Alternative

SandRidge Energy Inc. has delayed filing its annual report in part because of uncertainty regarding strategic alternatives to reduce its debt, the Oklahoma City-based producer said.

Officials with Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC (ACP) said Friday that they have developed an alternative route through the Monongahela and George Washington national forests in Virginia and West Virginia after their previous route was rejected by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS).

Renewable natural gas (RNG) sales for Newport Beach, CA-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. more than doubled last year as part of its fueling options in the natural gas vehicle (NGV) sector.

Houston-based Hercules Offshore Inc., which emerged from Chapter 11 in late 2015, has formed a special committee to explore strategic alternatives, which may include a sale or merger. The offshore driller contractor, which operates a fleet of 27 jackups, including one rig nearing completion, and 19 liftboats, completed voluntary restructuring in early November (see Daily GPI,Nov. 9, 2015). The special committee, composed of all the independent members of the board, was not formed in response to any proposals, management said. It would be authorized, however, “to explore, review, and evaluate any potential strategic transaction” or any other alternatives, including a sale, merger or share exchange. No more details are being provided until a definitive agreement, if any, is completed. Hercules has about $514 million of cash, excluding $200 million in escrow for the newbuild Hercules Highlander nearing completion. It also has $450 million of total debt outstanding and 20 million shares of common stock outstanding.

California-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. has been tapped by the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) to develop an alternative fuel complex near the northeast corner of the O’Hare International Airport property. Clean Energy will partner on the project with travel plaza developer PMG Airport Developers.

Although President Obama and the participants in a town hall meeting at Binghamton University in New York on Friday devoted most of their discourse to education, energy was mentioned once, with the president acknowledging the rise of natural gas but calling for further investment in alternative energy not derived from fossil fuels.

The now-closed 2,200 MW, 438-acre San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) could be totally shuttered and, decommissioned in 10 years, an official with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) told a California state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee hearing in Sacramento Tuesday.

Ryder Systems Inc., a transportation, logistics and supply chain management company that has made a large commitment to natural gas and other alternative transportation technologies, has an initiative to penetrate U.S. shale plays, CEO Robert Sanchez said during a second quarter earnings conference call.

Virginia’s senators, both Democrats, on Wednesday introduced legislation to provide an alternative to the Obama administration’s proposed 2012-2017 offshore oil and gas leasing plan, which excludes Virginia. According to the Energy Information Administration, “resource assessments show that substantial oil and gas reserves could underlie the land beneath Virginia’s offshore waters, which are part of the federally administered Mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf.”