Election

Chevron Corp., savaged in the second quarter by the hurricane-force winds of Covid-19, warned Friday that the pandemic may choke profits through September.  The San Ramon, CA-based major posted an $8.3 billion loss (minus $4.44/share), compared with net profits a year earlier of $4.3 billion ($2.27). U.S. upstream operations lost $2.1 billion, versus year-ago earnings…

Editor’s Note: This is one of a 14-piece series NGI undertook as the energy industry readied for the new year, with Lower 48 natural gas and oil supply continuing to surge in an uncertain environment as liquefied natural gas exports ramp up, Mexico markets remain shrouded and stakeholders demand more value. Get your complimentary copy of NGI’s 2020 Special Report today.

Political enthusiasm for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports reigns supreme in British Columbia (BC) as a result of the provincial election held last Tuesday.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced Friday that Michael Krancer, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), will step down on April 15 and return to practice law in Philadelphia. But the decision to replace him on an interim basis with the governor’s deputy chief of staff is being derided by Krancer’s predecessor, John Hanger.

Following President Obama’s re-election to a second term, the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) has formed a task force to challenge in court federal regulations issued by the government over the next four years that may affect oil and natural gas.

A coalition of New York landowners that supports natural gas development has endorsed a slate of candidates — all of them Republicans — for election to state office.

An environmental group opposed to high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in New York State has launched a campaign asking the top 1,000 contributors to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s reelection effort to pressure him to ban the practice.

With his third State of the Union speech behind him and the election that could deliver him a second term just over 10 months away, President Obama has taken his “Blueprint for an America Built to Last” on the road, promoting “an all-out, all-of-the-above” energy strategy to audiences in Arizona, Nevada and Colorado.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering adding two Texas counties — Wise and Hood — overlying the Barnett Shale in North Texas to the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) nonattainment area, which has failed to meet federal standards for ozone. Gas drilling activities in the region are thought by EPA to be contributing to the ground-level ozone, or smog, problem.