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After a year of jumping through regulatory hoops, Canada’s biggest and oldest petrochemical complex is poised to become a customer for exports of U.S. shale gas and liquids production.

The Carlyle Group LP and Sunoco Inc. last week stepped up with an ambitious plan to keep the doors open at the oldest continuously operating refinery on the East Coast by using the gassy Marcellus Shale that surrounds the refinery and the oily Bakken Shale, which could provide up to 140,000 b/d of low-cost fuel supplies.

The Carlyle Group LP and Sunoco Inc. on Monday stepped up with an ambitious plan to keep the doors open at the oldest continuously operating refinery on the East Coast. The new venture is eyeing growth from the gassy Marcellus Shale that surrounds the refinery, while the oily Bakken Shale would provide up to 140,000 b/d of low-cost fuel supplies.

The bottlenecks of the Marcellus Shale appear to be easing, as two of the oldest shale producers in the region recently announced production milestones.

A relatively late entrant in the growing national debate about shale formations and how much long-term domestic reserves they bring to the United States, the Monterey Shale in California is an extensive old oil play that some analysts are predicting will experience a rebirth in today’s shale-dominated domestic energy world.

With the prospect for widespread shuttering of the oldest, most inefficient coal-fired power plants in the face of stiffer federal clean air requirements, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) said Friday it will close 18 coal-fired boilers, or 16% of its coal-based capacity, during the next five years. Shutdowns are to start next year.

The Venango Campus of Clarion University in Oil City, PA, is offering a new degree program to prepare students for careers in the Marcellus Shale and other areas of the natural gas industry.

The president of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Thursday criticized the state’s oldest consumer utility group for its accusations regarding how Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has spent hundreds of millions of dollars designated for past pipeline maintenance work.

Members of the Railroad Commission of Texas elected Railroad Commissioner Michael L. Williams to serve as chair of the state’s oldest regulatory agency. Williams last chaired the Commission from September 1999 to September 2003. Since that time, both Commissioner Victor Carrillo and Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones have served as chairs. Williams noted how the energy industry has changed since he was last chairman. “This new century already has become an exciting one for the energy industry. Eight years ago, oil and natural gas producers were struggling to keep their businesses afloat. Today, world energy demand has swollen to such levels that producers struggle to meet the demand. Eight years ago, the Barnett Shale was a promising natural gas play in rural North Texas. Today, it is one of the largest producing fields in the nation and includes production in downtown Fort Worth. Eight years ago, the commission rolled out a pilot project for the on-line filing of one form. Today, over 20 forms can be filed on-line, with additional forms to be added this year. Eight years ago, the state had over 25,000 noncompliant wells. Today, fewer than 12,000 wells are on the Oilfield Cleanup Fund plugging list with over 12,000 plugged in the past eight years.”