Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Wednesday approved a “land-into-trust” application submitted by the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota to build the first U.S. refinery in decades — in the heart of the Bakken shale formation.
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Industry Brief
The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) is proposing to amend its rules relating to water protection to allow for a wider variety of recycling activities. The existing rules contemplate two categories of commercial recycling facilities: mobile and stationary. Since adoption of the rules in 2006, RRC has received an increasing number of applications for permits for facilities that fit neither category. Therefore, RRC proposed to create a third category: a semi-mobile commercial recycling facility. It proposes to authorize on-lease, non-commercial recycling of produced water and/or hydraulic fracturing (fracking) flowback fluid, and to clarify requirements for off-lease or centralized noncommercial recycling of produced water and/or fracking flowback fluid. It also proposes to amend the definition of “fresh makeup water pit” to allow use of such a pit in conjunction with fracking of an oil or gas well for the storage of fresh water or treated fracking flowback fluid used to make up fracking fluid for use in a new well. The changes are intended to reduce the demand for fresh water for fracking. The proposal was recently published in the Texas Register.
Texas Regulators Adopt Frack Fluid Disclosure Rule
The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) has adopted a rule for the disclosure of chemicals in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluids used to stimulate oil and gas wells in the state. Earlier this year state lawmakers passed legislation requiring such disclosure.
Best Shale Practices Can Keep Feds At Bay, Dorgan Says
The federal government isn’t planning a “full court press” on the natural gas industry, but it will if best management practices and state regulations aren’t effective, a former U.S. senator told an audience in Pittsburgh Tuesday.
New West Virginia Alliance Supports Oil, Gas Industry
The Independent Oil & Gas Association of West Virginia (IOGAWV) said Wednesday it has launched a new alliance, Just Beneath the Surface (JBTS), to provide the public with information and debunk myths about the industry.
Louisiana Producers to Challenge Lateral Taxation
Changes to Louisiana law that would tax the lateral portions of horizontal wells have the state’s producer community ready to fight, but parish tax assessors say laterals should have been taxable all along.
ICE Trust Applies to Clear Derivatives Trades Under New Rules
ICE Trust U.S. LLC has filed in advance with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to register as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO), saying it was filing early “to promote the public interest in expediting the clearing of OTC derivatives through Commission-regulated DCOs.”
ICE Trust Applies Early to Clear Derivatives Trades
ICE Trust U.S. LLC has filed in advance with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to register as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO), saying it was filing early “to promote the public interest in expediting the clearing of OTC derivatives through Commission-regulated DCOs.”
Industry Brief
The Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service on Monday published a notice of intent in the Federal Register (Vol. 74, No. 118) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of its proposal to enact federal drilling rules within the Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. More than 90% of the mineral rights under the national forest land are privately owned, and the Forest Service previously did not require an environmental analysis, as mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act. Pennsylvania’s energy industry and some state officials are suing the Forest Service to prevent the rules from being enacted (see Daily GPI, June 11). The draft EIS is expected in January 2010, with the final EIS expected in April 2010. Comments are due by Aug. 21 and may be sent to comments-eastern-allegheny@fs.fed.us. The subject line should read “Transition EIS.”
Bill Would Broaden CFTC, FERC Authority in Energy Markets
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) has introduced legislation giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) broad authority to regulate futures transactions involving energy commodities and to regulate credit default swaps, and bolstering the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to issue cease-and-desist orders and to authorize retroactive refunds for natural gas shippers.