Rich Nemec

The latest large outlay of state dollars and ambitious goals for creating a hydrogen transportation fueling network seemingly overnight in California comes at a time when there are few hydrogen-powered vehicles and little infrastructure in existence, despite boasts by a former governor in 2006 to have 100 fueling outlets between Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2010.

Canadian government officials have started investigations of the imports of oil/gas industry pipe from up to nine nations, echoing efforts by the U.S. Commerce Department to thwart “dumping” of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) for pipe priced below cost to get a foothold on robust North American markets (see Daily GPI, July 15).

Even though its hydrogen/electric dole garnered most of the headlines (see Daily GPI, July 23), the California Energy Commission (CEC) also with less fanfare awarded $4.3 million for natural gas vehicle (NGV) expansion in the form of state funded rebates and other incentives for fleets and individual drivers to switch to NGVs.

As a backdrop to a larger drama that appears headed toward a statewide electoral stage, a Boulder County District Court judge on Thursday rejected a ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) by the city of Longmont, CO, but allowed the ban to stay in place while the city considers an appeal.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) on Tuesday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by local control activists against the industry group, the state and Gov. John Hickenlooper. COGA also is seeking court sanctions against the activists for the allegedly frivolous lawsuits.

In what is a mixed bag for the oil and railroad industries, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Wednesday unveiled proposed rules to improve the transport of crude oil via rail, proposing enhanced tank car design specifications, fuel classification and operational requirements for handling crude.

When the National Conference of Weights & Measures (NCWM) met earlier this month, it failed to recommend the continued use of gallon-equivalent measurements to use liquefied natural gas (LNG), as a transport fuel, prompting concern by the American Gas Association (AGA), congressional members and other stakeholders.

Natural gas and other competing alternative transportation fuels were left in the dust on Tuesday after the California Energy Commission (CEC) approved nearly $50 million in zero-emission construction projects, $46.6 million of which is supporting the building of a network of 28 hydrogen fueling stations throughout the state.

Encana Corp. has named investment banker Andy Rogers as vice president for business development throughout North America. Rogers is expected to head up Encana’s efforts to secure resources and help reposition its asset base. During the past 10 years, Rogers has been with Jefferies & Co. and has completed more than $20 billion of oil/gas transactions across North America.