A news media tour was held Saturday at the Mayflower, AR, oil spill area under the joint command of local, state and federal officials, as well as ExxonMobil representatives. The event was held to provide an update of the spill, which occurred March 29 when a portion of the ExxonMobil Pegasus Pipeline ruptured. Since then, the portion of the 850-mile oil pipeline that failed has been removed for analysis at an independent laboratory and a new section of pipeline installed, all under state and federal oversight. In ExxonMobil’s most recent daily report the company indicated that cleanup was coming to an end and remediation of the area should begin soon. Monitoring by the company and various agencies has indicated that there has been no contamination of water or air from the spilling of what is estimated to be 5,000 bbl of oil. Besides U.S. Environmental Protection Agency representatives, there have been representatives from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office and local government on the scene since the cleanup began. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel launched an investigation several days after the incident (see Shale Daily, April 3).
Tour
Articles from Tour
Salazar Gets Earful from Pro- and Anti-OCS Drilling Sectors
On the second leg of a four-city tour to hear from stakeholders as an Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy policy is crafted, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last Wednesday faced a crowd in New Orleans that was decidedly more friendly to oil and natural gas than the East Coast audience that he met earlier last week. Gulf Coast congressional members and industry representatives said the Obama administration’s plans to move toward renewables was a solid idea, but conventional gas and oil production remained paramount to domestic energy security. They also blasted the administration’s proposed to raise producer taxes.
Gulf Coast Congressional Members Blast Producer Tax
On the second leg of a four-city tour to hear from stakeholders as an Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) energy policy is crafted, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Wednesday faced a crowd in New Orleans that was decidedly more friendly to oil and natural gas. Gulf Coast congressional members and industry representatives said the Obama administration’s plans to move toward renewables is a solid idea, but conventional gas and oil production remains paramount to domestic energy security.
May Futures Expire Following Test Near $6
After starting the day at a session low of $5.780, the May natural gas futures contract on its farewell tour jumped to between $5.85-5.89 by mid-afternoon before attempting to test the $6 psychological mark at the session’s close. Reaching a high on the day of $5.970 with 100,449 contracts changing hands, the May contract expired at $5.935, up 6.1 cents on the day.
Who Will Be Next FERC Chairman?
With the Senate in semi-recess, a recess appointment by theWhite House to extend Chairman James J. Hoecker’s tour-of-duty atFERC by another year has been put on hold until after nextTuesday’s presidential and congressional elections.
