Slash

California regulatory staff last week issued proposed and alternate decisions that nearly cut in half a $1 billion-plus natural gas transmission pipeline and storage system rate increase request by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E).

BG Group, whose global expertise is centered around natural gas, on Wednesday said it plans to slash U.S. drilling, as well as other global gas-weighted projects, because of low commodity prices.

BG Group, whose global expertise is centered around natural gas, said it plans to slash U.S. drilling, as well as other global gas-weighted projects, because of low commodity prices.

Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s announcement it also will slash its domestic dry gas spending by 70% this year and cut in half operated gas drilling activity sent its natural gas prices up and its own share price soaring on Monday.

In a move that may work in the favor of natural gas interests, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized Clean Air Act protections “that will slash hundreds of thousands of tons of smokestack emissions,” EPA said Thursday.

In a move that may work in the favor of natural gas interests, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized Clean Air Act protections “that will slash hundreds of thousands of tons of smokestack emissions,” EPA said Thursday.

The nation’s largest municipal utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), said it will slash up to $440 million from its annual budgets during the next three years. With Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa making the disclosure, LADWP said it now will make deep budget cuts, complete with a hiring freeze, despite facing increased regulatory mandates in the climate change area, aging infrastructure in its $4 billion municipal system and major long-term investment needs. Villaraigosa said the LADWP and its new General Manager Ron Nichols have been “hard at work” to help sustain what the mayor called “fiscal sustainability” at the city-run utility. A “vigorous assessment” of potential savings opportunities focused on areas at LADWP that could be cut “without jeopardizing quality of service,” Villaraigosa said. LADWP is canceling noncritical facility upgrades and office remodeling, and various management perks are being cut, LADWP said. “Our customers are being forced to tighten their belts in this economy, and we need to be more frugal, too,” Nichols said.

Following a meeting with President Obama on Wednesday, the BP plc board of directors suspended the company’s dividend, agreed to slash spending and said it would sell up to $10 billion of assets over the coming year to fund a $20 billion claims fund and as a $100 million unemployed workers fund related to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) disaster (see related story).

With all of its previously disrupted assets in service and the expansion of its East Texas gathering system completed, DCP Midstream Partners was able to slash quarterly losses, reporting a net loss of $42.1 million (minus $1.41/share) in 2Q2009, compared with a net loss of $153.1 million (minus $5.67) in 2Q2008.