Reportedly

The G-20 nations Friday were said to have forged an agreement to phase out subsidies for oil, natural gas and coal, but the document reportedly lacks teeth because it doesn’t provide a timetable for when the subsidies should end.

The Interior Department and its policies are a high priority of President Obama, said Michelle Obama Monday, who reportedly was the first First Lady to drop in at the agency since Eleanor Roosevelt.

ExxonMobil Corp., the largest holder of Alaska North Slope gas reserves, has reportedly told the state it “plans to be a co-owner” in a pipeline to commercialize those reserves to the extent of its share of the system’s throughput.

ExxonMobil Corp., the largest holder of Alaska North Slope gas reserves, has reportedly told the state it “plans to be a co-owner” in a pipeline to commercialize those reserves to the extent of its share of the system’s throughput.

Consultants to a county planning commission reportedly will recommend denial of a land-use permit for NorthernStar Natural Gas Co.’s Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal site along the Columbia River.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s draft energy bill, which reportedly could go through the committee mark-up process next week, includes a broad array of measures aimed at speedily increasing natural gas supplies, including new royalty collection rules and incentives, expedited permitting for drilling, and removal of roadblocks to natural gas transportation, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminaling and storage. It also includes a mandatory price reporting provision for natural gas.

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling reportedly was taken to a New York hospital last Friday after several people told police he was pulling on their clothes and accusing them of being FBI agents. However, the account was disputed by Skilling’s attorneys, who claim that he and his wife called police after they were assaulted by two people.

Royal Dutch/Shell Group reportedly came under the increasing scrutiny of federal prosecutors last week following the release of a long-awaited report that confirmed some top-level executives lied about the company’s reserves for nearly two years. The group, responding to the shocking findings in the report, cut its oil and natural gas reserves for the third time in as many months, and announced that Judith Boynton stepped down as chief financial officer.

The board members of Royal Dutch/Shell Group apparently are reviewing a report this week by the company’s audit committee that puts the blame for the oil and gas reserves revisions on former Chairman Sir Philip Watts and Walter van de Vijver, the former exploration and production chief.