The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) is considering rule changes intended to reduce the costs of contested natural gas utility rate cases, which are ultimately passed on to consumers. While utilities have voiced support, municipalities across Texas claim the changes would deter challenges to rate hikes.
Parties
Articles from Parties
Study Says Fracking Didn’t Cause Methane in Dimock Wells
A study published in Groundwater, a scientific journal for groundwater hydrogeologists published by the National Ground Water Association (NGWA), said Marcellus Shale gas drilling did not cause methane contamination in private water wells in Dimock Township, PA.
LNG Pieces Falling Into Place
The global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market advanced, slowly, on a number of fronts last week.
State-Federal MOU Could Resolve Fracking Conflict
The federal government and states would reach a compromise on regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) if the parties agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the issue, a Texas official told a House panel Wednesday.
Industry Brief
Magnum Hunter Resources Inc. is in talks with three parties for the potential sale of Eagle Ford Shale assets as part of plans this year to sell $400-500 million of assets. An announcement is expected soon, according to the company. During a recent conference call, CEO Gary Evans said all three Eagle Ford bidders have made offers in the same price range. Two are offering all cash and one is offering cash and equity, he said. “So from our perspective, it doesn’t really matter who ends up with it. But we do feel like we will have an announcement on that in short order,” he said.The company also is considering selling assets in the Pearsall Shale as well, and assets in the Williston Basin and potentially in Kentucky, Evans said.
Pennsylvania Township Wants Range to Reapply for Denied Permits
Officials in Robinson Township, PA, told leaseholders that they were welcome to contact Range Resources Corp. and try to convince the company to reapply for two Marcellus Shale drilling permits the township denied in February.
DOE OKs Two More LNG Export Applications
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has granted two more authorizations to export domestically sourced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that are parties to a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
Pennsylvania Schedules Seminars on $20M NGV Grants
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is preparing to host several half-day seminars across the state this fall to educate parties on applying for $20 million in grants toward the purchase of natural gas vehicles (NGV) or the conversion of eligible vehicles to natural gas.
Industry Briefs
Friday morning Kinder Morgan Inc.’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline lifted a critical day 1 operational flow order (OFO) that had been in effect for balancing parties downstream of its Station 249 in zones 5 and 6 (see Daily GPI, Aug. 31).
CFTC’s Gensler: Only Big Oil Producer/Traders Subject to Swap Rules
The final rules under the Dodd-Frank Act to be issued in the near future would make clear that only parties that “make markets for others on a routine basis,” would be subject to rules governing swap dealers, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Gary Gensler told a congressional committee last Wednesday.