Regulations

The provincial government of Quebec has published a draft version of proposed regulations governing oil and natural gas activities in the province.

The Mexican government continues to update its environmental regulations as authorities prepare for the first exploration and production (E&P) auction to feature blocks with unconventional oil and natural gas resources since the energy reforms of 2013.

A House panel on Thursday passed along partisan lines a pair of bills designed to alter the way the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts its scientific research, as well as membership in the agency’s Science Advisory Board (SAB).

President Trump devoted less than two minutes of his first address to Congress to discuss energy issues, but he used the plenum Tuesday evening as an opportunity to mention several of his accomplishments during his first weeks in office.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said lawmakers will begin the process of repealing several energy regulations enacted during the Obama administration next week, including rules on methane emissions, water protections and financial disclosures.

Pennsylvania Republican state Sen. Scott Hutchinson circulated a memo last week seeking co-sponsors for legislation that would redraft the Oil and Gas Act of 1984 to clarify its language and address the current challenges facing legacy producers that operate under it.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said Republican lawmakers have yet to decide which regulations from the Obama administration they want to repeal first, but he disclosed that he expected “swift action” on rules governing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

A panel of lawmakers in Maryland has reportedly asked the state Department of the Environment (MDE) to delay implementing rules governing hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has appealed the state Commonwealth Court’s decision last month totemporarily stay parts of the agency’s regulatory overhaul for shale producers so it may consider a lawsuit filed by the industry.