Representatives

The Republican-controlled Ohio House of Representatives passed HB 133 by a 54-41 vote on Wednesday. The measure opens land owned by the state — including state parks — to oil and gas leasing and creates a five-member Oil and Gas Leasing Commission.

A bill that would change the name of the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) to the Texas Oil and Gas Commission, as well as make other reforms, was approved Monday by the Texas House of Representatives. The legislation is slated for a conference committee with the state Senate.

The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on the first of three energy bills that, if enacted, would end the de facto moratorium on shallow water and deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), resume oil and gas lease sales and lift a ban on new offshore drilling.

Four members of the House of Representatives introduced sweeping legislation Wednesday that, if enacted, will set the nation on course to rely on natural gas for some of the country’s transportation needs over the next seven years. While the legislation was received warmly by the oil and gas industry, industrial gas users were crying foul.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is giving the public another month to comment on proposed regulations for natural gas development in the four-state watershed. The federal/interstate agency will now take comments through April 15.

The House of Representatives Saturday passed a continuing resolution (CR) that shaves $61 billion from the budget to fund the federal government through Sept. 30.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives, which last year approved a natural gas severance tax bill only to see it die in a subsequent lame duck session, will have another chance to implement the tax during its 2011 current session.

Exchange representatives and end-users Thursday called on Congress to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) more time — beyond the current July deadline — to implement final rules for the multi-trillion dollar derivatives market in the United States.

Exchange representatives and end-users Thursday called on Congress to give the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC) more time — beyond the current July deadline — to implement final rules for the multi-trillion dollar derivatives market in the United States.