Suncor Energy Inc. has let a contract to Fluor Corp. for front-end project management and engineering services for second-phase development of its MacKay River in situ oil sands project in the northern Athabasca region of Alberta.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) released its Recommended Practices for Responding to Stray Gas Incidents, the fourth in a series of guidance documents.

A study commissioned by Plains Exploration & Production Co. concluded hydraulic fracturing of two test wells at Inglewood oil field in Los Angeles County, Calif., indicated no detectable evidence that it might induce earthquakes or have negative consequences on groundwater quality, a consultant reported.

Policymakers across all levels of US government must guard against unnecessary or duplicative regulations that could impede investments in unconventional oil and gas plays, which already created jobs and boosted revenues for some states, American Petroleum Institute Chief Economist John Felmy said.

Baytex Energy Corp., Calgary, plans to begin pilot thermal recovery project next year on oil sands acreage it has acquired in the Cold Lake region of northeastern Alberta.

Reliance Industries Ltd., Mumbai, has signed documents with Petroleos de Venezuela SA for heavy-oil supply and joint exploration and development in the South American country’s Orinoco belt.

GMX Resources Inc., Oklahoma City, is adjusting its operating practices in an effort to improve results of Bakken completions in the Williston basin.

Cenovus Energy Inc., Calgary, has received court approval to buy the remaining assets of Oilsands Quest, which is being restructured under the Canadian Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, for $10 million.

Double Eagle Petroleum Co., Denver, and Warren Resources Inc., New York, the two major owners of the Spyglass Hill and Catalina units in the Atlantic Rim of the Washakie basin in Wyoming, have exercised preferential rights to acquire additional working interest in the units from a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Halcon Resources Corp., Houston, plans to add four to six operated rigs by the end of 2012 to the 11 it is currently running in its resource-style drilling program in the wake of its acquisition of GeoResources Inc. and assets in East Texas.

Sanchez Energy Corp., Houston, will accelerate its 2012-13 drilling program in the Eagle Ford shale play, in which it holds 95,000 net acres in the volatile oil, black oil, and gas-condensate windows, with $144.6 million in proceeds from a private placement of preferred stock.

A federal judge in Brooklyn dismissed a lawsuit filed by New York Atty. Gen. Eric T. Schneiderman seeking a court-ordered comprehensive environmental analysis before the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) issues anticipated regulations that would cover hydraulic fracturing in the watershed.

Connacher Oil & Gas Ltd. has received approval from the Energy Resources Conservation Board of Alberta for an expansion of thermal production of bitumen from its delayed Great Divide Oil Sands acreage 70 km south of Fort McMurray.