Controlled

In an indication of the current lovefest between California’s Democratic-controlled state legislature and its Republican governor, free-market advocate Rachelle Chong’s confirmation to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) was unanimously approved by the state Senate Thursday, less than 24 hours after the Rules Committee put aside reservations and sent the issue to the full Senate. Without the move, Chong would have been forced to step down from the powerful agency.

The Democrat-controlled House is expected to vote on an energy package Jan. 18 that would roll back billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil and natural gas producers, as well as recoup royalties from the faulty 1998 and 1999 deepwater leases that lacked price caps. House leaders are proposing to divert the revenues to fund alternative and renewable energy sources.

The Democratic-controlled House, when it convenes Thursday, is expected to hit the ground running with several measures that have oil and natural gas producers, particularly independents, worried.

Petroleo Brasilerio (Petrobras), Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, has become a force to be reckoned with in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Over the past two years, the producer has quickly become a major foreign investor in the U.S. offshore, outbidding its rivals to obtain key tracts auctioned by the Minerals Management Services (MMS) in the western GOM.

Petroleo Brasilerio (Petrobras), Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, has become a force to be reckoned with in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Over the past two years, the producer has quickly become a major foreign investor in the U.S. offshore, outbidding its rivals to obtain key tracts auctioned by the Minerals Management Services (MMS) in the western GOM.

In keeping with other statewide initiatives to move to smart meters and more customer-controlled energy programs, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Thursday unanimously increased the size limits for self-generation solar systems to 100% of historic annual use for the previous 12 months. Currently the limit is 100% of historic peak-demand use.

The Boston Herald ran a story Thursday quoting U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA) about plans by a “major fuel company” to stage a controlled test in which a missile would be fired at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker out at sea to see if it explodes. Capuano, whose constituents live in the Boston area, which is home to Suez’s Everett LNG terminal, told the Herald such a test would help answer questions about what might happen in the event of a terrorist attack on an LNG ship in Boston Harbor.

In a financial sale announced Oct. 7 by Albuquerque-based PNM Resources, a state of Washington-based investment company controlled by Microsoft’s billionaire founder Bill Gates added to its holdings as the largest single shareholder in PNM. The transaction involved PNM Resources issuing $100 million of equity-linked securities, known as “Hybrid Income Term Security Units (HITS).”

In a financial sale announced Friday by Albuquerque-based PNM Resources a state of Washington-based investment company controlled by Microsoft’s billionaire founder Bill Gates added to its holdings as the largest single shareholder in PNM. The transaction involved PNM Resources issuing $100 million of equity-linked securities, known as “Hybrid Income Term Security Units (HITS).”