Bill Barrett Corp., Denver, said the company has resumed exploratory drilling at its Yellow Jacket prospect in southwestern Colorado in the quarter ended Mar. 31.

Petrobank Energy & Resources Ltd., Calgary, has adjusted its 2012 development plans for heavy oil projects in Canada toward cold production, in one case to prepare the reservoir for its proprietary toe-to-heal air injection (THAI) process.

Southern Pacific Resource Corp., Calgary, plans to expand its STP-McKay thermal oil sands project west of Fort McMurray, Alta., to boost first-phase development to a design capacity of 18,000 b/d of bitumen.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. outlined its drilling progress in the Utica shale in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and northwestern West Virginia during a May 1 earnings call in which the company stressed that it is shifting its focus from natural gas toward liquids-rich plays.

Petrobank Energy & Resources Ltd. said production from its Kerrobert in situ combustion project in southwestern Saskatchewan increased in March to an average 264 b/d of apparently upgraded bitumen (OGJ Online, Feb. 1, 2012).

French, Canadian, and private US companies are set to launch a $200 million joint venture to develop oil shale in the Uinta basin of Utah.

Suncor Energy has restarted the bitumen upgrader in Fort McMurray, Alta., that it shut down in March for unplanned maintenance (OGJ Online, Mar. 14, 2012).

Nexen Inc. has begun steaming on the 12th pad at its Long Lake oil sands project in the southern Athabasca region of Alberta, which it is developing with steam-assisted gravity drainage integrated with a 60,000 b/d upgrader (OGJ Online, Nov. 28, 2011).

Cenovus Energy Inc. has submitted applications for a thermal development project in the Athabasca oil sands of Alberta that will require dewatering of an aquifer overlying some of the bitumen.

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. has restored its Marcellus shale production in Susquehanna County, Pa., to predisruption levels following restart of the Lathrop Compressor Station, which was damaged by a Mar. 29 fire (OGJ Online, Apr. 3, 2012).

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. has restored some natural gas production following a Mar. 29 fire at the Lathrop compressor station in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale play.

Petrocarabobo SA let a lump-sum contract to Technip for the basic front-end engineering design (FEED) and the first phase of project management consultancy services for a 200,000 b/sd crude oil upgrader to be built in Venezuela’s Faja del Orinoco region.