Future

The final rules under the Dodd-Frank Act to be issued in the near future would make clear that only parties that “make markets for others on a routine basis,” would be subject to rules governing swap dealers, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Gary Gensler told a congressional committee Wednesday.

TransCanada Corp. on Monday notified the U.S. State Department that it intends to file in the “near future” a Presidential Permit application for a cross-border permit for part of the original $7 billion, 1,700-mile Keystone XL oil pipeline project running from the U.S.-Canada border in Montana to Steele City, Nebraska. The Calgary, Alberta-based pipeline company said it eventually would file a supplement to the new application with an alternative route in Nebraska.

The coming to prominence of natural gas and oil resource plays in the United States has reshaped the outlook for the country’s energy future and reconfigured the view for producers and capital markets as well, speakers at a Houston energy conference said last week.

Got ethane? Not to worry; someone will want it — now and in the future — according to analysts at Raymond James & Associates Inc. While the firm expects ethane prices to remain depressed through 1H2012, a rebound is coming in the second half of the year, and longer term the outlook is bullish for ethane demand.

Wyoming is preparing a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a hearing of the state’s challenge to the federal “roadless rule,” which potentially has an impact on oil, gas and future mineral development on federal lands (see Daily GPI, Dec. 7, 2011). Gov. Matt Mead said he decided to seek high court review following the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals denial of Wyoming’s petition for an en banc court rehearing in the case, which Mead has maintained “raises legal questions of exceptional importance.” The Tenth Circuit reversed of an earlier Wyoming federal district court injunction against the U.S. Forestry Service’s designation of additional wilderness areas through the roadless rule, and the state continues to argue that the federal forestry agency’s actions circumvented Congress, which is the only legitimate source of wilderness designations. “The roadless rule has seriously impacted Wyoming, our people, our industries and the health of our forests,” Mead said. “Given the consequences, it is important to ask the Supreme Court to hear this case.”

The coming to prominence of natural gas and oil resource plays in the United States has reshaped the outlook for the country’s energy future and reconfigured the view for producers and capital markets as well, speakers at a Houston energy conference said.

Got ethane? Not to worry; someone will want it — now and in the future — according to analysts at Raymond James & Associates Inc. While the firm expects ethane prices to remain depressed through 1H2012, a rebound is coming in the second half of the year, and longer term the outlook is bullish for ethane demand.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has placed requests for future exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on hold until it can assess their impact on the domestic price of natural gas, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a Senate panel Thursday.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has placed requests for future exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on hold until it can assess their impact on the domestic price of natural gas, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a Senate panel Thursday.