Stinging

Following a stinging rebuke of its natural gas pipeline operations from an independent review panel, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) electric utility operations face two new penalty consideration cases for alleged violations of California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rules. State regulators said earlier in June that they were opening the cases, one of which is recommending a $7.1 million fine.

Following a stinging rebuke of its natural gas pipeline operations from an independent review panel, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) electric utility operations face two new penalty consideration cases for alleged violations of California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rules. State regulators said last Friday they were opening the cases, one of which is recommending a $7.1 million fine.

Still stinging from the nationalization last month of 11 idled rigs in Venezuela, contract driller Helmerich & Payne Inc. looked on the bright side Thursday, announcing plans to build nine new rigs for U.S. deployment along with its third fiscal quarter results, which took a hefty hit from a Venezuela-related charge.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) suffered a stinging setback Wednesday when he narrowly lost a vote in the Democratic Steering Committee to challenger Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) for the gavel of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Top Minerals Management Service (MMS) officials are opting for early retirement to avoid stinging questions by congressional and federal investigators about the agency’s oil and natural gas royalty recovery and royalty-in-kind (RIK) programs, said the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee last Wednesday.

Top Minerals Management Service (MMS) officials are opting for early retirement to avoid stinging questions by congressional and federal investigators about the agency’s oil and natural gas royalty recovery and royalty-in-kind (RIK) programs, said the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday.

Reacting to the stinging criticism of El Paso Corp.’s continued poor performance within its exploration and production (E&P) unit, the company announced late Friday that Rodney D. Erskine, president of El Paso Production Co., had resigned.

Still stinging from the National Energy Board’s (NEB) decision in June to cut back its requested rate of return over the past two years and reduce its proposed eastern zone tolls, TransCanada filed a request for review of the order along with an application for a new tolling structure on its Canadian mainline in 2003.

Following the stinging defeat last week of the controversial proposal to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and natural gas drilling, the Senate leadership signaled that it expects to wrap up and vote on the omnibus energy bill this week (S. 517).