The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Monday released a congressionally mandated increase in civil penalties for oil/natural gas operators violating regulations on federal and Indian onshore lands. The inflation-adjustment increases are effective Aug. 1 under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act passed last year. The increases, which BLM officials called small relative to the overall value of annual production on all federal and Indian oil/gas leases, are aimed at maintaining “the deterrent effect of civil penalties,” and are calculated based on the percentage change in the consumer price index for all urban consumers since October 1987, the year the penalties were established. BLM does not see any undue economic impact on the industry from the larger penalties because it said individuals and companies can avoid the increased fines by complying with applicable oil/gas regulations. Only the civil penalties covered in the 2015 law apply to oil/gas operators, BLM officials said.
Civil
Articles from Civil
NatGas/Electric Supplier Ordered to Pay Pennsylvanians $2M in Refunds
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has voted unanimously to order New York-based electric generation provider Hiko Energy LLC to pay customer refunds of $2 million and a $1.8 million civil penalty for deceptive marketing practices and overbilling during the brutally cold winter of 2013-2014.
Steeper Fines Among New Oil/Gas Regs in Ohio Budget Bill
Ohio’s $71.2 billion two-year budget, which was signed into law by Gov. John Kasich late last month without an oil and gas severance tax increase, still includes several tweaks to industry regulations such as an increase in fines for civil violations.
Utah Producer Fined $2.2M for Maintaining False Royalty Data
The Interior Department’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) said it has assessed civil penalties on a Utah produce for “knowing or willful” maintenance of false, inaccurate or misleading royalty information on ONRR’s financial system.
Industry Brief
TheInterior Department’sOffice of Natural Resources Revenue(ONRR) has assessed a $43,040 civil penalty onEQT Production Co., formerlyEquitable Production, for failure to report production on its oil and gas operations. According to ONRR Director Greg Gould, the civil penalty stems from a Feb. 24, 2011 notice of noncompliance that ONRR issued to the company. The Pittsburgh, PA-based company, which has offices in Charleston, WV, may request a hearing on the civil penalty. EQT is one of the fastest-growing exploration and production companies in the Appalachian region.
FCStone Penalized in 2008-2009 NatGas Commodity Case
FCStone LLC, a New York City-based futures commission merchant (FCM), has been slapped with a $1.5 million civil penalty by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for “failing to diligently supervise its officers and employees” relating to its business as an FCM during 2008 and part of 2009.
FCStone Hit With $1.5M Penalty in 2008-2009 NatGas Commodity Case
FCStone LLC, a New York City-based futures commission merchant (FCM), has been slapped with a $1.5 million civil penalty by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for “failing to diligently supervise its officers and employees” relating to its business as an FCM during 2008 and part of 2009.
Industry Brief
Transocean Ltd.’s agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pay $1 billion in civil penalties related to the 2010 Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico has been approved by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans. Transocean had employed nine of the 11 men who were killed when the company’s Deepwater Horizon drilling platform was destroyed. The company already has pleaded guilty to a criminal misdemeanor and agreed to pay a separate $400 million fine to DOJ (see Daily GPI, Feb. 15; Jan. 4).
BP: Market Manipulation Allegations ‘Without Merit’
BP plc’s former chief of natural gas liquids trading has accused the company of wrongfully firing him to manipulate the U.S. market.
Louisiana Sues Interior Over Redrawn Gulf Boundaries
Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has filed a civil lawsuit against the Department of Interior (DOI) over the federal government’s redrawing of Gulf of Mexico (GOM) boundaries that determine how states receive mineral royalties.
