Permanent

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) entered into a consent order of permanent injunction with former Mirant energy trader Paul Atha, settling charges that he falsely reported and attempted to manipulate natural gas prices.

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a final rule establishing a permanent security zone around the mooring area for liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers at the Elba Island, GA LNG terminal owned by Southern Natural Gas to encompass the opening of two new berths and the expected increase in LNG tanker traffic.

Security concerns at El Paso Corp.’s Elba Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on the coast of Georgia prompted the U.S. Coast Guard to establish a permanent security zone around the facility’s mooring slip. The Coast Guard’s decision follows an incident last June in which a sailboat entered the slip and anchored for six hours one day before the scheduled arrival of an LNG carrier.

Security concerns at El Paso Corp.’s Elba Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal on the coast of Georgia prompted the U.S. Coast Guard to establish a permanent security zone around the facility’s mooring slip. The Coast Guard’s decision follows an incident last June in which a sailboat entered the slip and anchored for six hours one day before the scheduled arrival of an LNG carrier.

A returning and a new member of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) will be sworn into their respective offices Tuesday, giving the state regulatory commission a permanent replacement for Marc Spitzer, a former member and state legislative leader who accepted a nomination to FERC earlier this year. The ACC will begin the new year with a full complement of regulators.

Elected officials in the historic town of Astoria, OR, with slightly less than 10,000 population and a legacy as the first permanent U.S. settlement west of the Rockies, voted last month to intervene at FERC in the proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project slated for Bradwood Landing. The Astoria City Council voted 4-0 in a special meeting last Thursday to take the action Earlier in the week elected officials in a neighboring city and Clatsop County also took similar action.

Three former Mirant and Cinergy Corp. natural gas traders pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring to report bogus trades to an industry publication between July and November 2000 in an attempt to manipulate gas price indexes.

At a meeting where natural gas dominated the agency’s agenda, FERC last Thursday looked favorably upon industry’s request for permanent regulatory and policy changes to promote the construction of interstate natural gas pipeline mainline expansions, certain storage facilities and takeaway facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals.

At a meeting where natural gas dominated the agency’s agenda, FERC on Thursday looked favorably upon industry’s request for permanent regulatory and policy changes to spur the construction of interstate natural gas pipeline mainline expansions, new storage capacity and takeaway facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals.