Increased flexibility for operators remains an open question in a revised proposal for federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing, according to a May 23 legal update by Roger W. Patrick of the law firm Mayer Brown.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC has let a subsea equipment contract to FMC Technologies Inc. in a move to continue development of Stones oil and gas field in the Gulf of Mexico.

Gazprom Neft has conducted what it says is the first hydraulic fracturing ever on Russia’s Yamal Pensinsula at geologically complex Novoport oil and gas condensate field.

Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Co. (ADMA-OPCO) has awarded Technip, Paris, a lump-sum turnkey contract for engineering, procurement, construction, precommissioning, commissioning, and start-up assistance for flare modifications and revamp on Das Island.

Depressurization in a pioneering test flow of methane from hydrates offshore Japan earlier this year involved a specially designed electric submersible pump system able to separate methane from water and move them to the drillship through separate production strings (OGJ Online, Mar. 12, 2013).

Petroleum Development Oman and GlassPoint Solar have commissioned a solar enhanced oil recovery system at Amal West oil field in southern Oman (OGJ Online, Aug. 4, 2011).

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. said it is using natural gas from the Marcellus shale in Susquehanna County, Pa., to fracture wells via dual-fuel technology in a process that can displace as much as 70% of the diesel fuel traditionally used to operate hydraulic fracturing equipment.

Oil production has started ahead of schedule from Fletcher Finucane oil field offshore Western Australia in the Carnarvon basin, project operator Santos Ltd. reported.

The US Department of the Interior released a revised proposal to regulate hydraulic fracturing on public and Indian lands that it said would maintain important safety standards, improve integration with existing state and tribal rules, and increase flexibility for oil and gas producers.

Enquest PLC, London, has let a contract for inspection, repair, and maintenance services to Hallin Marine in its revitalization of the Thistle Alpha drilling and production platform in the North Sea 275 miles northeast of Aberdeen (OGJ Online, Feb. 5, 2013).

Bitumen will claim an increased share of sharply higher oil production in Alberta over the next 10 years, according to the provincial Energy Resources Conservation Board.

Deliverability of natural gas in Canada is in what the National Energy Board calls a “holding pattern” because low prices have suppressed gas drilling.