Nonpartisan

A new report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Services (CRS) has backed up Republican lawmakers’ claims that all of the increase in oil and natural gas production that occurred during the past five years has been on state and private — rather than federal — lands. For the most part, state and private lands are where the shale action is.

A new report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Services (CRS) has backed up Republican lawmakers’ claims that all of the increase in oil and natural gas production that occurred during the past five years has been on state and private — rather than federal — lands.

A nonpartisan policy research group in Pennsylvania asserts that the state could have collected almost twice the revenue it has received in impact fees on Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling if it had implemented a severance tax instead.

Ohio voters believe the benefits of shale gas development outweigh the risks, but they also believe the state should put the breaks on development, according to a new poll.

A nonprofit, nonpartisan group that represents all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties says it supports a local impact fee on natural gas development in the state but has “strong reservations” about counties being ultimately responsible for its levying and administration.

A study of the biggest risks associated with hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking), as well as recommended policies to reduce those risks, has been launched by an arm of the nonpartisan Resources for the Future (RFF).

Colorado’s nonpartisan Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS) has caused an uproar in the state legislature after it suggested repeal of one of the new rules that will govern future natural gas and oil drilling in the state.

More than three months after Hurricane Ike severed a natural gas pipeline that was part of the company’s High Island Offshore System (HIOS), Enterprise Products Partners LP said repairs have been completed and the company has been given permission to resume full service on HIOS. The 42-inch diameter segment of the HIOS system — which transports gas from fields in the western Gulf of Mexico — was severed approximately 130 feet under water during Ike in September. Since then, gas volumes into the system have been limited to certain receipt points upstream of the break and required third-party pipeline systems for delivery to onshore facilities. Enterprise said federal regulators, after approving Enterprise’s inspection and start-up procedures, authorized the partnership to resume full service. The pipeline has the capacity to transport up to 1.8 Bcf/d. HIOS, which is owned by an affiliate of Enterprise, consists of a 291-mile pipeline system that transports gas from fields in the Galveston, Garden Banks, West Cameron, High Island and East Breaks areas of the Gulf of Mexico to third-party pipeline systems. HIOS also includes eight pipeline junction and service platforms.