Wednesday

Virginia’s senators, both Democrats, on Wednesday introduced legislation to provide an alternative to the Obama administration’s proposed 2012-2017 offshore oil and gas leasing plan, which excludes Virginia. According to the Energy Information Administration, “resource assessments show that substantial oil and gas reserves could underlie the land beneath Virginia’s offshore waters, which are part of the federally administered Mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf.”

Nevada’s state Senate on Wednesday gave unanimous approval to a utility-backed proposal (SB 123) to retire coal-fired generation in the state and to usher in more natural gas-fired and renewable generation in the years ahead. SB 123 now goes to the lower house Assembly for action.

Calgary-based Veresen Inc. announced Wednesday that affiliate Jordan Cove Energy Project LP has filed an application with FERC to construct and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility on the West Coast within the international Port of Coos Bay, OR.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) Wednesday released a follow-up assessment in which it raised concerns about the ability of an increasingly natural gas-dependent bulk power system to maintain reliability when the capacity to deliver gas supplies to generators is constrained.

The House Natural Resources Committee Wednesday voted out legislation to approve and implement the terms of the U.S.-Mexico transboundary hydrocarbons agreement that governs the development of shared oil and gas resources along the countries’ maritime boundary in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Houston’s TC PipeLines LP late Wednesday increased its natural gas partnership by one-third in a $1.05 billion agreement with parent TransCanada Corp. that would give it control over both Gas Transmission Northwest LLC (GTN) and Bison Pipeline LLC.

In addition to briefing state lawmakers Wednesday on the governor’s newly released energy policy, an adviser to Gov. Matt Mead offered a joint state legislative committee a glimpse at the governor’s proposed baseline water testing rule that would apply to oil and natural gas drillers.

California on Wednesday outlined an expanded investment plan for up to $100 million to boost green and alternative fuel transportation for the 2013-2014 fiscal year and separately approved nearly $5 million in additional grants, including the further development of compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for transportation.

Officials with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) announced Wednesday that the agency had started a multi-year effort to study water quantity, but rebuffed calls for it to be expanded to a comprehensive environmental study that could include the impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the basin.