President Obama last Wednesday announced his intent to nominate John Norris, currently chief of staff for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and a former Iowa regulator, as a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, raising questions as to whether Norris, a close Obama friend, will replace Jon Wellinghoff as FERC chairman.
Intent
Articles from Intent
Obama Taps Former Iowa Regulator for FERC
President Obama has announced his intent to nominate John Norris, currently chief of staff for Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and a former Iowa regulator, as a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, raising questions as to whether Norris, a close Obama friend, will replace Jon Wellinghoff as FERC chairman.
Chilton Nominated for Second Term at CFTC
President Obama Tuesday announced his intent to nominate Commissioner Bart Chilton for a second term on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
People
President Obama announced his intent to nominate Richard C. Newell, an associate professor of energy and environmental economics at Duke University, for administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA). He succeeds Guy Caruso, who headed up the EIA under the Bush administration. Howard Gruenspecht has served as acting EIA administrator in the interim. Newell has written widely on the economics of markets and policies for energy, the environment and related technologies, particularly alternatives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving other energy and environmental goals. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, his master’s from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and his bachelor’s from Rutgers University.
Industry Brief
Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) is extending the public comment period for the call for information and notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement on a proposed lease sale for off the coast of Virginia in 2011. The comment period was due to close on Dec. 29, but it has been extended to Jan. 13. This is the first lease sale that MMS has proposed off the East Coast in nearly three decades. The proposed sale area, which is at least 50 miles offshore and covers 2.9 million acres in water depths of 100 feet to 10,000 feet, is believed to contain 1.14 Tcf of natural gas and 130 MMbbl of crude oil, according to the agency.
Regulators to Enforce Stricter Rules for Producers in Marcellus
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), an independent interstate compact agency, has notified natural gas producers of its intent to enforce stricter regulations with respect to the use of water to develop wells in the Marcellus, Utica and other shale formations in the Susquehanna watershed in Pennsylvania and New York. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) also has gotten tougher, requiring producers to submit water management plans as part of their applications for drilling permits.
Regulators to Enforce Stricter Rules for Producers in Marcellus
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), an independent interstate compact agency, has notified natural gas producers of its intent to enforce stricter regulations with respect to the use of water to develop wells in the Marcellus, Utica and other shale formations in the Susquehanna watershed in Pennsylvania and New York.
Quebec’s Rabaska LNG Terminal Gains Russian Partner
Gazprom Marketing & Trading USA Inc., a subsidiary of Russian natural gas producer OAO Gazprom, has signed a letter of intent outlining terms under which it will become an equity partner in the Rabaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and contract for all of the terminal’s capacity.
Quebec’s Rabaska LNG Terminal Gains Russian Partner
Gazprom Marketing & Trading USA Inc., a subsidiary of Russian natural gas producer OAO Gazprom, has signed a letter of intent outlining terms under which it will become an equity partner in the Rabaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and contract for all of the terminal’s capacity.
PG&E Partnering with El Paso on Ruby Pipeline
PG&E Corp. has signed a letter of intent to acquire a 25.5% interest in El Paso Corp.’s Ruby pipeline project, the two companies said late last month. The line would extend 680 miles from the Opal Hub in Wyoming to the Malin, OR, interconnect near California’s northern border.