The House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday voted out a bipartisan bill that would prohibit the Department of Interior from enforcing federal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) regulations.
Need
Articles from Need
Pressure Mounts to Tighten Rail Tank Car Standards
Pressure is mounting inside and outside Washington, DC, for the Department of Transportation (DOT) to order the retrofit or phase-out DOT-111 tank cars that are used to transport crude oil and ethanol by rail. Proponents of the effort note that a number of the tank cars involved in the fiery crash of tanker cars carrying Bakken crude in Quebec earlier this month were DOT-111 cars.
Burgeoning Shale Industry Still Honing Public Image
Output from the nation’s shale plays has ballooned domestic natural gas production over the past few years, but the industry, and the country, have yet to fully embrace all that the paradigm shift entails, said Rick Smead, a director in Navigant Consulting Inc.’s energy practice.
Spectra Lays Groundwork for Northeast Incremental Market Project
FERC has approved a request from Spectra Energy unit Algonquin Gas Transmissions to begin a pre-filing review process for the company’s proposed Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) Project, a significant step forward for the long-awaited pipeline, which would deliver to the Northeast critically needed gas from Pennsylvania.
Great Lakes Advance; California Citygates Ease; Futures Gain
Physical natural gas prices on average gained a penny Tuesday with traders seeing no immediate need to make purchases during a holiday-muted trading week. Upper Midwest points added a couple of cents, and West Coast citygate prices were lower as forecasts of power demand were tempered. At the close, August futures were up 7.7 cents to $3.654 and September had added 7.8 cents to $3.651. August crude oil rose $1.61 to $99.60/bbl.
Constitution Pipeline Adds Another Partner
Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC, fully subscribed to carry at least 650,000 Dth/d of natural gas from northern Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale to Northeast markets, on Friday gained a new investor.
Marcellus Utility Investments Eyed for Low-Cost Gas, Not Demand
Utility developers planning combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) projects in the Marcellus and Utica shales are looking for a “power price appreciation” from excess natural gas, not growing demand, to ensure a fair return on their investments, according to an analysis by Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Inc. (TPH).
Kinder Launches Open Season for Oil Pipeline to California
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP (KMP) is holding a binding open season through May for capacity on the proposed 1,025-mile Freedom Pipeline LLC for transporting Permian Basin crude from Texas to refineries in both Southern and Northern California.
Private Pennsylvania DCNR Meeting to Discuss Forest Drilling
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) plans to hold an invitation-only meeting on Thursday to discuss a request by two energy companies to access their mineral rights under the Loyalsock State Forest.
Voser on Shale: The Revolution Should Be Exported
America’s “shale revolution,” combined with increased Gulf of Mexico oil production, the potential for major deposits in the Arctic, and growth in tight and heavy oil, including oilsands, makes North America’s energy picture much brighter than it was not that long ago, Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser said recently at the Chief Executives Club of Boston.