Struggle

With lmany junior and mid-size independents continuing to struggle in North America, the oil majors once again are said to be ready to shop for some bargains to build their portfolios both onshore and offshore in North America.

Six natural gas and power groups have asked FERC to consider temporary forbearance or amnesty for energy companies while they struggle to adapt to Commission’s new role as an enforcement agency, as well as to make revisions to its enforcement procedures to dispel industry concerns that FERC is acting as both “judge and jury.”

While deregulated electricity markets struggle in some places, retail natural gas competition thrives in nearly a dozen states, such as Georgia, where it has been in effect for almost a decade, according to a panel of gas utility and marketer representatives at the annual meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) last week in Anaheim, CA.

While deregulated electricity markets struggle in some places, retail natural gas competition thrives in nearly a dozen states, such as Georgia, where it has been in effect for almost a decade, according to a panel of gas utility and marketer representatives at the annual meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in Anaheim, CA.

The saga of Canada’s Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP), a lengthy struggle marked by challenges from environmental and aboriginal groups and escalating costs, continued this week in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, where activists accused the project’s backers, including Imperial Oil Ltd., of overlooking greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and other potential impacts of the project.

The saga of Canada’s Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP), a lengthy struggle marked by challenges from environmental and aboriginal groups and escalating costs, continued last week in Yellowknife, NWT, where activists accused the project’s backers, including Imperial Oil Ltd., of overlooking greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and other potential impacts of the project.

As the power struggle for market-share supremacy in the electronic energy trading platform arena continues to heat up, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) and the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) reported Friday that record volumes of trading were achieved on Thursday. The increased activity across the energy complex was sparked by petroleum supply concerns due to escalating violence in the Middle East, a Nigerian crude pipeline blast and a major refinery fire in Venezuela.

As the power struggle for marketshare supremacy in the electronic energy trading platform arena continues to heat up, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) and the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc. (Nymex) reported Friday that record volumes of trading were achieved on Thursday. The increased activity across the energy complex was sparked by petroleum supply concerns due to escalating violence in the Middle East, a Nigerian crude pipeline blast and a major refinery fire in Venezuela.

Canada’s arctic gas project has been served with a frosty reminder that it’s struggle with northern natives still isn’t over. The last aboriginal holdouts against the $7 billion (US$6 billion) Mackenzie Gas Project have taken their case to court for the second time in two years.