Unveiled

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Thursday unveiled an energy plan that he said would open more federal lands to oil and gas drilling and would make North America energy independent by 2020 — the final year of his second term in office — if he is elected this November.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Thursday unveiled a draft secretarial order aimed at ending the long-standing conflict between the oil and natural gas industry and potash companies within the Secretary’s Potash Area (SPA) in Southeast New Mexico.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has unveiled a draft secretarial order to end a long-standing conflict between the oil and natural gas industry, and potash companies, within the Secretary’s Potash Area (SPA) in Southeast New Mexico. An agreement leading up to the draft secretarial order required an “unprecedented level of cooperation” and proposes buffer zones between wells and potash mining operations that are designed to provide added protection to the resources. The draft order, published in the Federal Register, is open to a 30-day comment that began July 13. A final rule is expected this fall. The SPA contains deposits of both potash and oil and gas on more than 400,000 acres of land, most of which is managed by Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. It currently produces 75% of the potash mined in the United States and is also home to nearly 800 federal oil and gas leases. The draft order is available for review at www.blm.gov/nm.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last week unveiled new federal government efforts to streamline onshore leasing and drilling processes on federal lands.

With 2,220 MW of nuclear power still out of service and snow pack levels at historic lows, California’s electric grid operator unveiled what it hopes is a stable summer electricity supply-demand assessment for review by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) Board of Governors.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. on Monday unveiled a strategy to help fund its spending obligations this year, which may include the outright sale of its Permian Basin portfolio, as well as other asset sales and joint venture (JV) partnerships, that together could reap $10-12 billion.

Still wanting to make his state the “energy capital of the East Coast,” Gov. Bob McDonnell last week unveiled a series of recommendations for the 2012 Virginia General Assembly session, which he said will allow the state to take advantage of “a bounty of natural resources that can aid in our nation’s growing need for affordable and reliable energy sources.”

Still wanting to make his state the “energy capital of the East Coast,” Gov. Bob McDonnell Wednesday unveiled a series of recommendations for the 2012 Virginia General Assembly session that he said will allow the state to take advantage of “a bounty of natural resources that can aid in our nation’s growing need for affordable and reliable energy sources.”

A U.S. Senate version of the House proposal for creating more use of natural gas in transportation was unveiled on Tuesday as an alternative means of expanding tax credits for gas infrastructure and vehicles, according to a trio of senators sponsoring the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act of 2011 (NAT GAS Act).