Benefits

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) pitched the U.S. ambassadors of Japan and South Korea on the benefits of importing natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope during a dinner at the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC.

Even with the huge Marcellus Shale, the high cost of natural gas vehicles and a lack of infrastructure to fuel the vehicles may deter growth in the state, according to the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

TransCanada Corp. on Monday notified the U.S. State Department that it intends to file in the “near future” a Presidential Permit application for a cross-border permit for part of the original $7 billion, 1,700-mile Keystone XL oil pipeline project running from the U.S.-Canada border in Montana to Steele City, Nebraska. The Calgary-based pipeline company said it eventually would file a supplement to the new application with an alternative route in Nebraska.

Despite last Thursday’s announced delay in U.S. State Department processing and earlier criticisms of inflated economic benefits from the project (see Shale Daily, Nov. 9), the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ultimately should be approved, according to project sponsor TransCanada.

A judge in New York State is expected to rule within 60 days if the Town of Dryden, NY, overstepped its authority when it enacted an ordinance and a zoning requirement this past summer banning all oil and gas development activities.

A new poll reveals that while most Pennsylvania voters, 62-30%, believe the economic benefits of drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale outweigh any environmental concerns, a majority, 64-27%, also want to see the industry taxed.

Citing its job-creation benefits, California Gov. Jerry Brown Monday asked state regulators to restore programs set to expire at the end of this year because state lawmakers failed to pass bills aimed a extending a public goods charge on private-sector utility customer bills.

Voters in New York still support natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale by a thin margin, 45-41%, because they believe the economic benefits outweigh environmental concerns, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll.

New York’s registered voters favor the economic benefits of drilling in the Marcellus Shale more than they fear environmental problems, according to a poll released on Thursday by Quinnipiac University. All voters — Republicans, Democrats and Independents — also favor taxing gas producers.