Plug

San Antonio-based Lilis Energy Inc. (LLEX), which began trading on the Nasdaq Tuesday, has drilled and completed its first two operated horizontal Wolfcamp B wells in the Delaware Basin, a sub-basin of the Permian, with initial production rates “significantly exceeding” the expected type curve, the company said Wednesday.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) last week continued to plug away at final rules on the first anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act being signed into law. The agency voted out three final rules aimed at reviewing swaps for mandatory clearing and removing all references to credit agencies in CFTC regulations. Chairman Gary Gensler also assured end-users, who use derivatives to legitimately hedge their commercial risks, that they will not be subject to capital margin requirements.

The Ontario government, besieged by opposition community groups, has pulled the plug on plans for a 900 MW natural gas-fired generating station in the Toronto area.

As work continues to plug the leaking BP plc oil well in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), the American Petroleum Institute (API) said Tuesday the oil and natural gas industry has formed two task forces to address the short- and long-term issues related to offshore equipment and operating practices.

TECO Energy last Thursday said that it has decided to drop out of the 2,145 MW Gila River power station in Arizona and the 2,200 MW Union Power Station in Arkansas and will cease funding the plants. As a result, the company will record an after-tax impairment charge of up to $780 million.

FERC’s decision last week to set for hearing a proposal by Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. (OG&E) to purchase a majority stake in a power plant from an affiliate of NRG Energy “in no way concludes our efforts to pursue this acquisition and the savings that it will deliver to our customers,” OGE Energy’s chairman said.

With expectations that liquefied natural gas (LNG) will chosen to plug the hole in the United States’ natural gas supply deficit in the future, ChevronTexaco Corp. announced plans Thursday for an LNG receiving terminal in Mexico and an LNG shipping facility in Nigeria. The company also updated its progress on a receiving terminal to be located offshore Louisiana, where other top operators are aggressively trying to establish toeholds in the U.S. LNG marketplace (see Daily GPI, Oct. 30).

Aquila Inc. on Thursday said that it has initiated steps to terminate an agreement to sell its 79.9% interest in Aquila Sterling Ltd., the owner of Midlands Electricity plc, to a subsidiary of Scottish and Southern Energy plc.

After pulling the plug in two previous attempts, the third time proved a charm for Colorado Interstate Gas (CIG), which last week said it will build a new natural gas pipeline to serve the Rocky Mountain region after receiving long-term contracts for the full capacity of the 400-mile-long project. Service is scheduled to begin by mid-2005.