Disputing

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) is disputing published allegations that top agency officials blocked auditors from recovering millions of dollars in oil and natural gas royalties from producers.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) is disputing published allegations that top agency officials blocked auditors from recovering millions of dollars in oil and natural gas royalties from producers.

A group of House Democrats led by Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts sent a letter to the American Petroleum Institute (API) Thursday disputing claims by oil and natural gas producers that a proposal restricting royalty relief would lead to the breach of existing leases or would bar so many U.S. producers from purchasing new leases that it would effectively outsource production in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere to foreign companies.

Dominion Resources is disputing Washington Gas Light’s (WGL) interpretation of a study of widespread gas leaks on the WGL distribution system in Maryland. Dominion says WGL’s aging distribution system was to blame for gas leaks, which began to increase in 2003, but WGL said the “key contributing factor” identified by the study was the presence of a large amount of imported LNG from Dominion’s Cove Point terminal in Lusby, MD.

Transwestern Pipeline is disputing California regulators’ claims that an index-based rate contract negotiated with Dynegy Marketing and Trade violates a FERC order barring the Enron-affiliated pipeline from doing such deals for a one-year period.

Transwestern Pipeline is disputing California regulators’ claims that an index-based rate contract negotiated with Dynegy Marketing and Trade violates a FERC order barring the Enron-affiliated pipeline from doing such deals for a one-year period.

FERC Chairman James Hoecker earlier this week gave theoft-disputing segments of the energy industry, especially naturalgas, an ultimatum: either play nice and come to agreement with theCommission on the series of major proposed rulemakings now facingthem, or the agency will pull the plug on comprehensive reviews inthe future.