Omnibus

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) got a $14 million hike in its budget for fiscal year (FY) 2008 in the omnibus spending bill that President Bush signed in late December.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) got a $14 million hike in its budget for fiscal year (FY) 2008 in the omnibus spending bill that President Bush signed into law Wednesday.

States stand to lose an estimated $42.5 million in oil and natural gas revenues in 2008 as a result of a provision in an omnibus spending bill President Bush signed Wednesday that gives the federal government a greater share of royalties, a spokesman for the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) said Thursday.

It came down to the wire, but the House Friday passed omnibus legislation to open up parts of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas drilling. The Senate was expected to take up the measure over the weekend .

It came down to the wire last week, but the House Friday passed omnibus legislation to open up parts of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas drilling. The Senate was expected to take up the measure over the weekend.

As a follow-up to the recently enacted omnibus energy bill, the House Resources Committee will begin mark-up on Wednesday of a measure aimed at authorizing exploration and production in Alaska’s arctic region and relaxing the moratorium to allow interested coastal states to explore for oil and natural gas off their shores.

With the passage of the omnibus energy bill last month, Congress “in effect visciated the lawsuit” brought by California regulators challenging FERC’s jurisdiction over the siting of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher said Wednesday.

Within hours of the omnibus energy bill being enacted into law Monday, sponsors of the stalled Islander East Pipeline project took advantage of language in the measure and challenged in federal court the state of Connecticut’s refusal to issue a water quality permit for the Connecticut-to-Long Island natural gas pipeline.

Sponsors of the long-stalled Islander East Pipeline project are awaiting President Bush’s signing of the omnibus energy bill so that they can challenge in federal court the state of Connecticut’s denial of a water permit for the Connecticut-to-Long Island natural gas pipeline.