Baby

As Pennsylvania prepares to put in place a unique mega-law ( H.B. 1950) to regulate and tax its blockbuster baby, the Marcellus Shale, nobody thinks it’s perfect, but most are prepared to live with it and work to improve it (see related story).

Western North America has overreacted to price signals and taken “drill, baby, drill” to an extreme, and as a result the region is saturated with natural gas production that outstrips the current prospective markets, according to a panel of western energy executives who spoke last Tuesday at the 2008 LDC Forum Rockies & West Conference in Irvine, CA. Current swift drops in wholesale gas prices will help, but volatility still adds continued uncertainty for buyers, the panelists said.

Western North America has overreacted to price signals and taken “drill, baby, drill” to an extreme, and as a result the region is saturated with natural gas production that outstrips the current prospective markets, according to a panel of western energy executives speaking Tuesday at the 2008 LDC Forum Rockies & West Conference in Irvine, CA. Current swift drops in wholesale gas prices will help, but volatility still adds continued uncertainty for buyers, the panelists said.

In an attempt to mollify the courts, Dominion Cove Point LP and Washington Gas Light (WGL), FERC last Tuesday split the baby in a much-anticipated order, giving Dominion Cove Point the go-ahead to resume expansion of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on Maryland’s eastern shore, while at the same time barring the flow of the additional expansion-related LNG volumes to WGL to shield its distribution system from further system leaks.

In an attempt to mollify the courts, Dominion Cove Point LP and Washington Gas Light (WGL), FERC Tuesday split the baby in a much-anticipated order, giving Dominion Cove Point the go-ahead to resume expansion of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on Maryland’s eastern shore, while at the same time barring the delivery of any additional LNG volumes to WGL to shield it from further system leaks.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) split the baby on the controversial question of drilling on the Roan Plateau in Colorado with a decision allowing carefully programmed drilling on less than half, or about 34,000 acres, of the plateau area. The decision set aside about 17,000 acres with the restriction of no surface occupancy and proposed that the ban be extended to another 21,000 acres in special areas it has labeled as environmentally critical.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) split the baby on the controversial question of drilling on the Roan Plateau in Colorado with a decision, issued last Friday, allowing carefully programmed drilling on less than half, or about 34,000 acres, of the plateau area. The decision set aside about 17,000 acres with the restriction of no surface occupancy and proposed that the ban be extended to another 21,000 acres in special areas it has labeled as environmentally critical.

Imperial Oil Ltd., which is leading the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP) consortium, took another baby step forward last week after agreeing to a benefits package with Northwest Territories (NWT) provincial authorities. The Socio-Economic Agreement outlines guarantees for aboriginal residents who would be living along the proposed natural gas pipeline’s 750-mile (1,200-kilometer) route.

Imperial Oil Ltd., which is leading the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP) consortium, took another baby step forward after agreeing to a benefits package with Northwest Territories (NWT) provincial authorities. The Socio-Economic Agreement outlines guarantees for aboriginal residents who would be living along the proposed natural gas pipeline’s 750-mile (1,200-kilometer) route.