Policies

Texas and Pennsylvania stakeholders are revving up their natural gas vehicle (NGV) engines but policies and infrastructure continue to be out of sight.

Statoil Gulf of Mexico LLC topped all bidders for all of the acreage offered last Wednesday in the first Central Gulf of Mexico (GOM) lease sale since the Macondo well blowout. The producer’s offer of $157.1 million for a deepwater block in Mississippi Canyon (MC) was the highest for any GOM prospect in 30 years.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) on Tuesday downgraded the corporate credit rating of Chesapeake Energy Corp. to “BB-” from “BB” and said the outlook was “negative.” The ratings on related entities Chesapeake Midstream Partners LP and Chesapeake Oilfield Operating LLC also were cut because the units are so closely tied to the parent, S&P noted.

Speaking at the City Club of Cleveland last Friday, the head of the American Petroleum Institute (API) said the state of Ohio is experiencing an energy “rebirth” as a result of the surge in shale gas development and that it could be a game changer for jobs and economic growth in the state.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Tuesday attacked Republicans for moving forward with “fairy tale” energy policies that are based primarily on campaign and political rhetoric.

Domestic oil shales offer “vast development potential,” but without sustained high oil prices they may not be profitable, according to a report released Thursday by Boston-based Ceres, a coalition of investment, environmental and public interest groups.

Geothermal technology advances are in the works with some of them coming as an offshoot of oil/gas drilling advancements, and this renewable resource sector is on the verge of a big job creation spurt as a result, according to a report released Friday by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) at the start of its annual trade expo in Sacramento, CA.

Some residents of Fort Worth, TX — which sits atop the Barnett Shale — would like to see their city and state reconsider policies on siting and regulation of natural gas pipelines. A group of neighborhood associations said Thursday that citizens of other shale gas towns could learn from mistakes made in their city.

As long as government policies give the go-ahead to take over more demand, natural gas will play a bigger role in the world’s energy consumption , Royal Dutch Shell plc CEO Peter Voser said last week.