Authority

A pipeline proposed by the Wyoming Pipeline Authority (WPA) to carry off some of the billions of gallons of water produced annually from coalbed methane (CBM) operations in the Powder River Basin is close to becoming more than a pipe dream. If successful, it could defuse some complaints about the excess water byproduct of CBM development.

FERC last Wednesday issued a certificate granting Northern Natural Gas pipeline the authority to expand its system in Minnesota and Iowa by approximately 374,000 Dth/d of incremental winter peak-day capacity.

FERC Wednesday issued a certificate granting Northern Natural Gas pipeline the authority to expand its system in Minnesota and Iowa by approximately 374,000 Dth/d of incremental winter peak-day capacity.

A staff report of a Senate subcommittee has characterized the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as a crippled agency in its oversight of the energy commodity markets due to a gap in its authority to monitor over-the-counter (OTC) electronic energy trading and its failure to keep track of U.S. energy trades on foreign exchanges.

BP Energy Co. said that it sold 170 Bcf of gas to Public Energy Authority of Kentucky Inc. (PEAK) under a 10-year, $1 billion prepaid contract. PEAK, which financed the prepayment with the proceeds of revenue bonds underwritten by Banc of America Securities LLC, will use the gas to serve the baseload requirements of its municipal members and customers in Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri.

Pending Senate legislation reauthorizing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) comes up short because it fails to give the agency the authority to oversee over-the-counter (OTC) natural gas trades, including forward contracts, swaps and options, an industrial energy consumers group told Senate leaders who crafted the bill.

Haddington Ventures III LLC subsidiary Bobcat Gas Storage filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for authority to construct and operate a high-deliverability storage project in St. Landry Parish, LA, near Eunice and the Henry Hub.

The Bush administration has drawn new boundaries in the eastern Gulf of Mexico that give Louisiana authority over waters that are close to 100 miles from Florida’s shores, and includes portions of the gas-rich Lease Sale 181, according to a legislative aide for Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), a staunch opponent of oil and gas drilling off the Sunshine State’s coastline. But Interior Department and offshore industry officials say Nelson’s office is overreacting.

The Bush administration has redrawn the boundaries in the eastern Gulf of Mexico in such a manner that it gives Louisiana authority over waters that are close to 100 miles from Florida’s shores, and includes portions of the gas-rich Lease Sale 181, according to a legislative aide for Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), a staunch opponent of oil and gas drilling off the Sunshine State’s coastline.