Oversight

Reporting of Physical Commodity Swaps to CFTC Begins

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight has issued a letter requiring market participants to comply with the new large trader reporting system for physical commodity swaps and swaptions.

November 21, 2011

GAO: Coast Guard Falls Short in Security Inspections

The U.S.Coast Guard should make sure that annual security inspections are conducted of all Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) facilities and upgrade its database where inspection information is stored, the Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) recommended in a new report. Until then, the security of offshore facilities will be spotty at best, the agency said.

October 31, 2011

DRBC Postpones Development Regulations Meeting Until Nov. 21

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) said Friday the Oct. 21 meeting for commissioners to consider draft natural gas development regulations has been postponed by one month.

October 10, 2011

Hess CEO Urges ‘Strategic Vision’ For U.S. Energy Policy

Hess Corp.’s chief executive on Tuesday warned of an impending energy crisis and urged policymakers to formulate a comprehensive energy policy that would put the United States on solid footing.

September 29, 2011

CFTC Delays Large Swaps Trader Reporting for Physical Commodities

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight Friday issued a letter providing temporary exemptive relief from the daily reporting of swap transactions.

September 19, 2011

GAO Proprietary Trading Report Called ‘Major Disappointment’

Two Democratic senators have taken the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to task for failing to capture the extent of proprietary trading by banks, an oversight that they claim will make it difficult for regulators and policy makers to implement restrictions on proprietary trading, including trading of energy commodities.

July 18, 2011

GAO Report on Proprietary Trading Called ‘Major Disappointment’

Two Democratic senators have taken the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to task for failing to capture the extent of proprietary trading by banks, an oversight that they claim will make it difficult for regulators and policy makers to implement restrictions on proprietary trading, including trading of energy commodities.

July 15, 2011

Marcellus Benefits Far Outweigh Environmental Concerns, Says Report

The economic benefits of developing shale natural gas resources in the state of New York are “enormous” and vastly outweigh the “small” environmental costs, according to a new report by the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Energy Policy and The Environment.

June 8, 2011

DRBC to Hold Another Public Hearing on XTO Energy

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will hold another public hearing over plans by XTO Energy Inc., an ExxonMobil Corp. subsidiary, to withdraw up to 250,000 gal/d of surface water from a creek in New York for natural gas wells.

May 20, 2011

Lawmakers, Industry Call for Broader Panel to Review Fracking

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Friday called on Energy Secretary Steven Chu to broaden the membership of the panel charged with reviewing the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) practice used to develop shale natural gas.

May 11, 2011