Arguments

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has upheld a lower court’s ruling supporting the Interior Department’s arguments that it is not required to immediately issue leases to oil and natural gas producers following purchases.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has upheld a lower court’s ruling supporting the Interior Department’s arguments that it is not required to immediately issue leases to oil and natural gas producers following purchases.

An attorney representing a Pennsylvania township that is challenging Act 13, the omnibus Marcellus Shale law, said the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) has no authority to review local drilling ordinances, and accused the agency of acting with “malicious intent” by doing so.

A panel of seven Commonwealth Court judges heard oral arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by seven Pennsylvania municipalities and others that claim parts of Act 13, the state’s new omnibus Marcellus Shale law, are unconstitutional.

November natural gas posted a new low Wednesday as traders could find no arguments in favor of higher prices and anticipated a government storage report expected to increase the long-term surplus and narrow considerably the deficit to last year’s record storage levels. At the close November had fallen 6.8 cents to $3.570 and December had given up 6.0 cents to $3.884. November crude oil bounded higher by $4.01 to $79.68/bbl.

Arguments are scheduled Wednesday (Dec. 8) in a Alaska Superior Court to hear Senate Republican candidate Joe Miller’s lawsuit challenging the state of Alaska and the state’s Division of Election’s criteria for counting write-in ballots, which made incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) the apparent winner in the U.S. Senate elections last month.

Raising similar procedural arguments, Oregon and Washington have asked FERC to rehear its approval of NorthernStar Natural Gas’ Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal along the Columbia River in Oregon. Two other parties also joined the chorus asking for reconsideration of the Sept. 18 conditioned federal approval.

Oregon — raising similar procedural arguments as the state of Washington — has asked FERC to rehear its approval of NorthernStar Natural Gas’ Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal along the Columbia River in Oregon. Two other parties also joined the chorus asking for reconsideration of the Sept. 18 conditioned federal approval.

The Supreme Court on Nov. 27 will hear oral arguments from attorneys for New Jersey and Delaware over a jurisdictional dispute involving a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal along the Delaware River in Logan Township, NJ.