Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, and several state attorneys general Monday signed a letter asking President Obama to pull the final rule on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on public and Indian lands at the federal level.
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70% Loss in Wall Thickness, Pressure Drop Eyed in Columbia Rupture
The wall thickness of a section of pipe on the 20-inch diameter Columbia Gas Transmission system that ruptured Tuesday in West Virginia was significantly deteriorated, said National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators Thursday. There also was a pressure drop on the line, but the magnitude of the decrease is unknown as was whether drop was the result of the rupture or its cause.
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John Hanger, the former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), said he plans to challenge Gov. Tom Corbett in 2014. Hanger, 55, would be the first of several Democrats who are expected to challenge the Republican governor. The attorney, who is special counsel at Eckert Seamans, served as DEP secretary under Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell and was a commissioner on the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for five years. He also was president of advocacy group Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future. Hanger in early 2011 defended the state’s regulation of the natural gas industry, calling a story on drilling by a New York Times reporter “deliberately misleading” (see Daily GPI, March 1, 2011).
Industry Briefs
The American Petroleum Institute (API) has launched a television and print ad campaign in Washington, DC, and in several states to drive home the importance of a favorable tax code in developing domestic domestic oil and natural gas and creating jobs. “Taxes on the industry are a key energy issue, and, as our Election Day polling showed, voters are skeptical about targeting the industry for higher taxes. To encourage members of Congress who are part of that conversation with voters, we’re launching new television and print advertising inside the [Washington, DC] beltway and in selected states,” said Khary Cauthen, API senior director of federal relations. Both the print and television ads will run for two weeks in the DC area, as well as New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, Alaska, Colorado and Louisiana. President Obama has proposed eliminating $4 billion annually in tax breaks for oil and gas producers. “Raising our taxes is not the answer. We already are taxed at a higher rate than [many] other industries,” an API spokesman said.
API Ad Campaign Opposes Higher Oil, Gas Taxes
The American Petroleum Institute (API) launched a television and print ad campaign on Wednesday in Washington, DC, and in several states to drive home the importance of a favorable tax code in developing domestic domestic oil and natural gas and creating jobs.
Anchor Drilling Fluids Opens Ohio Facility
Anchor Drilling Fluids USA Inc. announced Monday that it has opened a drilling fluids production plant in Wellsville, OH, the first such facility in the state and designed to service oil and natural gas operators in the emerging Marcellus and Utica shales.
Ohio Landowner Groups Optimistic on Land Sale
Several groups of Ohio landowners looking to lease thousands of acres in the Utica Shale believe their prospects are getting brighter now that the elections are over, with oil and natural gas producers beginning to staff up their operations.
Ohio Landowners Optimistic They Will Lease Their 95K Acres
Several groups of Ohio landowners looking to lease thousands of acres in the Utica Shale believe their prospects are getting brighter now that the U.S. presidential election is over, oil and natural gas companies are starting to make moves and promising results are emerging from a well in Athens County.
Oregon Developer: Size Hurts Canadian LNG Projects
The growing size and complexity of several liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects in western Canada is casting some doubts about their viability, according to the CEO of one of the similar proposed West Coast export projects in Oregon. Ultimately, this may work to the advantage of U.S. LNG export projects that are relatively simple in comparison.
Dow Exec Sees 90 Projects Planned Using 7 Bcf/d
A Dow Chemical Co. executive said he believes the chemical industry will need several additional billion cubic feet per day of natural gas in as little as two-years’ time, when a long list of petrochemical plant projects begin to come online. It’s a demand that should be easy to meet, he said, as long as the United States hasn’t given away its competitive advantage in the marketplace — a gift from shale gas — through the undisciplined export of liquefied natural gas (LNG).