Lies

Exxon and Mobil took an important step toward completing their merger last week as shareholders for both companies approved the combination. But many industry observers viewed the votes as foregone conclusions. One source called them “glorified rubber stamps.” The real test will come during the regulatory process when the transaction undergoes strict Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and European Commission (EC) scrutiny.

Puzzling out what lies where in the Gulf of Mexico will beeasier with the availability of digital coordinate data for all ofthe Gulf’s gas and oil pipelines. The U.S. Department of theInterior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) has introduced anautomated pipeline mapping system that covers 20,000 miles ofpipelines in federal waters.