Cooperation

Natural gas wells on Utah’s federal lands could nearly double under a major new development plan created with the cooperation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which includes best practices to reduce air pollution.

Natural gas wells on Utah’s federal lands could nearly double under a major new development plan created with the cooperation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Kerr-McGee and including best practices to reduce air pollution.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on Tuesday fined Chesapeake Energy Corp. nearly $1.09 million for violations related to natural gas drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and its United Kingdom counterpart, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), have begun to work “to enhance cooperation and the exchange of information” to supervise cross-border clearinghouses. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed Monday by CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler and FSA CEO Hector Sants took effect immediately. According to the CFTC, the MOU “is an important step in ensuring the sound oversight of clearing houses providing services in both the United States and the United Kingdom and will help promote market integrity and appropriate customer protection in the global derivatives markets.”

Citing customer cooperation and warmer weather, Northwest said it will adjust the Overrun Entitlement for all Receiving Parties located north of the Plymouth Compressor Station — including the Grants Pass, Spokane and Wenatchee Laterals — to Stage III (13% tolerance for daily imbalances) effective Tuesday; the entitlement had previously been set as Stage II with 8% tolerance (see Daily GPI, Dec. 5). There is currently no declared entitlement south of Plymouth, Northwest said, but if Receiving Parties south of Plymouth begin drafting excessively, it may declare an entitlement there.

The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a tri-national commission set up under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has denied a request by Mexico to suspend an investigation into whether the country violated its own laws when it approved a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal next to a biodiversity hotspot on the U.S. border.

The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a tri-national commission set up under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), last week denied a request by Mexico to suspend an investigation into whether the country violated its own laws when it approved a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal next to a biodiversity hotspot on the U.S. border.

Ex-Enron Corp. CFO Andrew Fastow, who was sentenced to six years in prison last month (see Daily GPI, Sept. 27), will be given a day pass through October to allow him to participate in a deposition to prepare for a trial against several of Enron’s former banking partners. Also on Friday, Dynegy Inc. agreed to pay Enron $44 million to resolve litigation issues, a bank settled with Enron for another $20 million, and Enron’s former corporate secretary received probation for helping prosecutors convict Enron founder Kenneth Lay and ex-CEO Jeffrey Skilling.

Natural gas markets worldwide are showing increasing convergence, particularly among the Organization of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) countries, and that trend, spurred by increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) traffic, is expected to continue, according to Raymond James’ Energy Stat of the Week.