Opinion

Editor’s Note: The following segment is one in a series by NGI’s LNG Insight focused on exploring how the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market works. The conversations in this series will also analyze news and the issues that matter most to the industry in North America and beyond.

Editor’s Note: The following segment is one in a series by NGI’s LNG Insight focused on exploring how the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market works. The conversations in this series will also analyze news and the issues that matter most to the industry in North America and beyond.

The following segment is one in a series by NGI’s LNG Insight focused on exploring how the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market works. The conversations in this series will also analyze news and the issues that matter most to the industry in North America and beyond.

A Pennsylvania appeals court has finally weighed in on the remaining aspects of a lawsuit filed by the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) nearly three years ago that challenged the state’s regulatory overhaul for unconventional natural gas producers, issuing a mixed opinion that still leaves the industry in search of answers.

In a blow to opponents of the controversial Clean Water Rule (CWR), a federal appeals court panel in Atlanta said it would be a “colossal waste of judicial resources” for it to get involved in the ongoing legal challenge to the rule, deferring the case to an appeals court in Cincinnati.

BP plc has requested a rehearing of a FERC decision last month that affirmed the findings of an administrative law judge (ALJ) and levied a $20.16 million fine against the London-based supermajor in a 2008 market manipulation case, saying it “is not the product of reasoned decisionmaking and is not supported by substantial evidence.”

ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp., BP plc and super independent ConocoPhillips are expected to lead all other exploration and production (E&P) spenders in the United States this year, with capital expenditures (capex) on average about 5% higher than in 2012, according to a survey by Barclays Capital. Last year’s No. 2 spender, Chesapeake Energy Corp., dropped to No. 5 after cutting its exploration plans.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday showed that for the first time, Republican voters in New York State have an unfavorable opinion of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who took office two years ago and who is at the forefront of the debate over hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

In a case that carries tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars of impact, a North Dakota District Court judge rendered the first opinion in a dispute over who is entitled to subsurface mineral rights in the “shore zone” along two major navigable waterways in the state. Ultimately, the issue will need to be resolved by the state Supreme Court, state officials said.