Newly

Since its analyst meeting early last year, Sempra Energy senior management has signaled that its newly designated U.S. Gas & Power (USGP) unit was intent on moving away from merchant power assets in the West and deploying more capital in the Southeast to support its gas infrastructure strategy. USGP maintains a regional headquarters in Greenville, SC.

Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales (YPF) SA, Argentina’s newly state-owned energy company, announced Friday that it had signed a two-year, $1.5 billion agreement with Bridas Corp. to explore and drill for oil in two of the country’s shale plays.

Exporting liquefied domestic natural gas to world markets would generate a net benefit to the U.S. economy, and the more liquefied natural gas (LNG) that’s exported, the greater the benefit, according to a macroeconomic analysis of the impact of LNG exports commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and released for public comment Wednesday.

Companies have made “little or no progress” so far in developing compliance programs for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, according to a newly issued report and survey. Meanwhile market participants are fleeing the swaps market due to the “regulatory nightmare” that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has created in drafting its Dodd-Frank rules, said CFTC Commissioner Scott O’Malia last week.

Companies have made “little or no progress” so far in developing compliance programs for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, according to a newly issued report and survey.

Spectra Energy Partners LP is acquiring a 38.76% interest in Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLC (M&N) from Spectra Energy Corp. for $319 million in cash and $56 million in newly issued partnership units. M&N owns a 338-mile mainline interstate natural gas pipeline that extends from the border of Canada near Baileyville, ME, to northeastern Massachusetts with delivery capability of 0.8 Bcf/d. The pipeline’s location and interconnects with Spectra’s transmission system link regional natural gas supplies to the Northeast United States and Atlantic Canadian markets. M&N cash flows are backed by an average contract life of approximately 19 years and more than 90% fee-based revenues. The deal is being be through a combination of debt and equity; closing is set for the end of October.

Two weeks after a newly formed state oil and gas board met to begin deliberating North Carolina’s regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), an environmental group has released a report of what it says are wide-ranging negative ramifications of the practice.

Two weeks after a newly formed state oil and gas board met to begin deliberating North Carolina’s regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), an environmental group has released a report of what it says are wide-ranging negative ramifications of the practice.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said Wednesday the state hopes to avoid a lengthy court battle with the City of Longmont over newly enacted natural gas and oil drilling regulations, which challenge the state’s authority to regulate energy operations.