A new study of the Barnett shale foresees reliable supply with slowly declining production through the year 2030, said the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) at the University of Texas at Austin and financed by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a New York philanthropic grant-making institution.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PNR) discontinued efforts to divest its properties in the Barnett shale saying that several bids were received during December but none matched the value PNR places on the assets.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMEP), Houston, will purchase Copano Energy LLC, also of Houston, for about $5 billion.

Countries embarking on shale gas development worldwide stand to benefit from lessons learned in US shale gas operations and water management, according to a recent report from Accenture.

Total SA has no plans to make any more US shale acquisitions, at least for now, because the French oil and gas company already is satisfied with its international shale oil and gas holdings, executives said.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. expects to open a data room in October in its efforts to sell its assets in the Barnett shale, where Pioneer has operated since 2007.

Crestwood Midstream Partners LP, Houston, will buy from subsidiaries of Devon Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, gathering and processing assets in southwestern Barnett shale for $90 million, the companies reported.

Atlas Resources Partners LP, Philadelphia, will acquire 250 bcf equivalent of proved reserves in the Barnett shale in the Fort Worth basin from Titan Operating LLC, private Fort Worth independent, for $184 million in ARP units.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn an administrative order issued to Range Resources Corp. and Range Production Co. on Dec. 7, 2010, that alleged Range polluted two water wells west of Fort Worth.

Encana Natural Gas Inc. has opened Louisiana’s first liquefied natural gas fueling station at Frierson along Interstate 49 about 15 miles south of Shreveport.

New Mexico remains an important gas producing state, but shale gas exploration and production have been minimal, says an article by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources at New Mexico Tech in Socorro.