Sending

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could issue a conditional veto over a bill banning hydraulic fracturing (fracking) by sending the measure back to the legislature and asking for changes.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could issue a conditional veto over a bill banning hydraulic fracturing (fracking) by sending the measure back to the legislature and asking for changes.

Pennsylvania regulators said they are sending a message after slapping Chesapeake Energy Corp. with combined fines that total nearly $1.09 million for violations related to natural gas drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale.

Transco reported sending a force majeure notice to customers under the ESS and EESWS rate schedules. The pipeline explained that on Dec. 26 it detected a large, unexpected pressure drop in one of seven caverns at Eminence Storage Field in Covington County, MS. Eminence is the facility that supports the service for affected customers. Two days later Transco determined that gas was leaking from Cavern 3 and since then has reduced the cavern’s pressure by venting and flaring gas. On Jan. 4, Transco continued, based on a determination that the reduced pressure in Cavern 3 created a risk to the salt pillars separating it from adjacent Caverns 1 and 2, the pipeline began to reduce the pressures of Caverns 1 and 2 by withdrawing gas from them. During those operations, on Jan. 15 Transco discovered gas escaping from the ground around the wellhead for Cavern 1. It continued to safely withdraw gas from Caverns 1 and 2, and by Jan. 24 their pressure was low enough to avoid potential effects on Cavern 3. However, due to the leak at Cavern 3 and the damage to the well at Cavern 1, both are out of service, and that prompted last Thursday’s force majeure declaration, Transco said. Determining that neither cavern can be returned to service, it plans to file an application with FERC seeking to abandon them. Transco estimates that due to the force majeure event, Eminence is capable of providing about 70% of contracted capacity and 92% of contracted deliverability. The field’s daily injection capability is not affected.

President Obama is sending to Congress legislation that would raise a producer’s liability for economic damages from an oil spill, administration officials said Wednesday. The measure calls for the higher cap to take effect retroactively to include damages from the blowout of the BP-leased rig and the subsequent massive oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico.

As 2010 got under way biting cold settled in across the northern tier of states, sending prices spiking in the Northeast, while pipelines began tightening restrictions with an eye to an extended period of below-normal temperatures and peak demand.

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), the chief architect of the Senate’s climate change legislation, said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Monday was sending a “clear signal to Congress” when it issued an endangerment finding on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The House last Wednesday approved by a two-to-one majority the $10-11 billion lands bill on its second try, sending the measure to the White House for President Obama’s signature following a contentious, protracted debate in Congress.

The House Wednesday approved by a two-to-one majority the $10-11 billion lands bill on its second try, sending the measure to the White House for President Obama’s signature following a contentious, protracted debate in Congress.