Nomination

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has asked lawmakers to drop the word “acting” from the job titles of two state employees: the acting secretaries of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) Thursday said he would join Republicans in voting against former Colorado regulator Ron Binz for FERC chairman, which would sink the nomination if the rest of the votes in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee split along party lines.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee plans to hold a hearing at 10 a.m. on April 9 to consider the nomination of Ernest Moniz to be secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE). Moniz would succeed current Energy Secretary Steven Chu (see Daily GPI, March 5). Moniz currently serves as science adviser in the administration and director of the MIT Energy Initiative. He is a familiar face to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where he has testified on a variety of energy issues. Moniz has a reputation of being supportive of natural gas development, calling it a “bridge fuel” even as he has called for more funding for renewable energy. In 2010 he co-authored an MIT study that concluded that gas would be a leader in reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions over the next several decades, mostly by replacing older, inefficient coal plants with combined-cycle gas generation.

The North America oilfield services market “eroded more than we thought” in 3Q2012, but the spending decline could turn in January, said the research team at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH).

In his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for a second term, President Obama Thursday said Democrats were offering the nation a “better path” on energy — one that will continue to focus on renewable energy, develop abundant natural gas supplies, give producers more access for domestic onshore oil and gas exploration, reduce foreign oil imports and cut carbon pollution.

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) said he supports Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) decision to block the nomination of Jack Lew for director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) until the moratorium on deepwater oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has been lifted or significantly modified.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Thursday announced that she will block the nomination of Jack Lew to be director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) until the moratorium on deepwater oil and natural gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has been lifted or significantly modified.

The Senate Energy Committee Thursday approved and sent to the floor the nomination of Cheryl A. LaFleur, a former executive vice president and acting CEO of National Grid USA, to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The committee also approved the renomination of Commissioner Philip D. Moeller for a full term. It may be awhile, however, before they get an okay from the full Senate. Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, OK has put a hold on all Obama nominees. LaFleur, a Democrat, would fill the seat vacated by former Commissioner Suedeen Kelly, who left the agency in late December. LaFleur retired in 2007 from National Grid, which delivers electricity to 3.4 million customers in the Northeast. LaFleur will join Chairman Jon Wellinghoff and Commissioner John Norris in making up a Democratic majority. Moeller and Commissioner Marc Spitzer are Republicans. Moeller has served on the Commission since July 2006, when he assumed the seat of former FERC Chairman Pat Wood. His current term expires June 30.

The Senate Energy Committee Thursday approved and sent to the floor the nomination of Cheryl A. LaFleur, a former executive vice president and acting CEO of National Grid USA, to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The committee also approved the renomination of Commissioner Philip D. Moeller for a full term.