Based on data from offshore operator reports submitted as of 11:30 a.m. CDT Monday, the Bureau of Safety Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) estimated that about 6.11% (274.85 MMcf/d) of current natural gas production, and 7.98% (110,144 b/d) of oil output in the GOM was shut in.
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Pennsylvania Legislator Wants DEP Commissioner to Be Elected
A legislator in the Pennsylvania General Assembly introduced two bills on Wednesday to amend the state constitution and make the secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) a commissioner post elected by the public, rather than one appointed by the governor.
Industry Brief
The backer of a bid to hike the severance tax levied on natural gas producers operating in Arkansas last week submitted 69,717 signatures to a petition to get the initiative placed on the November ballot. Former gas utility executive Sheffield Nelson needed to gather 62,507 signatures. The signatures gathered have not yet been reviewed and could be challenged. Nelson wants to hike the severance tax to 7% from the current range of 1.25-5%. His opponents include energy industry members as well as the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce and anti-tax hike group Arkansas for Jobs and Affordable Energy. Nelson, a Republican who was a chairman of Arkla Inc. and a two-time gubernatorial candidate, is the leader of the Committee for a Fair Severance Tax (see Shale Daily, June 29).
Indiana Coal-to-SNG Facility Clears Regulatory Hurdle
Regulators with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) have submitted a proposed air quality permit for a $2.5 billion substitute natural gas (SNG) facility to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review.
Pipeline Group Urges PHMSA to Not Overregulate
The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), which represents the nation’s major interstate gas pipelines, late Friday submitted answers to 120 questions posed by the Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) proposed rulemaking on pipeline safety.
Tuscarora Files Overrecovery Settlement at FERC
Tuscarora Gas Transmission Co. Friday submitted to FERC a settlement of the Section 5 complaint accusing the pipeline of significantly overrecovering its cost of service, making its current transportation rates “unjust and unreasonable.”
Tuscarora Files Cost Overrecovery Settlement at FERC
Tuscarora Gas Transmission Co. Friday submitted to FERC a settlement of the Section 5 complaint accusing the pipeline of significantly overrecovering its cost of service, making its current transportation rates “unjust and unreasonable.”
Frack Fluid Disclosure Proposed in Louisiana
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) chemical disclosure is spreading throughout the Ark-La-Tex as Louisiana — home of most of the Haynesville Shale — is weighing new disclosure requirements modeled in part on those in place in Arkansas and recently mandated in Texas.
Industry Briefs
As natural gas production in Michigan posts its 14th consecutive year of decline, a Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) report projects interstate pipeline deliveries to the state will be 664.2 Bcf in 2011, a 14.2% increase. The state’s production is projected to decline by 5.5% to 133.5 Bcf in 2011, according to the PSC’s “Summer 2011 Energy Appraisal.” Gas sales in the state are projected to be 780.7 Bcf this year, an increase of 2.4% over 2010 sales and 11.3% over 2009 sales, based on an assumption of normal weather. Residential home heating is seen as the driver for consumption growth as the 2010-2011 winter season was 3% colder than normal, the PSC report said. Despite increased sales, prices should remain relatively flat, the report said. “…[T]he continued growth in estimated and proven natural gas reserves is having a dampening effect on inflationary forces.”
Shell Resurrects Arctic Drilling Plan
A unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc last week submitted a plan of exploration (POE) that details a proposal to drill exploratory wells in Camden Bay, AK, in the Beaufort Sea beginning in 2012.