Barnett Shale

Trustee is sought to oversee bankruptcy of California solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra

The Department of Justice asked a federal court today to appoint a trustee to oversee the bankruptcy of the solar- panel maker Solundra because its top executives invoked their Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination before a House subcommittee in Washington.

Click here for the New York Times report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Shell: Breaking the ice on Arctic drilling

Houston-based Shell Oil hopes to break the ice on Arctic drilling with a new Louisiana-built ship specially designed for towing and positioning anchors that keep drilling rigs in place.

The ship will be "the world's largest and most powerful anchor-handling ice breaker," says the president of the company building it.

Click here for the Houston Chronicle report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Eagle Ford Shale drilling boom brings both greater prosperity and fresh problems

Along with prosperity, the Eagle Ford Shale oil and natural gas drilling boom in South Texas also brings some tricky problems.

Click here for the San Antonio Express-News story.

--Jack Z. Smith

Barnett Shale rig count rises to 64, up seven rigs

Sixty-four drilling rigs were active today in North Texas' Barnett Shale, up seven from a week earlier, according to RigData.

The leading counties were Tarrant, 21 rigs; Johnson and Parker, 7 each; and Denton and Cooke, 5 each.

The leading operators were Chesapeake Energy and Devon Energy, with 13 rigs each; XTO Energy, eight rigs; and EOG Resources, 7 rigs.

Chesapeake had 11 rigs drilling in Tarrant and 2 in Johnson, while Devon had 5 in Denton, 4 in Johnson, 3 in Parker and 1 in Wise. XTO had7 rigs in Tarrant and 1 in Johnson, while EOG had 4 in Cooke and 3 in Montague.

The number of active drilling rigs in the U.S. declined by one this week, to 1,990, with 1,060 rigs drilling for oil, 923 for natural gas and seven miscellaneous, according to Houston-based oilfield services firm Baker Hughes.

Texas gained one rig, to 904.

--Jack Z. Smith

California solar-panel maker Solyndra said to be under FBI investigation for accounting fraud

Solyndra, the California solar-panel manufacturer that filed for bankruptcy protection two months after executives extolled is prospects, is being investigated by the FBI for accounting fraud, an agency official said.

Click here for the Bloomberg News report.

 

--Jack Z. Smith

Rancor grows over $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline that would run from Canada to Texas

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline, a $7 billion project that would carry oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries in Texas, has become the subject of an emotional national debate.

Click here for the New York Times report.

--Jack Z. Smith

New $733 million facility of failed California solar firm had whistling robots & fancy showers

Solyndra, the California solar company that filed for bankruptcy protection after receiving a $535 million federal loan guarantee, had a $733 million facility with robots that whistled Disney tunes, spa-like showers with liquid-crystal displays of the water temperature and glass-walled conference rooms.

The new Solyndra 300,000-square-foot building in Fremont, Calif., "is like the Taj Majal," said John Pierce, 54, a San Jose resident who worked as a facilities manager at Solyndra.

Click here for the Bloomberg News report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Frac Tech CEO paid $24.4 million in 2010

Fort Worth is home to one of the highest-paid CEOs in the country--Marcus Rowland, head of Frac Tech International, earned $24.4 million in 2010, more than any other executive of a publicly traded energy company.

Click here for the Star-Telegram report, which followed a Wall Street Journal report on Rowland's compensation.

--Jack Z. Smith

North American oil output could top 40-year-old record, new study by energy research firm says

North America appears headed for an oil renaissance, with crude production expected to hit an all-time high by 2016, according to a new study by an energy research firm.

Click here for the Houston Chronicle report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Range Resources seeing double in Pa. gas play

If the Marcellus has been marvelous for Fort Worth-based Range Resources, could the Upper Devonian be divine?

Range has been a pioneering driller and major producer in the big Marcellus Shale natural gas play in Pennsylvania. Company officials are now getting excited about prospects for drilling in the Upper Devonian formation, which lies above the Marcellus.

The Upper Devonian may hold about as much gas as the Marcellus, giving the company two promising formations to tap into at the same wellsites, Range executive Ray Walker says.

Click here for the Platts report.

--Jack Z. Smith