2004

June, July and August will be 8% cooler nationally than last year and the coolest summer months since 2004, according to forecasters at MDA EarthSat in Rockville, MD.

June, July and August will be 8% cooler nationally than last year and the coolest summer months since 2004, while the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season will likely be busier than average, but quieter than last year, according to forecasters at MDA EarthSat in Rockville, MD.

National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) have reached a settlement agreement in the Aug. 21, 2004 gas explosion in Sandy Township, PA, that destroyed a home and left two residents dead. The settlement agreement ends an informal investigation into the gas explosion, which resulted from a leak in a gas line, the PUC said. Under terms of the settlement, National Fuel agreed to pay a $50,000 fine, fund an additional $30,000 of safety-related activities for its system and committed to undertake system improvements costing more than $1.8 million. National Fuel agreed to modify its operating procedures and accelerate an ongoing plastic pipe leakage survey of its Pennsylvania system. The company has also retrained and tested its plastic fusion work crew members. The PUC has given interested parties 20 days to comment on the settlement agreement and will issue a final determination on the settlement at an upcoming public meeting. National Fuel serves about 210,000 natural gas customers in 14 Pennsylvania counties.

National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) have reached a settlement agreement in the Aug. 21, 2004 gas explosion in Sandy Township, PA, that destroyed a home and left two residents dead.

Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) is proposing changes to its regulations governing royalty relief for deepwater leases to comply with a 2004 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) is proposing changes to its regulations governing royalty relief for deepwater leases to comply with a 2004 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

With annual production growth rates plummeting from 50% in the late 1990s to flat in 2004, there are clear signs that the Gulf of Mexico has matured. While the recent extended well test of the Jack field in the Lower Tertiary play in the deepwater Gulf holds promise for a production resurgence, significant challenges and enormous risks still cloud the region’s future, according to Gero Farruggio, U.S. Gulf research manager for consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.

With annual production growth rates plummeting from 50% in the late 1990s to flat in 2004, there are clear signs that the Gulf of Mexico has matured. While the recent extended well test of the Jack field in the Lower Tertiary play in the deepwater Gulf holds promise for a production resurgence, significant challenges and enormous risks still cloud the region’s future, according to Gero Farruggio, U.S. Gulf research manager for consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.

Venture capital investment in energy technologies — particularly wind, solar and biofuel — jumped to $917 million last year, compared to $716 million in 2004, according to the fifth annual “Clean Energy Trends Report” for 2006, prepared by Clean Edge, a green power consulting firm. Global solar and wind markets increased by 55% and 47%, respectively, to $11.2 billion and $11.8 billion in 2005, the report said.