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FERC last week approved a joint request for temporary waivers of some agency regulations to facilitate the $3.75 billion sale of Apache Corp.’s Gulf of Mexico (GOM) assets to Fieldwood Energy LLC.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday issued long-awaitedproposed rulesfor greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for new power plants, leaving gas-fired plants mostly unaffected but making construction of new coal-fired plants problematic.

For the week ending Sept. 20 physical gas prices nationally averaged a 7-cent gain to $3.67. A handful of eastern points fell into the loss column but for the most part gains of a nickel to a dime at individual points were common. The Northeast was the only region posting a loss, down 3 cents to $3.39 and East Texas was the biggest winner adding 10 cents to average $3.69.

A manufacturers’ trade association has filed out of time to comment and intervene in the next U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export license case, arguing that recent export approvals show a need for “more particularized and informative standards” in evaluating applications.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said Thursday he would join Republicans in voting against former Colorado regulator Ron Binz for FERC chairman, which would sink his nomination if the rest of the votes in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee split along party lines.

North America should find plenty of outlets for its copious natural gas reserves, but some questions need to be clarified soon, such as whether to allow manufacturers to dictate how much supply remains onshore, or whether the free market fuels an export revolution, according to Statoil ASA’s chief economist.

A report by environmental group Earthworks on the Eagle Ford Shale alleges “reckless endangerment” by regulator Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ); however, TCEQ has fired back that Earthworks is being reckless with the facts of its monitoring and enforcement of drilling, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and production in the region.

A FERC quarterly update of various regional efforts to coordinate natural gas and electric markets shows that the New England and Northeast generation markets will continue to be the most gas-dependent during the upcoming heating season.

Dominion Resources Inc. is well into the process to secure a partner to farm-out about 100,000 prospective liquids-rich acres in West Virginia, offering a can’t-lose proposition for both sides, a spokesman said last week.