Meeting

Duke Energy Floridaplans to issue on Oct. 8 a request for proposals (RFP) to supply 1,640 megawatts of generating capacity beginning in 2018. Proposals will compete with Duke Energy’s self-build option consisting of a highly-efficient, combined-cycle, natural gas unit to be located in Citrus County FL. “We have a need for significant generating capacity in 2018 and through the RFP process, we will be able to identify the most cost-effective, safe and reliable generation source for our customers,” said Alex Glenn, Duke Energy state president for Florida. Information on the RFP is available atwww.duke-energy.com/floridarfp. An RFP pre-release meeting is planned for Oct. 2, and a meeting for interested bidders will be held on Oct. 18.

After meeting with regional officials from the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Denver on Wednesday, North Dakota’s chief regulator for oil and natural gas production, Lynn Helms, said he is convinced that there will be BLM rules covering hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on federal lands (seeShale Daily,May 17).

There apparently is no environmental or public health fallout from an oilfield flash fire in the Bakken south of Williston, ND, that injured five workers, one of whom was airlifted to a nearby hospital in McKenzie County with burns, according to Trustland Oilfield Services and the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services.

Colorado drillers may face more scrutiny about emissions from their oil and natural operations under regulations being pondered by the state’s Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

GreenHunter Water LLC has begun to process complex oilfield waste streams at its bulk storage and barge transloading terminal in New Matamoras, OH, the GreenHunter Resources Inc. subsidiary said Friday.

Organizers at a meeting in early June in Indonesia will be reviewing the beta testing of an international natural gas database expected to be launched to the public later this year. About 70 countries representing about 75% of global natural gas supply and demand are currently submitting data to the JODI-Gas (Joint Organizations Data Initiative) database on a monthly basis. JODI-Gas joins JODI-Oil, which has been in operation for 10 years providing information on oil production, consumption and trade movements. The database initiative is designed to increase transparency of oil and gas supply and demand. The agenda at the Third Gas Data Transparency Conference June 4-5 in Indonesia will also involve an expert review of the final draft of the JODI-Gas Training Manual, and establishing a timeline for the public launch the JODI-Gas database later this year. Organizations involved in the data and transparency initiative include the International Energy Forum, Eurostat, the International Energy Agency, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Latin American Energy Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the United Nations statistics division.

Occidental Petroleum Corp. (Oxy) Chairman Ray Irani withdrew as a nominee to serve another term on the board of directors, and he was a no-show for the company’s annual meeting in Santa Monica, CA, on Friday (May 3), Oxy said. Edward Djerejian, a former U.S. diplomat who served as an ambassador to Israel and who is a former assistant secretary of State, is assuming the role of independent chairman. He has been an independent director since 1996. Spencer Abraham, the former secretary of Energy for President George W. Bush, was elected independent vice chairman. Irani, 78, had worked at Oxy since 1978, taking over as chairman and CEO in 1990 after founder Armand Hammer died. Irani, who had planned to retire in 2014, had turned over the CEO post two years ago to Steve Chazen, 66, who had served in the executive suite since 1994. Earlier this year Irani had attempted to oust Chazen, which led to criticism by major shareholders. However, days ago the board said Chazen would remain CEO through 2014 “with full board support.”

Chesapeake Energy Corp., which has dropped rigs and deferred most of its dry natural gas drilling for the year, said last week that stronger-than-anticipated output from the Marcellus Shale should lift gas output higher in 2013 than it was two years ago.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) wants lawmakers to restore several oil and gas rules that were included in the original version of the state’s biennial budget bill, but were stripped out by the state House of Representatives.