chesapeake Energy’s “Atgas” well site. Read the full op/ed in the New York Post.

Murray Energy, the parent company of several coal mines in Ohio, is  considering the possibility of drilling for oil and natural gas in the Utica shale, the Herald-Star reports. Murray Energy already owns gas and oil rights in all the states where they have coal mines, and even has limited permits in Belmont County to "plug and abandon certain gas wells." For more read the full article here.

The Herald-Star reports that Chesapeake Energy is spending between $60 and $70 million to resurface 83 miles of roads in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle. The roads, which the company uses regularly, were not "scheduled for resurfacing by the highway department anytime soon," the article said. All of the scheduled projects are either completed or in progress. For more details on this story, read the full article here.

The Associated Press reports that an increase in job prospects related to the growing natural gas industry has lead many community colleges and universities to expand their course offerings. From two-week programs to doctoral degrees, certification and training programs in fields related to natural gas are being created or expanded across the Northeast and out West. U.S. Department of Labor grants are helping to fund such programs. These programs are designed to help workers in economically depressed areas  take advantage of jobs with median earnings anywhere from $70,000 to $106,000. However, the article noted that such workers may have to migrate over time, "following the drilling rigs as they move from place to place." 

Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar announced on October 5 that the Obama administration will soon be announcing new rules governing natural gas drilling on federal lands, according to an article on Fuelfix.com. Administration officials have stated that one of the forthcoming rules may include a requirement forcing oil and gas drillers using the hydraulic fracturing process to disclose all chemicals that they are injecting into the ground. While petroleum industry experts claim that the chemicals used are safe, environmental groups and some Democrats on Capital Hill have raised concerns about the their safety, especially with regard to their possible effects on groundwater. The article also notes that any proposed rule from the administration governing the chemical disclosure of fracking fluids would go through a lengthy deliberative process.

The Morning Journal reports that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued six permits for natural gas drilling to Chesapeake Exploration LLC, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corp. While Chesapeake is not the only company acquiring drilling permits in Ohio, it is certainly "the big player." The company has spent between $1.5 and $2 billion obtaining the mineral rights to 1.25 million acres in Ohio, which represents "about 40 percent of the potential Marcellus and Utica shale acreage in the state," the article said.

The Morning Journal reports that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued six permits for natural gas drilling to Chesapeake Exploration LLC, a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corp. While Chesapeake is not the only company acquiring drilling permits in Ohio, it is certainly "the big player." The company has spent between $1.5 and $2 billion obtaining the mineral rights to 1.25 million acres in Ohio, which represents "about 40 percent of the potential Marcellus and Utica shale acreage in the state," the article said.

The Columbus Dispatch reports that Gov. John Kasich voiced support of renewable energy in his opening remarks to the energy summit he convened at Ohio State University this week. But Kasich left the door open to potential changes to the state's renewable portfolio standard, which requires utilities to provide 25 percent of their energy generation from renewable and advanced energy sources by 2025. According to the article:

Kasich administration officials told The Dispatch that the governor supports renewable energy standards, but that he may also move to tweak them. Kasich seemed to back that up in his speech when he wondered aloud “if we can modify what we have on renewables without people having a cow.”

The full article is available here.

ConocoPhillips, one of the nation's largest integrated oil and gas companies, recently announced that its refining/marketing and exploration/production arms will be separated into two stand-alone business entities.  An article in the Tulsa World estimated that even after the split, the spun-off refining entity "will be the largest refiner even and will eclipse Valero."  This split arrives on the heels of a similar announcement by Marathon in January 2011.