Finger

Finger pointing has begun among the federal, state and industry stakeholders in the ongoing effort to determine whether natural gas drilling in and around Pavillion, WY, has impacted ground water supplies.

Pointing the finger of blame squarely on the operator and regulators, federal safety officials at a meeting of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) last Tuesday in Washington, DC, described last September’s fatal San Bruno, CA, natural gas transmission pipeline rupture and explosion as preventable and resulting from systemic “flawed” pipeline operations and regulatory oversight.

Late Friday Anadarko Petroleum Corp. — a 25% partner with BP plc in the disastrous Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) — pointed the finger directly at its London-based partner and assigned blame for the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. BP fired back that it intends to continue doing its part, but noted that its partners also have “obligations.”

The head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Thursday pointed a finger at Wall Street for its lackluster support for regulation of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market as proposed in the sweeping financial reform package that is pending in Congress.

The head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Thursday pointed a finger at Wall Street for its lackluster support for regulation of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market as proposed in the sweeping financial reform package that is pending in Congress.

TransCanada Corp., which has its finger in some of the biggest gas projects in North America, including the Alaska Gasline Project and the proposed Mackenzie Gas Pipeline, is looking down the road toward even more opportunities, a company executive said last month.

TransCanada Corp., which has its finger in some of the biggest gas projects in North America, including the Alaska Gasline Project and the proposed Mackenzie Gas Pipeline, is looking down the road toward even more opportunities, Dean Ferguson, vice president of marketing, business development and regulatory affairs for the TransCanada’s U.S. Pipeline Central unit, told a GasMart 2008 audience in Chicago last week.

FERC will issue a final report on the results of its high-profile investigation into manipulation of energy prices in western markets either by the end of the year or in mid-February 2003 at the latest, Chairman Pat Wood told energy analysts and executives last week.

Class-action lawsuits overshadowed the political finger-pointing in California last week as multiple El Paso Energy and Sempra Energy subsidiaries were hit with complaints for alleged conspiracy and price manipulation that led to abnormally high gas prices for consumers.