Downplayed

As the Pine Ridge fire in Colorado expanded Friday, up to 50 natural gas wells were shut in by three operators along the Western Slope in the Piceance Basin. In one case, wells were shut before operators were asked to do so by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM), according to the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA).

In testimony to a Congressional committee last Wednesday, a FERC staffer downplayed the assertion made in a recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report that there is disagreement among experts over the distance at which a fire from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) spill would pose a threat of burns.

In testimony to a Congressional committee Wednesday, a FERC staffer downplayed the assertion made in a recent General Accounting Office (GAO) report that there is disagreement among experts over the distance at which a fire from a liquefied natural gas (LNG) spill would pose a threat of burns.

Joseph Blount, chairman of the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA), on Thursday downplayed concerns that growing imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the United States could lead to the formation of a “cartel” similar to that seen in the global oil sector.

A spokesman for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer downplayed reports last Monday that the state was near a settlement with El Paso Corp. over claims that the company’s major pipeline subsidiary withheld capacity to drive up natural gas prices during the California energy crisis in 2000 and 2001.

A spokesman for California Attorney General Bill Lockyer downplayed reports late Monday that the state was near a settlement with El Paso Corp. over claims that the company’s major pipeline subsidiary withheld capacity to drive up natural gas prices during the California energy crisis in 2000 and 2001.