Discuss

Representatives of the oil and natural gas industry were among those gathered at the White House last Thursday to discuss the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on energy interests last year and to brief President Obama on the outlook for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially began Saturday (June 1) and continues to Nov. 30.

Representatives of the oil and natural gas industry were among those gathered at the White House Thursday to discuss the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on energy interests last year and to brief President Obama on the outlook for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially runs June 1-Nov. 30.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) plans to hold an invitation-only meeting on Thursday to discuss a request by two energy companies to access their mineral rights under the Loyalsock State Forest.

FERC Monday said it is holding a technical conference in late September to discuss actions that industry has taken in response to an August 2011 report on the weather-driven power outages and natural gas curtailments in early 2011.

Pennsylvania is reportedly planning to resume paying its dues to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2012-2013, but New York wants to continue cutting its contribution to the watershed protection organization.

The Pennsylvania state Senate met briefly Tuesday before adjourning until Jan. 17, but it did not discuss legislation to impose a fee on unconventional natural gas drilling. Until the Senate takes action on House Bill 1950 the legislation cannot proceed to a conference committee for a process where members of both chambers and both parties will hammer out differences. Although current lawmakers are in office until November, many have urged the General Assembly to pass something before Gov. Tom Corbett announces his budget priorities in early February. The six-member committee would include three senators and three representatives, with two members of each chamber coming from the majority party and one coming from the minority.

Commerce City, CO, has invoked a 30-day “time out” on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to give city officials time to further discuss their concerns with the oil and gas industry. City officials took the action late Monday in lieu of a proposed six-month ban on fracking.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has called the state legislature into a special session scheduled to begin Sunday (Dec. 11) to discuss, and possibly pass, a compromise Marcellus Shale regulatory reform bill as early as this week. The Joint Select Committee on Marcellus Shale (JSCMS), a 10-member bipartisan committee, has been working on legislation informally known as the Marcellus Draft Bill (MDB) for weeks. The JSCMS used a failed bill called the Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act, also known as SB 424, as the bill’s foundation (see NGI, Aug. 15). The shale gas industry is concerned by an amendment calling for operators to pay a $10,000 permitting fee for the first well drilled on a pad and $5,000 for each additional well well (see NGI, Nov. 28; Sept. 19). The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection also has proposed increasing horizontal drilling fees to $10,000 — up from the current $650 paid by all drillers — to fund additional inspectors (see NGI, Feb. 14).

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin appears poised to call a special session of the legislature in mid-December to discuss, and hopefully pass, a compromise Marcellus Shale regulatory reform bill.