The House has introduced legislation to open federal waters off the coast of Virginia to oil and natural gas development, and the Senate is expected to offer a companion bill in the coming weeks. Virginia lawmakers in Congress and at the state level have pressured the Interior Department to open the coastal waters to offshore development for years (see NGI, July 11, 2011). The Virginia Jobs and Energy Act (HR 1782), introduced by Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA), mandates that Lease Sale 220 be conducted within one year and that one lease sale be held in subsequent five-year oil and gas leasing programs. Co-sponsors are Virginia Republican Reps. Rob Wittman, Robert Hurt and Morgan Griffith. During the last Congress, Rigell introduced similar legislation (HR 3882) after the Obama administration shut down exploration off of Virginia’s coast. Provisions of the bill passed the House in 2012 as part of a larger energy package, but it failed to make it out of Congress.
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House Renews Push to Drill Offshore Virginia
The House has introduced legislation that would open federal waters off the coast of Virginia to oil and natural gas development, and the Senate is expected to offer a companion bill in the coming weeks.
Sequestration Sidelines EIA’s Annual Energy Review
The federal government’s budget sequestration has hit the Energy Information Administration (EIA), forcing the agency to suspend publication of its Annual Energy Review (AER) and its companion publication, Energy Perspectives. The publications, which were to have come out later this year, were to have included data compiled during 2012.
Budget Concerns Force EIA to Suspend Annual Energy Review
The federal government’s budget sequestration has hit the Energy Information Administration (EIA), forcing the agency to suspend publication of its Annual Energy Review (AER) and its companion publication, Energy Perspectives. The publications, which were to have come out later this year, were to have included data compiled during 2012.
Industry Briefs
The federal government’s budget sequestration has hit the Energy Information Administration (EIA), forcing the agency to suspend publication of its Annual Energy Review (AER) and its companion publication, Energy Perspectives. The publications, which were to be released later this year, were to have included data compiled during 2012. EIA said it will expand its Monthly Energy Review (MER) to incorporate annual data as far back as 1949 for data series from about 70 key tables currently included in AER and MER. The expanded monthly publication will combine historical data usually published in the AER with up-to-date data from the MER. The announcement comes just weeks after EIA said it hoped to expand its monthly 914 survey to include individual reports on 14 states (see NGI, April 8). EIA’s ability to expand its reporting of gas production would hinge on several factors, including the federal government’s budget sequestration, Barbara Mariner-Volpe of EIA’s Office of Energy Statistics said at the time.
Florida Lawmakers Eye NatGas Transportation Tax
Companion bills in the Florida legislature would tax providers of natural gas as a transportation fuel, rather than taxing natural gas vehicle (NGV) operators as is currently done. The measures would enact a 4-cent tax/motor fuel gallon equivalent of natural gas.
Pennsylvania Closer to Regulating Gathering Lines
The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously approved legislation Tuesday to give state regulators oversight over gathering lines in the state.
Texas Bills Would Heighten Regulation of Urban Drilling
Texas state Rep. Tank Parker (R-Flower Mound) has introduced companion bills that would make urban areas with significant oil and gas drilling a priority for inspections by the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) and double the potential monetary penalty for violations.
El Paso Pipes Launch Companion Projects in Southeast; Progress Energy Signs $3.3B Service Deal
El Paso Corp. pipeline affiliates, Southern Natural Gas Co. and Florida Gas Transmission (FGT), said Friday they have begun open seasons for transportation capacity on planned and related expansions that are designed to meet the growing demand in southeastern gas markets by 2007.
El Paso Pipes Launch Companion Projects in Southeast; Progress Energy Signs $3.3B Service Deal
El Paso Corp. pipeline affiliates, Southern Natural Gas Co. and Florida Gas Transmission (FGT), said Friday they have begun open seasons for transportation capacity on planned and related expansions that are designed to meet the growing demand in southeastern gas markets by 2007.
