Apparent

An apparent uptick in approved permits in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has boosted investor enthusiasm about the near-term prospects for offshore activity but the backlog of permits issued but not yet drilled paints a different picture, according to an analysis by FBR Capital Markets.

Backlog of permits issued but not yet drilled paints a different picture, says FBR Capital Markets.

The Heinz Endowment is looking for another university or entity to host and develop its Marcellus Shale research programs after an apparent falling out with the University of Pittsburgh.

The Heinz Endowment is looking for another university or entity to host and develop its Marcellus Shale research programs after an apparent falling out with the University of Pittsburgh.

With congressional budget talks at an apparent standstill and a government shutdown looming at press time Friday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and other federal agencies were preparing to operate in an essential operations-only scenario, while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said it would conduct business as usual — at least temporarily.

With congressional budget talks at an apparent standstill and a government shutdown looming, FERC and other federal agencies are preparing to operate in an essential operations-only scenario.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Tuesday begins a series of three public hearings to gather testimony on pipeline safety. It is a response to the apparent lack of local knowledge about the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) pipeline that ruptured last September in a residential neighborhood in suburban San Bruno, CA, south of San Francisco.

An apparent natural gas explosion about 10:45 p.m. EST Wednesday killed five people, including a four-month-old child, in Allentown, PA, police said. A fire following the explosion affected a total of 47 properties, including 10 businesses, and forced more than 750 people to evacuate over a three-block area.

An upstate New York man accused of bilking investors out of $35 million in a Ponzi scheme involving oil and gas exploration in Kentucky and Tennessee is dead from an apparent suicide. Ashvin Zaveri, 71, late last year was charged with 16 counts of money laundering and mail and wire fraud dating back to 2003 (see NGI, Dec. 21, 2009). Zaveri shot himself on a park bench in the Rochester, NY, suburb of Mendon, the Associated Press reported. Zaveri had been expected to plead guilty to tax and fraud charges in September. He faced six to eight years in prison.