Compliance

Tulsa-based Unit Corp. this month joined a long list of Lower 48 operators whose share values have plummeted this year and has been given six months to regain compliance under New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) rules.

The Trump administration has outlined its plans in federal court to ultimately rescind or revise a rule promulgated by the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) governing flaring and venting of associated natural gas on public and tribal lands.

The general partner ofPennTex Midstream Partners LP has recommended that its unitholders accept a tender offer of $20/unit from Energy Transfer Partners LP (ETP) for all of the partnership’s outstanding common units. PennTex has assets in North Louisiana. Last fall, ETPannounced a $640 million deal to acquire an interest in the assets, which serve Range Resources Corp., among other producers. PennTex received the unsolicited offer from ETP last month.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Monday told Frisco, TX-based Comstock Resources Inc. that the company is in full compliance with continued listing standards for the exchange. The determination was based on “…consistent and positive performance with respect to the plan the company previously submitted to regain compliance and its achievement of compliance with the minimum market capitalization and shareholders’ equity requirements,” according to Comstock. The company will be subject to a 12-month follow-up period to ensure continued compliance. Last month Comstock management discussed post-recapitalization plans, which include writing off acreage in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale and focusing more intently on the Haynesville Shale.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has granted Dominion Transmission Inc.’s (DTI) Nov. 29request for authorization to place into service the Stonewall Metering and Regulating Station in Loudoun County, VA, a part of DTI’s Leidy South Project [CP15-492]. A supplemental request to commence service for the remaining Leidy South Project facilities is required, according to FERC. Leidy South would serve new and existing power generation facilities with natural gas traveling from the Leidy Interconnect in Clinton, PA, to points in Loudoun County. Panda Stonewall LLC, Virginia Power Services Energy Corp. Inc. and Mattawoman Energy LLC have signed binding agreements for all of the project capacity. The estimated cost is $209.66 million. DTI filed its application for the project with the Commission in 2015, received a favorable environmental assessment from staff in March and approval in late August.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said on Monday that it has fined CNX Gas Company LLC and Cone Midstream Partners LP a total of $184,000 for failing to construct pipelines as approved by the agency.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday reaffirmed in a supplemental filing that the benefits of its limits on mercury emissions from U.S. power plants outweigh the costs.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday reaffirmed in a supplemental filing that the benefits of its limits on mercury emissions from U.S. power plants outweigh the costs.

Heading into 2016, energy companies are having to adapt their regulatory compliance efforts to increasingly account for risk, according to Deloitte & Touche LLP’s “Top Regulatory Trends for 2016 in Energy.”