Pledged

The Canadian government Friday granted Chinese state-controlled industry a spot in the North American oil and gas industry (see Daily GPI, Dec. 10), but it pledged that the toehold will not be allowed to grow into a dominant role.

While President Obama pledged to support domestic oil and natural gas development, he said he “will not let oil companies write this country’s energy plan.”

A unit of Japan’s Marubeni Corp. has struck a deal to acquire a 35% stake in Dallas-based Hunt Oil Co.’s Eagle Ford Shale holdings. Marubeni pledged Friday to grow its stake in shales, in the United States and around the world.

At a face-to-face meeting with the oil and natural gas industry last Monday, Interior Department officials pledged to work as expeditiously as is safely possible to review permits for new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). But oil and gas representatives were anything but encouraged when they left the meeting in Houma, LA.

At a face-to-face meeting with the oil and natural gas industry Monday, Interior Department officials pledged to work as expeditiously as is safely possible to review permits for new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). But oil and gas representatives were anything but encouraged when they left the meeting in Houma, LA.

The G-20 nations Sunday in Toronto pledged to continue with their effort to phase out subsidies for oil, natural gas and coal. But the agreement — like the one forged at the summit in Pittsburgh last year — lacks teeth because it doesn’t include a timetable for when the subsidies should be unwound (see Daily GPI, Sept. 28, 2009).

The U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell, which is being scrutinized over its plans to explore for natural gas and oil offshore Alaska, pledged last week to deploy a prefabricated coffer dam ready for “immediate” use in the event of a well blowout and to launch a full-scale oil spill response within an hour.

The U.S. arm of Royal Dutch Shell, which is being scrutinized over its plans to explore for natural gas and oil offshore Alaska, pledged this week to deploy a prefabricated coffer dam ready for “immediate” use in the event of a well blowout and to launch a full-scale oil spill response within an hour.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky Tuesday pledged to help President Obama achieve the job-creation goal that he laid out in his State of the Union address with respect to energy and international trade.