Total E&P USA said it is exercising its preemption right to acquire Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s 75% interest in the jointly held Barnett shale operating properties near Fort Worth. Total already owns the remaining 25% and will become the operator. Source: News

Irving Oil Ltd., Saint John, NB, has closed its purchase of the 71,000-b/d Whitegate refinery near Cork, Ireland, from Phillips 66. Source: News

Charger Shale Oil Co. LLC, Midland, Tex., and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management LP, Los Angeles, have formed a joint venture targeting 100 horizontal well locations across multiple horizons in the Permian basin. Source: News

Williams Partners LP, Tulsa, has initiated an adviser-led process to explore the monetization of its indirect ownership interest in the recently rebuilt and expanded Geismar, La., olefins plant and complex. Source: News

LyondellBasell Industries NV has decided to build its recently approved project for a US Gulf Coast high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant at the company’s La Porte, Tex., manufacturing complex along on the south shore of the Houston Ship Channel. Source: News

Southeast Asia’s long-term oil and gas security remains uncertain despite current global supply abundance and low prices, the National Bureau of Asian Research’s Energy Security Program director told a US House Foreign Affairs subcommittee. Source: News

NextDecade LLC has received US Department of Energy authorization to export LNG from its proposed Rio Grande LNG liquefaction plant in Brownsville, Tex., to Free-Trade Agreement countries. DOE authorized export of 27 million tonnes/year of LNG—equivalent to about 3.6 bcfd of natural gas—for a 30-year term subject to ongoing regulatory approvals. Source: News

Weatherford International PLC said it signed two Sakhalin Island contracts with a major operator for extended-reach wells both onshore and offshore Sakhalin Island. Weatherford declined to name the operator. Source: News