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TheDelaware River Basin Commission(DRBC), which has played a key role in the de facto moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the basin, will soon begin a search for a new executive director, followingCarol Collier’s announcement that she will retire March 12, 2014. Collier was sworn in as the commission’s third executive director in 1998, becoming the first woman to head an interstate-federal compact agency, according to DRBC. Prior to taking the top staff position with DRBC, Collier served as executive director forPennsylvania’s 21st Century Environment Commission, was regional director of thePennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Southeast Regionand worked 19 years withBCM Environmental Engineers. She is currently the national president of theAmerican Water Resources Association. The multi-state commission has regulatory jurisdiction over the 13,539-square mile Delaware River watershed in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. The commission is represented by the governors of the four states, as well as a representative of theArmy Corps of Engineers.

Encana Corp., one of North America’s natural gas stalwarts, may be ready to slim down and sell some of its estimable dry gas portfolio to ready for the future, CEO Doug Suttles signaled on Thursday.

A Canadian energy entrepreneur last week unveiled plans to build an underground transmission project linking natural gas and renewable energy resources in Ontario (ON) to Pennsylvania.

Natural gas has real opportunities for growth across the country, especially in the industrial, power generation and transportation fuel sectors, Nicor Gas President Elizabeth Reese and a panel of supply/demand experts said last week at the LDC Gas Forum Mid-Continent meeting in Chicago.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has indicated he intends to sign SB 4, which was passed by the legislature last week that would regulate oil and natural gas unconventional drilling and specifically hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

In a broader global energy picture that is a “smorgasbord of fragmented pieces,” the United States is headed for a return to gas-on-gas competition among shale-dominated natural gas basins, according to ConocoPhillips chief analyst and commodity market strategist Jim Duncan.

Two companies recently filed with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for authorization to export containerized liquefied natural gas (LNG) to free trade agreement (FTA) countries. They join a third that already has such authorization as interest in exporting containerized LNG to the Caribbean grows.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) ties between the United States and Asian markets strengthened a bit last week with news of two supply contracts and an Alaska-Japan agreement to pursue project talks. Meanwhile, LNG buyers Japan and India said they would join forces to secure more favorable terms.

The federal judge overseeing the BP plc claims settlement process regarding the Macondo well blowout has expanded former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s duties after the special master found some problems with the claims office.