Blocked

Devon Energy Corp. and BP plc exercised their rights of first refusal and blocked Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s plans to sell StatoilHydro a quarter stake in a promising deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) discovery.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Thursday announced the designation of two draft National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors, where power line projects blocked at the state or local level can appeal to FERC for siting authority. The measure is aimed at addressing critical power supply problems in the heavily populated Mid-Atlantic region and in Southern California.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) is disputing published allegations that top agency officials blocked auditors from recovering millions of dollars in oil and natural gas royalties from producers.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) is disputing published allegations that top agency officials blocked auditors from recovering millions of dollars in oil and natural gas royalties from producers.

Less than 24 hours after a state panel rejected offshore drilling, a federal judge in California last Friday blocked exploratory drilling off the central California coast from Oxnard north to San Luis Obispo until there are more extensive environmental risk assessments completed. That process could take years, according to news media reports on the ruling.

The Alaska Senate Resources Committee has blocked legislation that would have made it easier for the state to force North Slope producers to build the long-proposed natural gas pipeline.

The Alaska Senate Resources Committee has blocked legislation that would have made it easier for the state to force North Slope producers to build the long-proposed natural gas pipeline.

Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee blocked an effort by Democrats to keep the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge closed to oil and natural gas exploration and development during mark-up Thursday of the panel’s fiscal 2006 budget resolution..

Aquila shares tumbled nearly 7% Wednesday to $3.14 after a federal court ruling blocked the company from using $504 million in proceeds from the sale of its Canadian utility assets. The court ruled in favor of Chubb Insurance Corp., which had argued that additional collateral was needed to cover Aquila’s contractual obligations to supply gas to a group of Nebraska municipal utility companies.