Decide

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide a boundary dispute brought by New Jersey against Delaware over BP’s plans to cite a 1.2 Bcf/d liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River in Logan Township, Gloucester County (see Daily GPI, Aug. 4).

The House Armed Service Committee said Friday it will hold a hearing on Wednesday to decide whether a possible merger of Unocal Corp. with the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) raises national security concerns. And in a letter to Unocal last week, attorneys general from Texas, California, Montana and New Mexico said they are seeking assurances that the company will honor its environmental obligations if CNOOC’s $18.5 billion offer is successful.

The House Armed Services Committee said Friday it will hold a hearing on Wednesday to decide whether a possible merger of Unocal Corp. with the China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) raises national security concerns.

A Houston judge may decide Wednesday whether to allow former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth Lay to have a separate trial from his alleged co-conspirators, former CEO Jeffrey Skilling and former Chief Accounting Officer Richard Causey. Lay’s attorney, who made the request on Monday, also requested that the trial, whether before a jury or not, begin by mid-September.

The boards of Royal Dutch/Shell Group’s parent companies met Friday to consider if any further actions should be taken following the 20% reserves reduction taken in January. A report by the company’s audit committee apparently puts the blame for the oil and gas reserves revisions on former Chairman Sir Philip Watts and Walter van de Vijver, the former exploration and production (E&P) chief.

If a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, should decide to review and remand to FERC an order eliminating the contract term limit for matching competing bids by pipeline shippers exercising their right-of-first-refusal (ROFR) in replacing expiring contracts, Commission Chairman Pat Wood said last Wednesday he hopes the court provides the agency with specific “Betty Crocker directions” on what it believes the term limit should be.

If a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, should decide to review and remand to FERC an order eliminating the contract term limit for matching competing bids by pipeline shippers exercising their right-of-first-refusal (ROFR) in replacing expiring contracts, Commission Chairman Pat Wood said Wednesday he hopes the court provides the agency with specific “Betty Crocker directions” on what it believes the term limit should be.

Residents in nine northeast Ohio communities have to decide by Monday (Oct. 6) whether to join or withdraw from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC), an energy aggregator, which was set up to provide natural gas to customers.

Arizona regulators are expected to finish their current review and decide whether to beef up the state’s natural gas infrastructure, including first-ever storage, by some time in September, a Phoenix-based spokesperson for the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) said Monday.