Apparent

Switzerland-based Transocean Ltd. — owner of drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, which burned and sank last month in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) following an apparent well blowout — has received $481 million of an approximately $560 million in insurance proceeds it expects to receive this quarter, the company’s CFO told financial analysts Thursday.

Last week’s sinking of Transocean Ltd.’s Deepwater Horizon rig following an apparent well blowout went from tragic to worse over the weekend as oil began leaking from the well the rig had been drilling on Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (MC252). Last Friday evening the search for 11 missing crew members was abandoned.

Last week’s sinking of Transocean Ltd.’s Deepwater Horizon rig following an apparent well blowout went from tragic to worse over the weekend as oil began leaking from the well the rig had been drilling on Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (MC252). Last Friday evening the search for 11 missing crew members was abandoned.

Citing the apparent trading irregularities of Amaranth Advisors LLC and large positions taken by the United States Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG) as evidence of the need for aggressive action, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last Thursday voted out a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) that would set limits on speculative trading of exchange-traded futures and options contracts in major energy markets.

Citing the apparent trading irregularities of Amaranth Advisors LLC and large positions taken by the United States Natural Gas Fund LP (UNG) as evidence of the need for action, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Thursday voted out a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) that would set limits on speculative trading of exchange-traded futures and options contracts in major energy markets.

The Senate plans to take a second look at the $10 billion omnibus lands bill Monday in an apparent attempt to get around some of the procedural hurdles that have stalled the measure in the House. The bill would take millions of acres of public lands in the West off the table for potential oil and natural gas development.

The Senate plans to take a second look at the $10 billion omnibus lands bill Monday (March 16) in an apparent attempt to get around some of the procedural hurdles that have stalled the measure in the House. The bill would take millions of acres of public lands in the West off the table for potential oil and natural gas development.

A weekend hangover was apparent Monday as brutally cold temperature forecasts for the East did little to spark near-month natural gas futures higher. The February contract closed out Monday’s regular session at $5.542, up only 2.6 cents from Friday’s finish.

Tennessee declared a force majeure event Wednesday evening due to the need to repair what a spokesman called an “apparent” leak in a line near the Eugene Island 339C platform. The 339C meter and Eugene Island 315 and 316A platforms were required to shut in until further notice. Further investigation was under way Thursday afternoon, the spokesman said.