The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries division issued long-awaited incidental harassment authorizations to five geophysical contractors to conduct the first oil and gas seismic evaluations on the US Mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf since the 1980s. Oil and gas associations welcomed the agency’s Nov. 30 move while environmental organizations strongly criticized it.

Has India changed? That question greeted top executives of an international conglomerate in Houston to discuss partnerships for its Indian oil and gas business.

The US drilling rig count is down 3 units to 1,076 rigs working for the week ended Nov. 30, according to Baker Hughes data. The count is up 147 units from the 929 rigs working this time a year ago. At 1,051 rigs working, one less unit is drilling on land week-over-week. Offshore units are down by 2 to reach 23 rigs working, while those drilling in inland waters remain unchanged at 2 rigs working for the week.

Par Pacific Holdings signed a definitive agreement to purchase privately held US Oil & Refining Co.’s downstream assets, including the 42,000-b/sd refinery near Tacoma, Wash. Under terms of the deal, Par Pacific will acquire 100% of US Oil and Refining’s equity interests for total consideration of $358 million plus net working capital, Par Pacific said.

Serica Energy has become operator of Bruce, Keith, and Rhum natural gas fields in the UK North Sea after completing two deals through which it acquired interests from BP, Total E&P UK, BHP Billiton Petroleum Great Britain, and Marubeni Oil & Gas (UK).

Crimson Midstream and MPLX have extended the binding open season to assess interest and solicit commitments from prospective shippers for transportation service on the Swordfish pipeline. Originally scheduled to close Nov. 30, the open season has been extended to allow shippers time to evaluate new information and to account for the holiday season.

Chesapeake Energy Corp., Oklahoma City, entered into a long-term agreement with Pronghorn Logistics LLC of Denver for frac sand management, logistics, and well site services in Wyoming’s Powder River basin.

Supercomputer simulations show that at the atomic level, material stress doesn't behave symmetrically. Widely-used atomic stress formulae significantly underestimate stress near stress concentrators such as dislocation core, crack tip, or interface, in a material under deformation. Supercomputers simulate force interactions of Lennard-Jones perfect single crystal of 240,000 atoms. Study findings could help scientists design new materials such as glass or metal that doesn't ice up.

Jupiter Energy Group has launched a 90-day open season for binding shipper commitments on the Jupiter Pipeline, which is expected to be operational in fourth quarter 2020.

Vermilion Energy has assumed operatorship of the Corrib natural gas project offshore Ireland following the close of Shell Overseas Holdings’s sale of its 45% interest in the project to Nephin Energy Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. NEHL has acquired 100% of Shell E&P Ireland, which holds 45% interest in Corrib.