Budget

Big spending by Big Oil in the U.S. shale plays is leading to a big-time recovery in global upstream capital spending, according to energy consultant Wood Mackenzie.

Companies that missed out on the first round of leasing in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas that began in 2008 will have another chance as some of those leases will be expiring in the coming months, an industry analyst said recently.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) last week continued her procedural hold on the nomination of Jack Lew for the director of the Office of Management and Budget, despite pleas from the White House and congressional Democrats to remove it. Landrieu said she will block his nomination until the moratorium on deepwater oil and natural gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has been lifted or significantly modified.

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) said he supports Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) decision to block the nomination of Jack Lew for director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) until the moratorium on deepwater oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has been lifted or significantly modified.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Thursday announced that she will block the nomination of Jack Lew to be director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) until the moratorium on deepwater oil and natural gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has been lifted or significantly modified.

Citing a rare state unit’s budget surplus, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) last Thursday slashed by 80% the fees charged by its pipeline safety bureau. The PRC unit conducts pipeline and facility safety inspections and helps enforce state and federal regulations for oil and natural gas pipelines.

Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP) last week raised its capital budget to $1.2 billion, up from a previous plan of $900 million to $1.1 billion, to develop a plethora of natural gas and oil prospects both onshore and offshore.

Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP) Thursday raised its capital budget to $1.2 billion, up from a previous plan of $900 million to $1.1 billion, to develop a plethora of natural gas and oil prospects both onshore and offshore.

Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP) Thursday raised its capital budget to $1.2 billion, up from a previous plan of $900 million to $1.1 billion, to develop a plethora of natural gas and oil prospects both onshore and offshore.