Intervention

Without dramatic intervention North Dakota’s natural gas flaring — already costing about $100 million/month — is going to get worse even if the percentage of total production flared goes down, as state and industry officials predict, according to a report released Monday by Boston-based social responsibility nonprofit organization Ceres.

Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead claimed on Monday that Wyoming has found ways to solve its energy issues without federal intervention. In his state of the state address, the governor said Wyoming is exporting more Btus than any other state; minerals, including oil and gas, make up 80% of the state’s revenues.

Barring an intervention by policymakers to restrict hydraulic fracturing, and as long as there is a worldwide economic recovery, steady growth will continue within the natural gas industry through 2030 because of growing worldwide demand, energy experts said last week.

The sponsors of Weaver’s Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) project have called on FERC to reject “outright” the U.S. Navy’s request for late intervention in the controversial case to site the proposed terminal in Fall River, MA.

New Mexico state officials promised Monday not to go quietly in the wake of White House intervention to speed up consideration of Houston-based El Paso Corp.’s plans to drill for coalbed methane in a pristine national forest region in the northeastern part of the state. An energy task force set up by the Bush Administration has overridden U.S. Forest Service opposition, according to a front page report in the Los Angeles Times.

Even with more federal regulatory intervention and a return to closer-to-normal hydroelectric supplies in the future, California is facing at least two more years of electricity supply-demand imbalance and the prospect for higher wholesale power prices as a result, according to Andre Meade, utility analyst at Commerzbank Securities.

Even with more federal regulatory intervention and a return to closer-to-normal hydroelectric supplies in the future, California is facing at least two more years of electricity supply-demand imbalance and the prospect for higher wholesale power prices as a result, according to Andre Meade, utility analyst at Commerzbank Securities.

The finger-pointing and calls for market intervention — mostnotably centered on electricity price caps —heated up fasterthan the temperatures on both coasts this week, with merchantgenerators and incumbent regulated utilities drawing the ire ofstate and federal policymakers.

The finger-pointing and calls for market intervention — mostnotably centered on electricity price caps — heated up fasterthan the temperatures on both coasts this week, with merchantgenerators and incumbent regulated utilities drawing the ire ofstate and federal policymakers.