Suspend

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal has asked federal officials to suspend energy leases issued in the Wyoming Range and offer a refund to the producers that were planning to drill there.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal has asked federal officials to suspend energy leases issued in the Wyoming Range and offer a refund to the producers that were planning to drill there.

The Secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a tri-national commission set up under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), has denied a request by Mexico to suspend an investigation into whether the country violated its own laws when it approved a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal next to a biodiversity hotspot on the U.S. border.

Responding to a motion from the California parties, FERC Thursday agreed to temporarily suspend its procedural schedule established in an interim guidance order it released last week. The federal regulatory process will wait for a ruling from a federal district court in New York City that has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 26 on the issue of Calpine Corp.’s bankruptcy court request to set aside eight of its power supply contracts because they are unprofitable for the Chapter 11-protected company.

A bid to suspend the pre-filing review process for Quoddy Bay LLC’s proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal while the courts decide if the company has lawful access to a site at Split Rock, ME, should be rejected by FERC, Quoddy Bay’s attorney said Tuesday.

Natural gas utility AmerenUE, at the request of the Missouri governor and state officials, has agreed to waive all reconnection fees and suspend deposit requirements for customers receiving assistance through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) or Missouri’s Utilicare program as part of an initiative to help residents cope with expected high heating costs this winter.

Duke Energy Field Services LLC (DEFS) filed Form 15 with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday to suspend reporting under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company said it is eligible for the suspension because it has fewer than 300 security holders. DEFS said it plans to continue providing investors with quarterly financial statements and annual audited financial statements through its web site at http://www.defs.com. Denver-based DEFS was formed by combining the Duke Energy and ConocoPhillips natural gas gathering and processing businesses. The company operates or has ownership in 66 plants and 59,000 miles of pipeline. Current handled volumes total 7.3 TBtu/d of natural gas and 363,000 bbl/d of gas liquids. DEFS also owns the general partnership share of TEPPCO Partners L.P., a publicly traded master limited partnership primarily engaged in the transportation of petroleum products.

TransCanada Corp. and ConocoPhillips said Wednesday they will suspend further work on their planned Fairwinds liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Harpswell, ME, after the town residents earlier this week voted not to lease the former U.S. Navy Fuel Depot site to build terminal and regasification facilities.

Backers of a proposed regional transmission organization (RTO) in the Southeast known as SeTrans last week said that they are suspending efforts related to forming the RTO, saying that it is “highly unlikely that consensus support and acceptance for the SeTrans RTO will be forthcoming from all applicable state and federal agencies.”