Vowed

With concerns mounting about the effects of hydraulic fracturing on water supplies, New York Rep. Maurice Hinchey Wednesday vowed to aggressively push to close a legislative loophole that exempts the drilling practice from regulation under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). If the legislation passes, it could be a game-changer for the natural gas industry, because nine out of every 10 gas wells use the process, a producer told NGI.

Offshore drilling opponent Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) Thursday vowed to take steps to stop the Bush administration’s plans for a new wave of oil and natural gas drilling off the coast of Florida and other areas that currently are off-limits.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and a group of utility customers vowed to continue their legal battle to prevent pre-approval hearings for a proposed $1.8 billion 950 MW coal-fired power plant after the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) Thursday said it will begin pre-approval hearings on Monday.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and a group of utility customers vowed to continue their legal battle to prevent pre-approval hearings for a proposed $1.8 billion 950 MW coal-fired power plant after the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) Thursday said it will begin pre-approval hearings on Monday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Hurricane Center (NHC) did everything it could during the lead-up to Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on Aug. 29, but the agency vowed that it continues to look for more precise methods on forecasting and landfall predictions.

ExxonMobil Corp. on Friday vowed to appeal a decision by a Louisiana appeals court, even though the court substantially reduced punitive damages against the oil giant in connection with a eight-year-old lawsuit brought by a family over contaminated land. Exxon said in a statement that the compensatory and punitive awards still were “excessive and unjustified.”

Enbridge Inc. vowed to take a co-operative approach with all concerned when it stepped forward as the second Canadian contender offering to help build the proposed Alaska natural gas pipeline.

President Bush late Thursday vowed his administration would carry out an investigation to find out what triggered the cascading power blackouts that pulled the plug on up to 50 million people in New York City and other major cities across the Northeast, Midwest and in eastern Canada last week (see related story). Energy experts and analysts believe an aging electricity infrastructure was to blame. But a definitive answer, some say, could take weeks or months.

Alaska Republican Sen. Frank Murkowski vowed to amend the Senate energy bill before the end of winter to better ensure that his fellow Alaskans get a fair shake in any gas pipeline deal that comes out of the legislation. Murkowski said he wanted to include a ban to prevent producers from pursuing an “over-the-top” pipeline route, which would bypass most of the state by crossing the Beaufort Sea and then heading down the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to connect with the pipeline grid in Alberta.