Five

The House Natural Resources Committee last Wednesday authorized its chairman to subpoena five Obama administration officials who are said to have direct knowledge or involvement in the drafting, editing or review of an Interior Department report that recommended a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in May 2010 following the Macondo well blowout (see NGI, April 26, 2010).

ESAI Energy’s five-year “Global Industrial Fuels Outlook” concludes that the natural gas liquids (NGL) boom from shale gas development will spur export-oriented investment in petrochemical facilities. Higher petrochemical exports from the United States will target the Latin American market, deterring petrochemical investment in that region.

The House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday authorized its chairman to subpoena five Obama administration officials who are said to have direct knowledge or involvement in the drafting, editing or review of an Interior Department report that recommended a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) in May 2010 following the Macondo well blowout (see Daily GPI, April 22, 2010).

Varying levels of support and caution regarding a national shift to increased use of natural gas vehicles (NGV) were offered Tuesday from a panel of five experts testifying at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Experts and the senators alike shied away from calling for reconsideration of national legislation to boost NGVs.

In a move anticipated by oil and natural gas producers, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) said Monday it was suspending 64 water withdrawal permits due to ongoing drought conditions in the basin, the highest number of suspensions since it began issuing permits in 2008.

Braskem America on Wednesday agreed to take over some of the petrochemical operations at the old Sunoco Marcus Hook Industrial Complex south of Philadelphia with a $56 million infusion and another $15 million in state support that preserves more than 100 jobs and creates at least 28 more.

The five-member California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Thursday denied a long-standing proposal to develop an idle dry natural gas field into an underground storage project beneath a residential community in Sacramento. CPUC members voted 3-2 against the 7.5 Bcf capacity independent project.

Responding to suggestions from the energy industry, FERC on Tuesday announced that it is planning five conferences in August to explore the growing interdependence between the North American natural gas and electricity grids. The technical sessions are labeled as a way to improve coordination of the gas and power markets.

Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern Transmission LP is proposing a pipeline expansion project to carry natural gas produced in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas across the Mexican border.