Legislators

A national organization that supports oil and gas leaseholders is furious that Pennsylvania legislators passed a bill that its members claim would allow forced pooling in the state. They are urging people to contact Gov. Tom Corbett to get a veto.

Oilfield services provider Flowserve Corp. will relocate some of its pump division operations from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, a 15-mile move that brings more than 100 jobs to a state much more supportive of the company’s bread and butter: oil and gas drilling.

Two key legislators in the Pennsylvania General Assembly introduced a pair of bills on Wednesday designed to make natural gas service available to more consumers in the state.

Legislators and state government officials in Ohio, as well as industry groups, are discussing a bill that, if enacted, would require oil and natural gas land agents to register with the state and provide homeowners with several disclosure forms.

Pennsylvania legislators are in agreement on a bill that would allow leasing of lands for development of natural resources on the campuses of the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), but the bill is hung up in a dispute between the state House and Senate as to how to spend the money.

Legislators and regulators in New York are hinting that should high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) be permitted in the Empire State, localities that are the most receptive to the practice may be the first — and, possibly, the only — areas to allow it.

Legislators in the Ohio House of Representatives have passed a mid-biennium budget review bill but stripped out Gov. John Kasich’s proposals to restructure taxes and regulations on the oil and natural gas industry.

Legislators and regulators in New York are hinting that should high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) be permitted in the Empire State, localities that are the most receptive to the practice may be the first — and, possibly, the only — areas to allow it.

Opponents of TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline accused Nebraska legislators Wednesday of bowing to the Alberta-based pipeline company’s interests after the lawmakers solidly approved legislation 44-5 to allow the pipeline to traverse the state.