Potato

Drilling off the coast of Virginia is shaping up to be a political hot potato in the state’s gubernatorial race, with the presumptive Republican candidate urging the Interior Department to proceed full speed ahead with a scheduled 2011 offshore lease sale while the Democratic candidates are anti-offshore drilling and pro-green energy.

As the Bush administration and Congress worked to restore confidence to Wall Street last week, the issue of offshore oil and natural gas drilling — a political hot potato for weeks — got pushed to the back-burner on Capitol Hill.

As the Bush administration and Congress work to restore confidence on Wall Street, the issue of offshore oil and natural gas drilling — a political hot potato for weeks — has been pushed to the back-burner on Capitol Hill, according to legislative sources.

Within hours of Marc Spitzer being sworn in as one of three new FERC commissioners, Arizona’s Gov. Janet Napolitano was handed a hot potato in naming Spitzer’s interim replacement on the state regulatory commission for the rest of the year. November’s election will produce a permanent new commissioner as Spitzer’s second elected term on the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) was set to expire Dec. 31.

Recognizing that energy consumers are likely to experience priceshocks for natural gas, electricity and heating oil this winter,Senate and House lawmakers last week began calling on Congress andthe Clinton administration to work cooperatively to open up morepublic lands to exploration and drilling, provide tax incentivesfor producers (especially marginal well operators) and to consideroptions that would make a broader mix of fuels (other than naturalgas) attractive to the electric generation market.

In the wake of President Clinton’s release of crude oil from theStrategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to mitigate heating oil pricesthis winter, Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) of the Senate Energyand Natural Resources Committee yesterday asked Energy SecretaryBill Richardson whether the administration had anything up itssleeve to reduce natural gas prices as the industry enters thewinter heating season.

On the heels of a spectacular discovery on its turf, Canada’sNorthwest Territories has tossed a red hot potato into the lap ofthe nation’s natural gas community. The government in Yellowknifeis calling on the National Energy Board to take control of the11,000-mile Nova pipeline grid’s tolls and development away fromthe Alberta government.

On the heels of a spectacular discovery on its turf, Canada’sNorthwest Territories has tossed a red hot potato into the lap ofthe nation’s natural gas community. The government in Yellowknifeis calling on the National Energy Board to take control of the11,000-mile Nova pipeline grid’s tolls and development away fromthe Alberta government.

TPC Corp. is changing hands yet again as PacifiCorp unloads yet another non-core asset. NIPSCO Industries subsidiary NI Energy Services is buying Houston-based TPC for $132.5 million. The deal also involves a payment for working capital to be determined at closing. NI Energy Services also gets PacifiCorp’s 66% interest (held by TPC) in Market Hub Partners LP (MHP).