Brazil's state-owned Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has found a buyer for its Japanese refining business, which includes subsidiary Nansei Sekiyu KK's 100,000-b/d Nishihara refinery on Japan's southwestern island of Okinawa.

Stone Energy Corp., Lafayette, La., will file Chapter 11 by Dec. 9 and sell its properties in the Appalachia basin to Ft. Worth investment firm Tug Hill Inc. for $360 million in cash.

Oasis Petroleum Inc., Houston, has agreed to acquire 55,000 net acres and 226 gross operated drilling locations in Williams and McKenzie counties, ND, part of the Williston basin, from Denver-based SM Energy Co. for $785 million.

Cautious optimism was the prevailing theme as the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Enforcement looked ahead to the 2016-17 heating season.

Tourmaline Oil Corp., Calgary, has agreed to acquire 206,000 net acres and associated infrastructure in western Canada from Royal Dutch Shell PLC affiliate Shell Canada Energy for $1.037 billion, or $1.369 billion (Can.).

SM Energy Co., Denver, has agreed to acquire 35,700 net acres in Howard and Martin counties of West Texas from Houston-based QStar LLC, a portfolio company of EnCap Investments LP and a related entity, for $1.1 billion in cash plus 13.4 million shares of SM Energy common stock.

American Midstream Partners LP has agreed to acquire 100% of JP Energy Partners LP in a unit-for-unit merger, creating a $2-billion midstream master limited partnership (MLP) with primary operations in the Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken, and Gulf of Mexico.

The US Environmental Protection Agency and states should not impose more methane control regulations and guidelines on the domestic oil and gas industry until EPA completes its Oil and Gas Information Collection Request (ICR) and subsequent analyses, an American Petroleum Institute official suggested.

Venezuela's national oil company likely will be a strong focus if reforms are launched successfully to repair the badly damaged national economy and living conditions, speakers at an Oct. 18 Brookings Institution discussion generally agreed.

The American Petroleum Institute plans to press members of Congress to reform the federal Renewable Fuel Standard when the federal lawmakers return for their 2016 lame-duck session following the Nov. 8 elections, an API official said.