Programs

In an attempt to install more of a risk-based approach to state inspection programs for the oil and natural gas industry, Colorado lawmakers are considering new requirements in a measure (SB 202) that passed out of the state Senate Wednesday on a 22-11 vote. The bill now goes to the lower House for consideration.

President Obama’s $3.77 trillion budget for fiscal year (FY) 2014, unveiled Wednesday, for the fourth time seeks to repeal tax breaks for oil and natural gas producers. It also would tack on new fees for operations on federal lands and increase oil and gas royalties to fund renewable fuel development.

A diverse coalition of often opposing forces Wednesday launched a center to provide producers with certification of performance standards for shale development and established the first 15 standards designed to ensure safe and environmentally responsible development of the Appalachian Basin’s shale gas resources.

Enbridge Inc. and Energy Transfer are planning to develop a pipeline to carry crude oil from Western Canada and the Bakken Shale, by way of the Patoka, IL, hub to the eastern Gulf Coast in a project that would convert portions of the Trunkline Gas Co. LLC natural gas system to oil service.

Energy productivity could double with significant macro environmental and economic benefits through stepped-up efficiency programs during the next two decades, according to a report by a national nonpartisan commission headed by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and National Grid U.S. President Tom King.

Energy productivity could double with significant macro environmental and economic benefits through stepped-up efficiency programs during the next two decades, according to a report by a national nonpartisan commission headed by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and National Grid U.S. President Tom King.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) ended three days of hearings in Denver Wednesday as it drew closer to finalizing new setback requirements for oil and natural gas wells, but it still fell short of finishing the unpopular and complex task.

North Dakota plans to pursue a series of innovative programs, including producing fertilizer at the well sites, to address natural gas flaring, which has risen to more than 30% in the latest monthly production totals.

Companies have made “little or no progress” so far in developing compliance programs for the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, according to a newly issued report and survey. Meanwhile market participants are fleeing the swaps market due to the “regulatory nightmare” that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has created in drafting its Dodd-Frank rules, said CFTC Commissioner Scott O’Malia last week.