Speed

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Monday announced fundamental new management strategies, centering on batch processing and area-wide rules, aimed at speeding up its processing of applications for permits to drill oil and gas. The announcement came after the interior secretary told Congress last week the department would be discarding policies installed by the Clinton administration to expand wilderness areas.

Tropical Storm Isidore may not have gained the speed that Hurricane Lili is producing, but it was strong enough to blow a hole into BP plc’s production forecast for 2002. The company, which will still have to tally Lili’s consequences, blamed the September storm for a predicted year-end production growth of 4% over a year ago, which is 1% less than its forecast a month ago.

Tropical Storm Isidore may not have gained the speed that Hurricane Lili is producing, but it was strong enough to blow a hole into BP plc’s production forecast for 2002. The company, which will still have to tally Lili’s consequences, blamed the September storm for a predicted year-end production growth of 4% over a year ago, which is 1% less than its forecast a month ago.

Coal bed methane (CBM) development could speed up in Montana after state and federal officials issued a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) concerning development in the southern part of the state. The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recommended alternatives that would require operators to submit a development plan and water-use plan for CBM production. The proposal also would require wastewater to be recycled for irrigation or livestock watering.

Responding to criticism that its corporate rating changes have been far too slow, particularly in the case of Enron Corp., Moody’s Investors Service said on Friday it was considering making changes in how it rates companies.

An early test is developing of the U.S. government’s declared intentions to help speed up gas pipeline projects, and of pledges by Canadian authorities to co-operate in cross-border projects. After waiting fruitlessly for a year for U.S. partners to obtain approvals, the Canadian Millennium Project has asked the National Energy Board to give it a last chance to stay alive on the Canadian side and wait for U.S. action.

An early test is developing of the U.S. government’s declared intentions to help speed up gas pipeline projects, and of pledges by Canadian authorities to co-operate in cross-border projects. After waiting fruitlessly for a year for U.S. partners to obtain approvals, the Canadian Millennium Project has asked the National Energy Board to give it a last chance to stay alive on the Canadian side and wait for U.S. action.

Consolidation in the energy industry in North America is expected to accelerate in the second half of 2001, particularly among independents oil and gas producers, according to the energy mergers and acquisitions team at PricewaterhouseCoopers. But acquirers run the risk of overpaying at what may be the high end of the pricing cycle.

Consolidation in the energy industry in North America is expected to accelerate in the second half of 2001, particularly among independents, according to the energy mergers and acquisitions team at PricewaterhouseCoopers. But acquirers run the risk of overpaying at what may be the high end of the pricing cycle.