District

A federal judge in the 10th District Court in Ensenada, Mexico, has permanently blocked the City of Ensenada from attempting to shut operations at Sempra Energy’s Energia Costa Azul liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal along the Pacific Coast of North Baja California. Other litigation by an adjacent landowner remains unresolved, although Sempra maintains that it will eventually prevail.

Former Houston gas trader Stephanie Roqumore was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Houston to six years in federal prison without parole for defrauding numerous natural gas trading companies of nearly $8 million. In February Roqumore, 48, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, admitting that from March 2002 through April 2010 she used fraudulent financial statements to defraud 12 companies (see NGI, Feb. 14). She was ordered to pay $7.8 million in restitution to the victim companies.

Despite the opposition of Gov. Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania lawmakers from both sides of the aisle continue to look for ways to generate revenue from the Marcellus Shale.

The Interior Department scored a partial victory last Wednesday when U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in Louisiana rejected industry allegations that the department exceeded its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) by imposing new permitting requirements for developmental drilling in the western Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

In his first favorable ruling for the Interior Department, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in Louisiana rejected industry allegations that the department exceeded its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) by imposing new permitting requirements for developmental drilling in the western Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

It may be too early to compare it to Houston, but little Canonsburg, PA — until recently known more for its annual Fourth of July parade than its business district — has over the past two years become the home to some of the Marcellus Shale’s biggest operators.

It may be too early to compare it to Houston, but little Canonsburg, PA — until recently known more for its annual Fourth of July parade than its business district — has over the past two years become the home to some of the Marcellus Shale’s biggest operators.

It may be too early to compare it to Houston, but little Canonsburg, PA — until recently known more for its annual Fourth of July parade than its business district — has over the past two years become the home to some of the Marcellus Shale’s biggest operators.

Truck traffic on Pennsylvania roads that is generated by Marcellus Shale drilling operations has cost the state $30-35 million more than the industry is providing for road repairs, according to a report by the state’s Department of Transportation (DOT).