Says

Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, says she is cautiously optimistic that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed approval of air quality permits will allow Shell to proceed with its planned exploration of the Chukchi Sea.

CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton says he is “optimistic” that the futures regulator will issue a proposal addressing position limits and hedge exemptions in energy futures trading by the middle of the month.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has a slate of 31 renewable energy projects that it says will undergo fast-track environmental and public review in order to qualify for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The deadline for the projects to receive incentive funding is December, and BLM Director Bob Abbey said his agency is committed to shepherding the projects along.

Despite lower prices and demand destruction in the natural gas market, this year so far has been a “bumper year in terms of capacity release activity,” says the head of a Massachusetts-based company that tracks capacity release activity on more than 50 pipelines.

The story, “No Plans to Slow North American Gas Development, Says ExxonMobil Exec,” (see Daily GPI, Sept. 10), misquoted Senior Vice President Mark W. Albers, who was a keynote speaker at the Barclays Capital 2009 CEO Energy/Power Conference in New York City. Albers did not say “North American unconventional gas production will remain steady.” Rather, Albers said, “North American natural gas production will remain steady, with conventional production decline offset by increases in tight gas and shale gas.” NGI regrets the error.

While drilling has slowed in the Uintah Basin in Utah, Wyoming Interstate Co. Ltd.’s (WIC) pipeline says there still is a need for takeaway capacity from the region and has filed an application at FERC for a compression expansion on its Kanda Lateral.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) says it supports the Interior Department’s decision to retain the controversial Bush-era polar bear rule, which restricts the use of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are contributing to the shrinking of the bear’s Arctic habitat.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) says it supports the Interior Department’s decision to retain the controversial Bush-era polar bear rule, which restricts the use of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are contributing to the shrinking of the bear’s Arctic habitat.

The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Short-Term Outlook says natural gas prices, production and consumption in the United States are expected to continue on a downward trend this year and possibly beyond.