Lacks

FERC does not intend to appeal a recent court finding that the agency lacks jurisdiction over natural gas futures transactions, said Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff.

Hess Corp., which is facing a shareholder revolt for a perceived lack of focus and crony-heavy board, on Monday said it would become a pure-play exploration and production (E&P) company. The plan involves fully exiting the downstream business, selling Bakken Shale midstream, and bringing aboard six new independent directors.

The G-20 nations Friday were said to have forged an agreement to phase out subsidies for oil, natural gas and coal, but the document reportedly lacks teeth because it doesn’t provide a timetable for when the subsidies should end.

The G-20 nations Friday were said to have forged an agreement to phase out subsidies for oil, natural gas and coal, but the document reportedly lacks teeth because it doesn’t provide a timetable for when the subsidies should end.

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC Friday upheld a lower court decision that enjoined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from enforcing an open-ended reporting requirement on natural gas pipelines operating offshore, finding the agency exceeded its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) when it ordered the action in 2000.

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC Friday upheld a lower court decision that enjoined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from enforcing an open-ended reporting requirement on natural gas pipelines operating offshore, finding the agency exceeded its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) when it ordered the action in 2000.

After checking lower in the moments following the news that 93 Bcf was injected into storage last week, the natural gas futures rebounded Wednesday as scale-down and technical buying propelled the market back above the $5.00 mark. At $5.05, the August contract closed 11.6 cents higher for the session, and just a few ticks below its $5.075 high on the day.

A legislative proposal recently floated by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) to push back implementation of FERC’s standard market design (SMD) plan for U.S. wholesale power markets to 2008 “does not have sufficient votes” in the U.S. Senate and “it does not have my support,” Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) told reporters last week.

After years of debate and hearings on whether and how torestructure the $200 billion electricity industry, mark-up ofcomprehensive legislation by the House Energy and PowerSubcommittee finally is in sight but the chances are slim that atruly bipartisan measure will be voted out in the weeks ahead.