Senate

Oil and natural gas producers in Texas received a legislative win on Monday as the Texas Senate approved passage of HB 40, also referred to as the "Denton Fracking Bill," with a vote of 24-7. The piece of lawmaking now awaits Gov. Greg Abbott's signature.

A 16-word amendment to the Keystone XL bill recognizing that climate change is real but not specifying a cause passed with nearly unanimous support in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday. But five other amendments, including two that put the blame for climate change squarely on “human activities,” foundered.

The first day of GOP control of the U.S. Senate started off on a testy note Tuesday after a pair of lawmakers introduced a bill to approve construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and President Obama promised to veto it.

An omnibus bill making its way through Ohio’s General Assembly that critics argued had ballooned into legislation catering to special interests, including the oil and gas industry, has stalled in the state Senate, where lawmakers said they need more time to sift through its hundreds of pages.

In an unusual ad hoc session outside its normal chambers, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday morning voted to advance the nomination of Colette D. Honorable to become a commissioner at FERC.

The controversial TransCanada Corp. Keystone XL Pipeline project failed passage in the U.S. Senate late Tuesday, gaining a 59-41 favorable vote, but falling one vote short of a required 60 ayes. Earlier, the House had passed its version of the bill giving the green light to the project, which has been stalled by the Obama administration for several years.

Consideration of Colette D. Honorable’s nomination to be a commissioner at FERC is reportedly on hold following the unexpected death of her husband last weekend, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Mary Landrieu told reporters Wednesday.

Independent oil and natural gas producers could see a drop of 25% in their capital expenditures (capex) under Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus’ (D-MT) draft tax reform plan, according to a spokesman for the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA).

The Senate on Saturday passed legislation that would give the Interior Department secretary authorization to implement a transboundary agreement between the U.S. and Mexico governing the development of oil and natural gas resources along the two countries’ maritime boundary in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).