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Despite earlier promulgations that hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can be performed safely, North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue on Sunday vetoed a bill that would have legalized the practice and begun the process for its regulation.

Global LNG prices will be in a summertime lull until wintertime following a price run-up caused by a pre-summer supply buying spree, according to analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Still, LNG markets will remain tight in the coming years as import capacity additions continue while liquefaction growth takes a breather.

Global LNG prices will be in a summertime lull until wintertime following a price run-up caused by a pre-summer supply buying spree, according to analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Still, LNG markets will remain tight in the coming years as import capacity additions continue while liquefaction growth takes a breather.

The composition of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) is changing with the election of one new member in the recent state primary and the prospect for a second new regulator following the general election in November. Current District 1 Commissioner Jason Marks is term-limited out this year. Bernalillo County Assessor Karen Montoya won a Democratic primary and will face Republican candidate Christopher Ocksrider in November for the seat. In the meantime, Valerie Espinoza, a county clerk in Santa Fe, gained sufficient votes for the District 3 seat to allow her to bypass a runoff and head straight to the PRC, replacing Douglas Howe. Howe was appointed by Gov. Susana Martinez on an interim basis to fill a vacancy created when Jerome Block resigned last year after pleading guilty to felony charges involving embezzlement of public funds.

Following a long discussion by California regulators on Thursday it became clear that there’s no agreement about whether the state needs additional underground natural gas storage or whether it is too risky to site storage in a depleted gas field in a populated area, given the lessons emerging from the San Bruno, CA, pipeline explosion two years ago.

Following “extensive discussions” with two of its largest shareholders, Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Monday announced that four existing independent directors would resign from the board. The company also has put up for sale 337,481 net acres in its prized Utica/Point Pleasant Shale, which would give it less than one million acres in the play.

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s annual meeting Friday has taken on special meaning for the company, its shareholders and the business community following corporate governance questions raised in the past two months that are hanging over the heads of CEO Aubrey McClendon and members of the board of directors. Two board members face reelection, but if big shareholder groups have their way, including the third largest, Carl Icahn, the company will see some new faces.

Al Armendariz, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Dallas office, resigned last Monday following public outcry over his remarks supporting a “crucify them” approach to enforcement of the oil and natural gas industry.

Al Armendariz, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Dallas office, resigned Monday following public outcry over his remarks supporting a “crucify them” approach to enforcement of the oil and natural gas industry.