Cuomo

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reportedly repeated his promise to make a decision on whether to lift a moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) before the next gubernatorial election in 2014.

One month after declaring bankruptcy, two subsidiaries of Norway’s Norse Energy Corp. ASA plan to sue Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state officials in New York State Supreme Court in an effort to compel them to complete a supplemental generic environmental impact statement (SGEIS) on high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF).

U.S. Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) blasted New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, accusing the governor of stalling on a decision to possibly permit high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in the state.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he believes high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) could mesh with the state’s economic development plans, but he said there was no news regarding a health impact analysis of the practice.

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. announced Monday that it had closed on the sale of a majority of its leasehold in the northern Utica Shale to an undisclosed buyer for $43 million in cash.

Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc. has nearly completed a vertical test well in New York State’s portion of the Marcellus Shale and will make its next move in the play once geological samples are analyzed and regulatory uncertainty in the state clears.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has given Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) the go-ahead to place into service the remaining facilities that are part of the first phase of its 225,000 Dth/d expansion of its system to serve growing natural gas markets in the Southeast. The Phase I project, which would add 95,000 Dth/d, is scheduled to begin service this month. Construction of Phase II, which would add 130,000 Dth/d, is expected to go into service in June 2013. Transco has estimated the capital cost of the project at $217 million. The Mid-South Expansion Project consists of five loops totaling 23 miles of new pipeline. The facilities in the first phase that were approved for service include three loops in Randolph County, AL; and Gaston County and Davidson County, NC, as well as modifications to existing compressor stations in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina [CP11-18]. Transco said it has entered into binding precedent agreements for 100% of the incremental firm transportation service to be provided by the project (see NGI, May 31, 2010).

New York’s registered voters favor the economic benefits of drilling in the Marcellus Shale more than they fear environmental problems, according to a poll released on Thursday by Quinnipiac University. All voters — Republicans, Democrats and Independents — also favor taxing gas producers.

The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) said it would deliver to Gov. Andrew Cuomo a petition calling on the state to protect drinking water from the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking). New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is due to complete work on a supplemental generic environmental impact statement on hydrofracking this summer (see Shale Daily, April 13). The NYPIRG, a student-run organization with chapters on 20 college campuses in the state, told the Associated Press its petition had been signed by more than 10,000 New Yorkers.