Labor

Pressured by Maine manufacturers, labor unions and energy developers, Maine Gov. John Baldacci Friday signed into law legislation that places a moratorium on a controversial plan for an energy corridor to move electricity and natural gas between New Brunswick, Canada and New England. Baldacci inked the bill only hours after the state legislature passed it.

Pressured by Maine manufacturers, labor unions and energy developers, Maine Gov. John Baldacci Friday signed into law legislation that places a moratorium on a controversial plan for an energy corridor to move electricity and natural gas between New Brunswick, Canada and New England. Baldacci inked the bill only hours after the state legislature passed it.

More than a million natural gas customers are going to be added in Oregon and Washington during the next 20 years, according to business-labor coalition Energy Action Northwest, and it behooves the keepers of the region’s infrastructure to prepare for the growth. However, that is not happening fast enough for Edward Finklea, an energy attorney and executive director of the coalition.

A business-labor coalition told an Oregon legislative committee Thursday it opposes a bill (HB 2015), which it alleges would prevent development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the state. Energy Action Northwest said it is fighting for “responsible energy policy.”

A business/labor coalition put its push for the development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and related transmission pipeline into a full-page advertisement in the Portland Oregonian Sunday, urging Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the state legislature to back the major new natural gas infrastructure projects as a job-creating economic stimulus for the state.

January natural gas futures fell sharply as traders had to deal with a highly negative employment report. Labor Department figures showed the most jobs lost in 34 years, yet the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in positive territory following the release of an upbeat forecast by a major insurer. January natural gas fell 27.5 cents to $5.742 and February lost 28.3 cents to $5.767. February crude oil continued its losing ways, dropping $2.86 to $40.81/bbl.

Amidst the malaise of a two-month-old budget impasse as the California legislature ended its regular session during the Labor Day weekend, a bill was passed under the radar allowing the City of Long Beach and the state to renegotiate a deal with locally based Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) to redrill the 76-year-old Wilmington oilfield near the Port of Long Beach. The bill needs the governor’s action by the end of September.

NorthernStar Natural Gas Friday delivered nearly 800 supporter postcards to Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski as part of a two-month campaign to rally labor organizations, families and small businesses in support of its plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal at Bradwood Landing on the Oregon side of the Columbia River just east of where it meets the Pacific Ocean. A total of 1,460 cards have been collected during the past two months, the company said.

Amidst the malaise of a two-month-old budget impasse as the California legislature ended its regular session during the Labor Day weekend, a bill was passed under the radar allowing the City of Long Beach and the state to renegotiate a deal with locally based Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) to redrill the 76-year-old Wilmington oilfield near the Port of Long Beach.