Hill

Despite what Capitol Hill lawmakers, regulators and energy consumers may think, natural gas producers aren’t raking in the big bucks, said Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon last Thursday.

Despite what Capitol Hill lawmakers, regulators and energy consumers may think, natural gas producers aren’t raking in the big bucks, said Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon Thursday.

In the end, last week’s Capitol Hill photo-op for the green side turned out to be a broad, nationwide public relations/lobbying effort to urge federal powers in Washington, DC, to frame a national response to global warming. Twelve states, 20 financial services firms, and a dozen each foundations and business leaders comprised 65 signatories to a “call to action” in the nation’s capital.

Former Vice President Al Gore last week was back on Capitol Hill, not to announce any future election plans, but rather to appear before his former colleagues and testify about an issue he first held hearings on as a congressman from Tennessee 20 years ago: global warming.

Due to a required but unplanned pipeline inspection, ANR restricted its segment between the E.G. Hill and Custer Compressor Stations in the Southwest Gathering Area to 200 MMcf/d Wednesday. “At this time, it is anticipated this restriction will be in place through the weekend or until more information becomes available,” ANR said. Based on recent nominations, it expected that the reduction would result in the curtailment of nominations associated with IT and Firm Catalog Receipt Points in the affected area.

Nevada attorney Jon Wellinghoff was sworn in last Monday as a new FERC commissioner by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada at his Capitol Hill office. He is the last of the three FERC nominees to take the oath of office. The commissioners already are at work at the agency, according to a FERC spokeswoman.

Nevada attorney Jon Wellinghoff was sworn in Monday as a new FERC commissioner by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada at his Capitol Hill office. He is the last of the three FERC nominees to take the oath of office. The commissioners already are at work at the agency, according to a FERC spokeswoman.

Rising gasoline prices have re-ignited calls on Capitol Hill for a windfall tax on major energy producers’ profits. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, over the weekend said lawmakers should consider levying the tax.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) was taken to a Washington, DC-area hospital Thursday after suffering a heart attack following a conference committee session on Capitol Hill. Barton, 56, was “resting comfortably after Thursday evening’s heart attack,” his office reported. His physician, Dr. Jonathan Samuel Reiner of George Washington University Hospital, “has expressed…confidence in a full and complete recovery,” said a Barton press aide in a statement. The aide added that she expected Barton to go home within a few days. Barton is chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee and was one of the chief architects of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which Congress passed in July.