Paying

A 27-year-old college student who bid on 13 natural gas and oil leases in December during a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) auction in Utah — with no intention of paying for them — faces up to 10 years in prison and a hefty fine after being indicted Wednesday on two felony counts.

Marathon Oil Corp.’s decision to expand into key resource plays in North America appears to be paying off, with the company ramping up a 15-25 natural gas well program in a new prospect in the Woodford Shale, which eventually could yield 200-300 drilling locations.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has disputed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) charge that producers are “not paying royalties to the taxpayer” for oil and natural gas production on federal lands and the federal Outer Continental Shelf. Pelosi made the accusation Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

While there may be future rewards in terms of diversification of energy supply, energy security and environmental protection, the American taxpayer currently is paying a high price for development of the power generation fuels of the future, according to a recent report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Although it was challenged by the Illinois attorney general, a revenue decoupling plan instituted by Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas appears to be paying off for consumers, at least for now.

Legendary Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt, 83, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison after pleading guilty in October to paying illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s energy regime in exchange for oil contracts in 2001 (see NGI, Oct. 8). Wyatt had faced up to 24 months in prison. Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued the sentence. Wyatt had earlier agreed to forfeit $11 million as part of his plea agreement. Wyatt pleaded guilty in October four weeks into a criminal trial and shortly before prosecutors were to complete their case. Wyatt, who founded Coastal Corp., which later merged with El Paso Corp. (see NGI, May 8, 2000),was indicted in late 2005 with five other individuals. He had faced up to 70 years in prison if he had been convicted on all five counts of his indictment. Wyatt had also been charged with conducting financial transactions with Iraq, which was an enemy nation in 2001, and for violating a U.S. embargo with Iraq.

Legendary Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt, 83, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty in October to paying illegal kickbacks to Saddam Hussein’s energy regime in exchange for oil contracts in 2001 (see Daily GPI, Oct. 2). Wyatt had faced up to 24 months in prison.

Customers are paying slightly more for natural gas than they were a year ago, but customer satisfaction — particularly with price and value — has increased, in part because utilities are educating customers about managing energy costs, according to a study by J.D. Power and Associates.

Customers are paying slightly more for natural gas than they were a year ago, but customer satisfaction — particularly with price and value — has increased, in part because utilities are educating customers about managing energy costs, according to a study by J.D. Power and Associates.