Authorities

Canadian pipelines have been put on notice to expect more safety inspections and public exposure of lapses, and the authorities have put teeth into the warning by making an example of the biggest company.

Canadian pipelines have been put on notice to expect more safety inspections and public exposure of lapses, and the authorities have put teeth into the warning by making an example of the biggest company.

A Pennsylvania lawmaker is calling for federal and state authorities to investigate the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), alleging that it committed fraud and misconduct when it tested water supplies suspected of being tainted by natural gas drilling.

The extent of the risks associated with development of shale oil and natural gas is “unknown” because existing studies have not taken into account the potential long-term, cumulative effects of the activity, according to a new report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Tuesday. The agency in a companion report did not make any recommendations to change environmental and public health requirements in light of advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

As happened in the rush to develop U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facilities a decade ago, relatively few of the proposed export projects now before federal authorities will be built, and most of them will be brownfield projects on the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), according to a top executive with one of the competing Gulf Coast-based projects.

As happened in the rush to develop U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facilities a decade ago, relatively few of the proposed LNG export projects now before federal authorities for permitting will get built, and most of them will be brownfield projects on the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), according to a top executive with one of the competing Gulf Coast-based projects.

Kurt Mix, a 50-year-old former engineer for BP plc, was arrested Tuesday after being charged with two counts of obstructing justice after federal authorities said he intentionally destroyed evidence related to the Macondo well blowout and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico two years ago.

Ohio is a “long shot” for a world class ethane cracker planned for Appalachia, but the state would still benefit if the facility lands anywhere in the region, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Tuesday.

A 40-year-old Oklahoma man was arrested Friday after he contacted authorities and confessed to making a potential explosive device and leaving it along a natural gas gathering line.