Regulatory

FERC has granted the heavily scrutinized Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) another four years to finish construction and enter service, a move that could augur well for the embattled natural gas project’s political and regulatory future. In an order filed Tuesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave MVP until Oct. 13, 2026, to complete what has…

Mexico needs to reach an agreement during the consultation period with its commercial partners in the United States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) as part of a dispute over energy policies, Teresa Gallegos, an expert attorney in the Mexican energy industry, told NGI’s Mexico GPI.  If it doesn’t, “Mexico will be in a very unfavorable position which will without…

A four-year campaign by Michigan to shut down Enbridge Inc.’s 540,000-b/d Line 5 oil pipeline across the Straits of Mackinac suffered a setback in federal court Thursday that included a rebuke from the bench. U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff of the Western District of Michigan dismissed a motion by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel…

Houston-based Talos Energy Inc. is working to finalize the field development plan (FDP) at the Zama project offshore Mexico. Talos is working with its Block 7 partners Wintershall Dea and Harbour Energy, as well as state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex). The FDP has to be submitted to Mexico’s Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) by March. Once…

North American natural gas prices crossed the $8.00/MMBtu handle this week as blazing hot weather strained power demand. The August New York Mercantile Exchange gas futures contract surged 74.3 cents day/day on Wednesday and settled at $8.007/MMBtu. A lighter than expected storage injection on Thursday again sent prices higher. This month the United States is…

Joining other major municipalities across the country, the Washington, DC, City Council has unanimously voted to ban the use of fossil fuels, including natural gas, in new construction by the end of 2026.  Bill 24-420 (B24-420), aka the Clean Energy DC Building Code Amendment Act of 2022, would require the mayor, currently Muriel Bowser, to…

After recently shunning an invitation to attend the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador travels this week to the White House for a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. The meeting on Tuesday (July 12) comes at a time of great opportunity for economic cooperation between the…

As a federal review begins, a new chapter has been added to the marathon Michigan state scrutiny of the contested $500-million tunnel plan for the Straits of Mackinac crossing by Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5. “The record in this case is reopened to receive testimony, exhibits, and rebuttal,” the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) said in…

“I think the government is taking an incorrect measure that will slow down the use of natural gas in the country,” said Francisco Barnés in reference to the recent proposal by Mexico Energy Ministry Sener to require natural gas users to buy from state entities.  “It’s going to make the use of natural gas more…