Reviewing

There were no major surprises from a six-hour California Senate joint committee hearing in Sacramento last Tuesday, reviewing the aftermath of the natural gas transmission pipeline explosion that took eight lives, destroyed a quiet suburban neighborhood and forced the glare of public scrutiny on Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and the state regulators overseeing its operations.

There were no major surprises from a six-hour California Senate joint committee hearing in Sacramento Tuesday, reviewing the aftermath of the natural gas transmission pipeline explosion that took eight lives, destroyed a quiet suburban neighborhood and forced the glare of public scrutiny on Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and the state regulators overseeing its operations.

Senior Interior Department officials a major report reviewing offshore oil and gas natural gas oversight, which made 59 recommendations on improving offshore safety, to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last Wednesday, but fortunately for producers not all of of the recommendations must be met before the deepwater moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico is lifted.

Senior Interior Department officials submitted a major report reviewing offshore oil and gas natural gas oversight, which made 59 recommendations on improving offshore safety, to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Wednesday, but not all of of the recommendations must be met before the deepwater moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico is lifted.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reported Thursday that it is reviewing another over-the-counter (OTC) natural gas contract to determine whether it performs a significant price-discovery function (SPDF), which would subject it to agency position limits and other restrictions.

Calgary-based Nexen Inc. is reviewing alternatives for its natural gas and power marketing businesses, which may include the sale of all or part of them. Nexen’s marketing business was the eighth largest North American gas marketer in the first quarter of this year, according to NGI’s Top North American Gas Marketers survey. The firm transacted about 5.1 Bcf/d during the quarter. Earlier this year Nexen scaled back its marketing operations (see NGI, May 4; Feb. 16). The company said it has selected an adviser to assist with this initiative to continue the alignment of its marketing activities with its upstream oil and gas business. Nexen has operations in the North Sea, Western Canada (including the Athabasca oil sands of Alberta and unconventional gas resource plays such as shale gas and coalbed methane), the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, offshore West Africa and the Middle East.

Calgary-based Nexen Inc. is reviewing alternatives for its natural gas and power marketing businesses, which may include the sale of all or part of them, it said Thursday.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) took up for review five new construction and operating license (COL) applications in December, is reviewing applications for a total of 26 new nuclear units and expects to receive applications for another five units this year — but with the incoming Obama administration focused on renewables and a “green stimulus,” what part is nuclear energy likely to play in America’s energy future?

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) last Thursday issued a request for information (RFI) to identify partners for a demonstration project reviewing technologies to produce biomethane. The cow dung-to-usable gas process can produce pipeline-quality natural gas, according to PG&E. Earlier in the month the Silicon Valley suburb of Palo Alto, CA, issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking marketing and administrative help to expand its green energy programs to “green gas” and renewable energy credit (REC) segments.