Curb

In what appears to be yet another victory for the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in its efforts to curb speculative trading activity in the energy commodities markets, Barclays Bank plc announced Friday morning that it will temporarily suspend all additional issuances of its iPath Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return Exchange Traded Notes (GAZ) until further notice. The bank chose to halt new share issuances “in light of current market dynamics and ongoing regulatory review.”

Claiming that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service are refusing to curb harmful air pollution and safeguard public health in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico from oil and gas drilling, three environmental groups have renewed and expanded their original lawsuit against the government.

Claiming that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service are refusing to curb harmful air pollution and safeguard public health in the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico from oil and gas drilling, three environmental groups this week renewed and expanded their original lawsuit against the government.

Against a backdrop of falling crude oil and natural gas prices, the House Thursday passed by an overwhelming margin legislation that seeks to curb “excessive” speculation in the energy markets.

ExxonMobil Corp. has been ordered to curb the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its Shute Creek natural gas processing facility near LaBarge, WY, and redirect the emissions into pipelines for enhanced oil recovery under a resolution passed by the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The commission wants the oil major to submit progress reports detailing progress in marketing the CO2 vented from the facility, which is produced in association with sour gas production. ExxonMobil sold an average of 207 MMcf/d of CO2 last year for enhanced oil recovery, but it vented another 181 MMcf/d of CO2, according to the commission. Under the order, ExxonMobil may be forced to secure interruptible customer contracts for CO2 delivery. “They recognize what we have no argument with: That is, there are hedging opportunities in the CO2 market,” ExxonMobil spokeswoman Sara K. Tays told the Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming. “The goal is to safely market everything you can.” With oil and gas prices soaring, Wyoming officials said they want to help producers secure flows of CO2, which may be injected into maturing fields to extract volumes that were unrecoverable through conventional production methods.

In its attempt to investigate and curb natural gas market manipulation, FERC’s encroachment into the purview of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) could lead to jurisdictional conflicts and an onerous burden for market participants, industry leaders told Capitol Hill lawmakers last week.

In its attempt to investigate and curb natural gas market manipulation, FERC’s encroachment into the purview of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) could lead to jurisdictional conflicts and an onerous burden for market participants, industry leaders told Capitol Hill lawmakers Wednesday.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration expects to have draft recommendations by this fall that may determine how the state will curb emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and cut its contribution to global warming.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration expects to have draft recommendations on the table by this fall that may determine how the state will curb emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and cut the state’s contribution to global warming.