Resolve

FERC Monday approved in part an uncontested settlement that seeks to resolve the long-running dispute over rates and expansions on joint pipeline facilities owned by Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLC and Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS) in the Northeast.

Mediation efforts to resolve a high-profile royalty lawsuit brought by an Anadarko Petroleum company against the Interior Department have failed, according to documents filed in federal court in Louisiana Thursday.

Mediation efforts to resolve a high-profile royalty lawsuit brought by an Anadarko Petroleum company against the Interior Department have failed, according to documents filed in federal court in Louisiana last Thursday.

NRG Energy Inc. agreed to pay a $2 million civil penalty to resolve charges by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that the Minneapolis-based company knowingly reported false information concerning natural gas trades to Gas Daily, an energy index reporting service published by Platts. The order resolves an action brought against NRG almost three years ago (see NGI, July 5, 2004). The consent order, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, included findings that, from at least August 2001 through May 2, 2002, NRG reported false information, including price and volume information, to the industry publication. According to the order, the reports contained trades that had not been executed, trades executed by NRG but with altered prices and/or volumes, and intra-day trades reported as next-day trades. The settlement followed a decision issued last year by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which ruled that the Minnesota district court, and not the Bankruptcy Court of New York where NRG had sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2003, had jurisdiction over CFTC’s enforcement action (see NGI, Aug. 14, 2006). NRG had argued that the bankruptcy court retained exclusive jurisdiction over any legal actions.

NRG Energy Inc. agreed to pay a $2 million civil penalty to resolve charges by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that the Minneapolis-based company knowingly reported false information concerning natural gas trades to Gas Daily, an energy index reporting service published by Platts. The order resolves an action brought against NRG almost three years ago (see Daily GPI, July 2, 2004).

President Bush last Thursday called on Senate and House Republican leaders to resolve their differences and get a bill to him that would open more of the federal offshore to oil and natural gas drilling.

President Bush on Thursday called on Senate and House Republican leaders to resolve their differences and get a bill to him that would open more of the federal offshore to oil and natural gas drilling.

CenterPoint Energy has agreed to pay $13.5 million to resolve a legal action and investigation into the shutoff of service to low-income natural gas customers in Minnesota during the 2004-2005 winter heating season.

Due to cold temperatures forecasted across its system for the Saturday-Monday period, Algonquin said it anticipates being unable to resolve due-shipper imbalances during this time.