Fate

No hearings have been set as yet for deciding the fate of several natural gas safety bills alive in the California legislature. They will wait for further committee hearings in mid-August when state lawmakers return from a month-long recess that begins Friday. Meanwhile, a number of other states are considering fracking and/or pipeline safety legislative proposals, including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Texas.

No hearings have been set as yet for deciding the fate of several natural gas safety bills alive in the California legislature. They will wait for further committee hearings in mid-August when state lawmakers return from a month-long recess that begins Friday.

While no hearings have been set as of yet for deciding the fate of several natural gas safety bills alive in the California legislature, all indicators point to the picture becoming clearer following mid-August committee hearings, when state lawmakers return from a month-long recess that begins Friday.

Although state authorities can overrule local opposition, the fate of long-standing plans for NRG Energy Inc. to repower its 100-acre natural gas-fired electric generation complex in Carlsbad, CA, remain uncertain following the completion Friday of two days of local hearings by the California Energy Commission (CEC).

Speculation continues unabated regarding the fate of RBS Sempra Commodities, which has been close to a deal to dispose of the 51% interest of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in its joint venture trading operation with San Diego-based Sempra Energy. Sempra appeared to be further away on Tuesday from making an announcement on the sale of the bank’s share, which Sempra has first-rights to obtain itself.

Speculation continues unabated regarding the fate of RBS Sempra Commodities, which has been close to a deal to dispose of the 51% interest of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in its joint venture trading operation with San Diego-based Sempra Energy. Sempra appeared to be further away on Tuesday from making an announcement on the sale of the bank’s share, which Sempra has first-rights to obtain itself.

The fate of cap-and-trade legislation became even more precarious with the upset in Massachusetts last Tuesday as Republican Scott Brown captured the seat of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The fate of cap-and-trade legislation this year became even more precarious Tuesday as Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown captured the seat of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The fate of two major long-haul natural gas pipelines intended to carry supplies to the Lower 48 appears to be stuck in neutral because of growing U.S. onshore production and the global financial crisis, U.S. and Canadian energy officials said.