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A bill that would allow companies to classify as trade secrets chemicals and concentrations used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluids passed the muster of a key committee on Tuesday, and is nearing final passage in the West Virginia Legislature.

Japan’s Mitsui Corp. has been selected to construct a pipeline that would carry U.S. natural gas to Mexico from Tucson, AZ, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced in Japan while on a tour of Asian countries. The $460 million Tucson-Sasabe pipeline would have capacity of 770 MMcf/d and would join several other pipeline projects to move U.S. gas to Mexico (see Daily GPI, March 8). Mexico is seeking inexpensive U.S. shale gas to fuel power generation and supply industrial users. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Mexico imported more U.S. gas than ever last year (see Daily GPI, March 14), and according to an analysis by Goldman Sachs, U.S. gas imports by Mexico will continue to increase (see Daily GPI, Feb. 11).

Two key legislators in the Pennsylvania General Assembly introduced a pair of bills on Wednesday designed to make natural gas service available to more consumers in the state.

An offshore reserve response team to control incidents in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has been formed by the Marine Well Containment Co. (MWCC) and Wood Group PSN.

As one of the hottest growing hydrocarbon areas in North America, North Dakota’s legislature has been immersed this year with various proposals to deal with oil and natural gas-related issues. So far, the stakeholders embroiled in the debate are not sure which, if any, bills will make it through the legislative meat grinder.

Wyoming has hired a new oil/natural gas supervisor, Grant Black, a 30-year geology veteran who will assume his new position May 1. The state has been without a permanent supervisor at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC) since long-time incumbent Tom Doll resigned last year after a run-in with Gov. Matt Mead (see Shale Daily, June 18, 2012). Department veteran Bob King has filled in on an interim basis. Once the oil/gas supervisor in Arkansas (1999-2004), Black holds geology degrees from the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.

As one of the hottest growing hydrocarbon areas in North America, North Dakota’s legislature has been immersed this year with various proposals to deal with oil and natural gas-related issues. So far, the stakeholders embroiled in the debate are not sure which, if any, bills will make it through the legislative meat grinder.

The policy landscape of shale gas development has been “dominated” by contradictory opinions, but there are “pathways” to a consensus, according to an analysis by Resources for the Future (RFF).

D&L Energy Inc. has filed an appeal with the Ohio Oil and Gas Commission, asking it to overturn the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) decision to revoke six of the company’s permits, deny three permit applications and order a halt to all temporary storage operations near Youngstown, after oilfield waste was illegally dumped into waterways near Youngstown in late January.