Washington

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, Friday granted the plea of a former natural gas trader for failed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC to overturn an FERC order imposing a $30 million penalty for allegedly manipulating natural gas futures.

Regina Hopper, president and CEO of America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), one of the top lobbying groups for natural gas in Washington, DC, has resigned effective Feb. 28 under pressure from the board. “The ANGA board was extremely disappointed with her performance,” and several senior staff members have recently left, a knowledgeable source told NGI. Hopper has been at the helm of ANGA, which represents leading producers, since 2009 (see NGI, March 2, 2009). ANGA Chairman and Apache Corp. CEO G. Steven Farris commended Hopper’s performance and said she had “led ANGA’s growth from its infancy into its becoming an important voice in the discussion around fuel diversity and economic growth for our nation. We are grateful for her service, for the strong organization she leaves behind, and we wish her much success in her future endeavors.” ANGA now is searching for a successor. “I was hired to build an effective and powerful advocacy organization with strong fiscal management,” Hopper said. “By all accounts we have achieved these important objectives.”

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) wants to hire a “state regulatory and legislative affairs manager” based in Washington, DC, who would to focus on natural gas. The manager would ” assist in organizing and managing efforts to enact a comprehensive set of regulations and reforms in key natural gas producing states,” with emphasis on the…

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) wants to hire a “state regulatory and legislative affairs manager” based in Washington, DC, who would to focus on natural gas. The manager would ” assist in organizing and managing efforts to enact a comprehensive set of regulations and reforms in key natural gas producing states,” with emphasis on the Appalachian region. The selected applicant would help “create and manage strategic coalitions and relationships with industry, regulators, policymakers, “grasstops” opinion leaders” and other nongovernmental organizations. Information is available at www.edf.org/jobs/state-regulatory-and-legislative-affairs-manager-natural-gas-program.

Lighthouse Petroleum Inc. said Thursday it will explore for oil in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS), disclosing that it had acquired stakes in two wells in St. Helena Parish, LA.

In a move timed to coincide with the commencement of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Thursday in Washington, DC, Tulsa, OK, Mayor Dewey Bartlett is leading a charge for the exportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Environmentalists have filed a lawsuit in Washington, DC, challenging the Interior Department’s final 2012-2017 plan for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and natural gas leasing, which focuses primarily on the the Gulf of Mexico and potentially offshore areas in Alaska.

A Texas landowner who three weeks ago signed an easement agreement with TransCanada Corp. on a part of its Keystone XL oil pipeline project won a county court-ordered temporary restraining order on part of the Keystone southern portion for which work is ongoing in three segments between Cushing, OK, and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

A New Jersey group of pipeline opponents has petitioned a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, to review FERC orders with respect to Spectra Energy’s New Jersey-New York Expansion, which has long been under attack by officials in the state.