Fight

Less than a month after renewing its fight for the right to drill its leases at Hensley Field in southwest Dallas, ExxonMobil Corp.’s XTO Energy told the Dallas City Planning Commission to strike its request for specific use permits from the agenda for its Dec. 20 meeting.

Less than a month after renewing its fight for the right to drill its leases at in southwest Dallas, ExxonMobil Corp.’s XTO Energy told the Dallas City Planning Commission to strike its request for specific use permits from the agenda for its Dec. 20 meeting.

Williams CEO Alan Armstrong last week called on the natural gas industry to join the fight against the Sierra Club’s legal challenge the issuance of nationwide permits (NWP) to natural gas pipelines to cross streams/wetlands during the construction of projects. A win by the environmental group in federal court would require pipeline companies to go through the onerous process to obtain individual Section 404 permits under the Clean Water Act (CWA) for each water crossing in their project.

Williams CEO Alan Armstrong Tuesday called on the natural gas industry to join the fight against the Sierra Club’s challenge to the pipeline stream crossings rule that threatens construction of pipeline projects across the country.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he is prepared to fight his fellow Republicans in the General Assembly who are unenthusiastic about his plans to restructure taxes and regulations on the oil and natural gas industry.

Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp.’s utility, Black Hills Energy-Colorado Electric, has vowed to fight a state regulatory judge’s recommendation to deny a proposal to build an 88 MW natural gas-fired peaking generation plant to replace a coal-fired plant that is mandated to close. The proposed plant is part of a multi-party settlement.

With a drilling industry begun in the mid-1800s and modifications to its decades-old oil and gas law in place, Ohio is well prepared for the kind of shale industry growth that has to varying degrees overwhelmed other states, according to Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) Executive Vice President Tom Stewart.

U.S. shale liquids production could triple during the next few years, nearing 1.5 million b/d, according to an “Energy Insight” report from a Massachusetts-based energy consulting firm, Energy Security Analysis Inc. (ESAI). The eventual impact on U.S. imports and exports of energy could be significant, but there are still uncertainties and challenges.

Regulatory dueling over tolls on TransCanada Corp.’s natural gas mainline west from Alberta has escalated into a fresh fight over a proposed facilities addition to the pipeline’s eastern end in Ontario.