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Thanks to abundant shale gas supplies and appliance efficiency gains, a homeowner in Connecticut could save $1,800 per year by switching to natural gas heating from fuel oil, according to a trio of utilities in the state that have launched a campaign to get consumers to switch to gas.

After disconcerting Utica Shale production figures were released earlier this month by Ohio regulators, industry analysts said they were disappointed with the results of the first two test wells Halcon Resources Corp. drilled in the play, and EV Energy Partners (EVEP) said it is continuing to look for buyers interested in its holdings there.

The New York State Petroleum Council (NYSPC), a division of the American Petroleum Institute (API), announced Monday that it would conduct the first of a series of free webinars about hydraulic fracturing for the public on Wednesday.

Exporting liquefied U.S. gas could create tens of thousands of jobs but would have “only minimal impacts” on the prices U.S. consumers and industry pay for gas supply, according to a new report prepared by ICF International for the American Petroleum Institute (API). It’s the latest word, of many, in the ongoing discussion about whether exporting some of America’s gas bounty is prudence or folly (see related story).

Exporting liquefied U.S. gas could create tens of thousands of jobs but would have “only minimal impacts” on the prices U.S. consumers and industry pay for gas supply, according to a new report prepared by ICF International for the American Petroleum Institute (API). It’s the latest word, of many, in the ongoing discussion about whether exporting some of America’s gas bounty is prudence or folly.

Former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling, 59, reached agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that could allow him to be free as soon as 2017, according to a court filing. Skilling agreed to waive his rights to any further appeals and would allow more than $40 million of forfeited assets to be distributed to victims of Enron’s colossal collapse in 2001. Skilling was convicted in 2006 by a Houston jury on 19 criminal counts and originally was sentenced to federal prison for 24 years and four months (see NGI, May 29, 2006). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans twice said the sentence had been miscalculated (see NGI, April 11, 2011). “Although the recommended sentence for Jeff would still be more than double any other Enron defendant, all of whom have long been out of prison, Jeff will at least have the chance to get back a meaningful part of his life,” said Skilling attorney Daniel M. Petrocelli.

Energy Transfer Partners LP’s (ETP) Trunkline LNG Gulf Coast export project could have authorization to send liquefied U.S. gas to non-free trade agreement (FTA) countries within 60-90 days as pressure is building for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to decide on the next one or two projects in the applicant queue, ETP COO Mackie McCrea said Thursday.

Former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling, 59, has reached agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that could allow him to be free as soon as 2017, according to a court filing. Under the agreement, Skilling is waiving his rights to any further appeals and would allow more than $40 million of his forfeited assets to be distributed to victims of Enron’s colossal collapse in 2001. Skilling was convicted in 2006 by a Houston jury on 19 criminal counts and originally was sentenced to federal prison for 24 years and four months (see NGI, May 29, 2006). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans twice said the sentence had been miscalculated by the district court (see NGI, April 11, 2011). “The proposed agreement brings certainty and finality to a long painful process,” said Skilling lawyer Daniel M. Petrocelli. “Although the recommended sentence for Jeff would still be more than double any other Enron defendant, all of whom have long been out of prison, Jeff will at least have the chance to get back a meaningful part of his life.”

A decision about whether to retire the still idle San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in Southern California could come by the end of this year, the CEO of Edison International, the majority owner/operator, said Tuesday.