Washington

Environmental groups and Chinese-backed sponsors of a natural gas-fueled methanol production and export project in Washington are knocking heads after a district court late last month voided some federal permits for the project.  The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington referred the permits back to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for…

Washington state regulators on Tuesday completed the initial steps toward establishing rules that would prohibit the use of fossil fuels in producing electricity.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to move its headquarters to Grand Junction, CO, from its current base in Washington, DC, according to Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO).

In largely symbolic gestures, lawmakers in Oregon and Washington have passed bills that would ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

*Part two of four. From east to west, this series previews the Nov. 6 midterm elections and their implications for the oil and natural gas industry. It offers a glimpse of candidates running for state and federal offices, the prominent energy-related issues factoring into campaigns, ballot initiatives and the fight for control of the U.S. House and Senate, which could have implications for key energy committees. Part 1 reviewed Appalachian issues;Part 3 highlights key issues in U.S. Senate races; andPart 4 focuses on implications of a possible Democratic takeover of the House

To the chagrin of the oil and gas industry, Washington state for the second time in two years has placed an initiative on its ballot to establish the first carbon tax in the United States.

Retail natural gas rates in Washington state are decreasing at two of the state’s major utility distribution companies, following actions Thursday by state regulators. Two other gas providers will have slight increases.

A five-year-old Boston-based firm dedicated to taking compressed natural gas (CNG) to large customers beyond the traditional pipeline grid, Xpress Natural Gas (XNG) has opened a CNG supply facility southwest of Seattle within easy reach of the state capital at Olympia and Interstate Highway 5.

With implications for the future volumes of natural gas used for electric generation, the state of Washington and a California public sector utility are the latest to push for reducing coal use and enacting a carbon tax.