Battle

The battle for the over-the-counter (OTC) market entered the courtroom on Wednesday as the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) filed a lawsuit against IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) for copyright violations in its use of Nymex natural gas and crude oil futures settlement prices.

Kerr-McGee Corp.’s proxy battle with financier Carl Icahn and his associates appeared to come to an end last week, but the settlement announced Thursday came at a steep price. The producer said it will buy back $4 billion worth of stock at an all-time high, and announced a plan to sell off “select” U.S. onshore, Gulf of Mexico and North Sea assets, which represent 20-25% of current production and 10-15% of proved reserves.

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch fired another shot last Thursday in the heated legal battle that has developed over KeySpan Energy’s plan to convert an existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) peak shaving facility (formerly Algonquin LNG) in Providence into a 525 MMcf/d LNG import terminal.

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch fired another shot on Thursday in the heated legal battle that has developed over KeySpan Energy’s plan to convert an existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) peak shaving facility (formerly Algonquin LNG) in Providence into a 525 MMcf/d LNG import terminal.

Aboriginal allies stepped forward last week to support the Mackenzie Gas Project, reviving hope that the C$7 billion (US$5.6 billion) natural gas development will find a way through the northern Canadian regulatory maze.

Aboriginal allies have stepped forward to support the Mackenzie Gas Project, reviving hope that the C$5 billion (US$3.75 billion) natural gas development will find a way through the northern Canadian regulatory maze.

Old battle lines were being redrawn last week over natural gas research, development and demonstration (RD&D) funding. The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), which represents the nation’s independent gas producers, came out strongly against a proposal by the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) to reinstate interstate pipeline surcharges on transported gas for the purpose of funding RD&D. However, the American Gas Association, which represents gas utilities, told FERC it favors such an approach.

Atlanta Gas Light Co. (AGLC) last week fired the latest volley in its battle with Scana Energy Marketing over rights to the interstate pipeline capacity feeding the AGLC system and the deregulated Georgia retail market. AGLC blasted Scana for attempting to enmesh in the capacity fray an AGLC deal to buy out connections to the Southern Natural Gas system.

If FERC loses a jurisdictional battle over the siting of Sound Energy Solutions’ (SES) liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Long Beach, CA, to the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), that will spell serious trouble for all future LNG projects facing regulatory review, according to FERC Commissioner Joseph T. Kelliher. A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives last week to make sure that doesn’t happen (see related story).