Disagreement

Supporters of oil and natural gas exploration in New York are in disagreement with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) over just how much of the state would be open to high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF), while an environmental group has called the agency’s latest actions “meaningless.”

A municipal natural gas distributor group Friday expressed “strong disagreement” with the Treasury Department’s claim that a House-approved bill authorizing greater Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight of the natural gas market is unwarranted.

Among the California large industrial parties there is still a bit of disagreement over the eventual allocations of the monies even as last Friday a California Superior Court in San Diego approved the $1.6 billion settlement between El Paso Corp. and four western states, including California. The state court phase of the settlement approval process drew one vocal objection from the California League of Food Processors (CLFP).

The California Public Utilities Commission held a workshop last Friday to begin sorting out the wide variation in interpretations of what the state bulk electricity buying agency, the Department of Water Resources (DWR), needs in reimbursement from utility retail electric rates.

As expected, there still is nearly complete disagreement amongOklahoma gatherers and producers over the fairness of current ratesand service treatment. Responses to a recent Oklahoma CorporationCommission (OCC) questionnaire reveal that nearly half of producerrespondents felt similarly situated producers on the same gatheringsystem received higher or lower prices than they received. Also,79% said this was unduly discriminatory.