Monitoring

Texas state Rep. Tank Parker (R-Flower Mound) has introduced companion bills that would make urban areas with significant oil and gas drilling a priority for inspections by the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) and double the potential monetary penalty for violations.

The Town Council of Flower Mound, TX, which sits atop the Barnett Shale, has combined two existed drilling permit moratoriums into one and extended it until April 15 while it awaits an advisory board’s report on oil and natural gas development activities in the town.

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has hired four inspectors, one inspector supervisor and one enforcement analyst for the sole purpose of monitoring natural gas drilling, production and water disposal activities in the Fayetteville Shale.

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has hired four inspectors, one inspector supervisor and one enforcement analyst for the sole purpose of monitoring natural gas drilling, production and water disposal activities.

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved a settlement in a Peoples Gas citation case in which the company failed to conduct corrosion control monitoring and to act promptly to fix problems.Peoples Gas will pay a $1 million penalty and must bring its system into compliance with applicable federal and state pipeline safety regulations. Safety standards are designed to ensure protection of the physical condition of iron and steel pipelines, which may corrode over time due to chemical and electrochemical reactions. Cathodic protection reduces the corrosion rate of metal gas pipes and the gas system operator is responsible for ensuring that the protection devices are in place and working.

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski recently signed an administrative order creating a lease monitoring and engineering integrity coordinating office (LMEICO) within the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The LMEICO is charged with coordinating the oil infrastructure oversight efforts of a multitude of state, federal and local agencies stretching from the North Slope fields to the Alyeska marine terminal at Valdez.

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski last week signed an administrative order creating a lease monitoring and engineering integrity coordinating office (LMEICO) within the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The LMEICO is charged with coordinating the oil infrastructure oversight efforts of a multitude of state, federal and local agencies stretching from the North Slope fields to the Alyeska marine terminal at Valdez.

Early rumblings about an El Nino weather pattern developing this summer have energy markets monitoring the situation very closely. Such an event would cause a huge shift in summer weather and tropical storm forecasts, thus impacting natural gas demand and pricing levels significantly.

Early rumblings about an El Nino weather pattern developing this summer has energy industries and markets monitoring the situation very closely. Such an event would cause a huge shift in summer weather and tropical storm forecasts, thus impacting natural gas demand and pricing levels significantly.