Durbin

Long-time energy industry insider Marty Durbin, who has worked on behalf of the U.S. oil and gas sector for the last decade, has taken the helm at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute (GEI) at what he said is a pivotal time as the country wrestles with how to address climate change.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) said Tuesday Executive Vice President Marty Durbin will step down on Jan. 31 after nearly a decade of representing the oil and natural gas industry.

The West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association (WVONGA) has hired Anne C. Blankenship as executive director. An energy attorney at Babst Calland’s Charleston office, Blankenship has nearly 15 years of experience working in the industry. She previously served as WVONGA’s chief counsel. The appointment ends a search that was launched by the organization’s board of directors to replace Nicholas “Corky” DeMarco, who died unexpectedly in July. Babst Calland works on behalf of the industry throughout the Appalachian Basin. Blankenship “has a deep background in law and environmental regulations and is a skilled communicator,” said board President Maribeth Anderson. Blankenship starts the new job on Nov. 28.

America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) is set to fold into the American Petroleum Institute (API) by Jan. 1, which would continue to represent the nation’s independent natural gas producers and promote new markets for the resource after the organizations merge in January.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) should give blanket liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approval to anyone who wants it and let projects queue up at FERC for their environmental reviews, America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) CEO Marty Durbin said Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) should give blanket liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approval to anyone who wants it and let projects queue up at FERC for their environmental reviews, America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) CEO Marty Durbin said Thursday.

America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) believes more lawmakers in Congress support liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports than oppose them and supports changes at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in approving such export facilities. But ANGA cautioned that environmental groups opposed to oil and gas drilling have made inroads at the local government level.

President Obama’s tilt toward accepting the economic opportunities from U.S. natural gas abundance may have been in fits and starts, but the right-leaning oil and gas industry is finding a lot to praise today, industry officials said Wednesday.