2012

Texas environmental regulators are planning to launch monitoring of Eagle Ford Shale air emissions some time this year. What has been learned from ongoing emissions monitoring in the Barnett Shale will be applied in the South Texas play, an engineer with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) told NGI.

Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has approved Enbridge Bakken Pipeline Co. Inc.’s plans to build the 77-mile Bakken Pipeline Project Canada, which would connect to the Enbridge Pipelines Inc. (EPI) Mainline and carry crude oil from the Bakken Shale to North American refinery markets.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), former chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, has announced that he will not seek reelection in 2012 after serving 32 years in Congress. Frank, 71, and former Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) co-wrote and shepherded the sweeping Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act through Congress last year. President Obama signed the legislation into law in July 2010 (see NGI, July 26, 2010). Earlier this year, he opposed Republicans’ efforts to water down the financial reform law by cutting the budgets of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the two agencies tasked with enforcing the stricter law. Frank was instrumental in getting Hess LNG to withdraw its proposal to build the controversial Weaver’s Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Fall River, MA. The company withdrew its application in June in response to the opposition from a number of congressional, state and local officials (see NGI, June 20).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received more than 4,100 comments on its proposed standards to reduce air pollution from oil and natural gas drilling operations, especially operations employing hydraulic fracturing (fracking), by the time the public comment period closed Wednesday.

Calgary independent Paramount Resources Ltd., better known for its natural gas exploration, saw its stock price jump by nearly 5% in midday trading Monday after the company said it was creating a subsidiary to house its growing oilsands and bitumen businesses.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), former chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, announced Monday that he will not seek reelection in 2012 after serving 32 years in Congress.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) has elected a top Chesapeake Energy Corp. executive to lead the industry coalition into 2012.

“This is a 2013 development. It’s not a 2012 development. The next year is about evaluation. It’s about getting your head around the rock,” said Michael Bodino with Global Hunter Securities LLC.

FERC Thursday issued a certificate to Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco) to expand its mainline system in southwestern Pennsylvania to transport Marcellus Shale gas to markets in the Northeast.