Rich Nemec

A proposed pipeline project for moving swelling supplies of Bakken crude oil in North Dakota has hit a roadblock in neighboring Minnesota, causing its sponsor, Canadian-based Enbridge Energy Partners LP, to report Wednesday that the project will be delayed at least a year.

Mike Florio, one of California’s five top energy regulators, made an unprecedented public apology Thursday for his role in recently divulged private e-mail communications between himself and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) concerning a pending regulatory case (see Daily GPI, Sept. 16).

Retail natural gas utility charges in Idaho will increase on Wednesday, following action Friday by the state regulatory commission allowing a gas cost adjustment upward for MDU Resources Group’s Boise-based Intermountain Gas Co.

In its 41 years of existence, the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) has spurred an unending cycle of lawsuits and closed-door settlements while hamstringing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) from carrying out its primary mission, according to an analysis released Monday by the oil/gas industry-backed Western Energy Alliance (WEA).

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is only one of many technological advancements that are driving the oil and natural gas sector worldwide as innovation has become an imperative, according to the latest global report by consulting firm Lloyd’s Register Energy.

A Broomfield, CO, district court has ruled that a ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) put in place by voters in November 2013 doesn’t apply to Denver-based producer Sovereign Operating Co. because it had a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the city before the ban was imposed.

Tenaska NG Fuels LLC (TNG Fuels) and Waller Marine Inc. have agreed to develop and operate Louisiana’s first natural gas liquefaction and fueling facility along the New Orleans-Baton Rouge corridor of the Mississippi River with access to the Gulf of Mexico, the companies said Tuesday.

Recognizing that his state has a long history of complex oil and natural gas drilling issues, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Thursday gave an initial pep talk to the first meeting of a 19-member task force charged with developing recommendations for addressing local issues regarding oil/gas development for the state legislature to consider early next year.

Chicago-based Trillium CNG and Ohio-based Heritage Cooperative on Thursday teamed up for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station in Kenton, OH. The station is part of Heritage’s $7 million Kenton Agricultural Campus expansion. Heritage, metal processor Precision Strip Inc. and the city of Kenton were part of the partnership in establishing the 24/7 Class-8 CNG fueling station. Trillium’s proprietary fast-fill hydraulic intensifier is used to fuel three dedicated CNG dispensers at the station. Precision Strip officials have committed to converting all of their fleet vehicles to CNG by the end of 2016.