Jack

Noting that progress never comes without some hardship, North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple last Tuesday said his state is prepared to spend up to $1.2 billion over the two fiscal years ending in mid-2013 to pay for enhanced local infrastructure and services needed to support the rapid oil/gas development in the western part of the state. From July through October $312 million was already allocated for infrastructure, water and housing needs.

Noting that progress never comes without some hardship, North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple on Tuesday said his state is prepared to spend up to $1.2 billion over the two fiscal years ending in mid-2013 to pay for enhanced local infrastructure and services needed to support the rapid oil/gas development in the western part of the state. From July through October $312 million was already allocated for infrastructure, water and housing needs.

The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) has elected a top Chesapeake Energy Corp. executive to lead the industry coalition into 2012.

Environmentalists say Delaware Gov. Jack Markell will be in a key position to oppose hydraulic fracturing (fracking) when the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) meets on Monday, but they admit they are unsure of where he stands on Marcellus Shale development within the basin.

American Petroleum Institute (API) CEO Jack Gerard said regulation of the nation’s shale gas plays would best be handled by state government and cautioned against involvement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

American Petroleum Institute (API) CEO Jack Gerard predicts three energy bills introduced by U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) will pass the House with bipartisan support but face an uncertain future in the Senate. Meanwhile, the organization will continue to lobby for regulation of the shale gas industry at the state level.

Noting that his company is well positioned long term for mid-range natural gas prices and tougher environmental restrictions, Calpine Corp. CEO Jack Fusco reiterated Friday that the nation’s largest independent power producer continues to treat gas as its strategic ally. Calpine’s mostly new, natural gas-fired power plant fleet has the ability to benefit from both price and demand increases when they occur in the electricity sector, Fusco said in reporting decreased earnings last year.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Thursday announced that she will block the nomination of Jack Lew to be director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) until the moratorium on deepwater oil and natural gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has been lifted or significantly modified.

The Interior Department and American Petroleum Institute (API) President Jack Gerard engaged in a war of words last Wednesday over the impact of the Obama administration’s policies on the development of onshore and offshore oil and natural gas.