Regulatory

Houston-based Key Energy Services Inc., an onshore oilfield services/products provider, has agreed to pay $5 million in disgorgement to settle charges that it violated provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Friday.

BP plc has requested a rehearing of a FERC decision last month that affirmed the findings of an administrative law judge (ALJ) and levied a $20.16 million fine against the London-based supermajor in a 2008 market manipulation case, saying it “is not the product of reasoned decisionmaking and is not supported by substantial evidence.”

FERC issued a notice of schedule Friday for the Appalachian Basin-to-Southeast Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC (ACP) and related Supply Header Project, setting a June 30, 2017, deadline to complete a final environmental impact statement.

It’s summer in the Lone Star State and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is setting power demand records again.

Lawyers for the Western Energy Alliance (WEA) filed a lawsuit Tuesday alleging that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has failed to meet federal obligations to hold quarterly lease sales and conduct them in a transparent manner.

Repowering by Mexico’s Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) of the Poza Rica power plant to natural gas from fuel oil is nearing completion. The plant, in the state of Vera Cruz, is expected to begin delivering power to the grid next month, according to a press release from CFE. The plant is expected to generate about 255 MW using natural gas. Before the repowering, the plant was capable of generating 117 MW, based on installed capacity, using fuel oil. CFE said the switch to natural gas will eliminate the emission of more than 122,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The project cost US$153 million and included the modernization of three steam turbines. CFE is in the process of increasing its reliance on natural gas for power generation as it shifts from diesel and fuel oil.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has launched a campaign encouraging Congress to repeal or reform the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), on the grounds that the program is outdated and that its higher ethanol mandates will hurt American consumers.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office in Colorado on Monday released plans to potentially offer in May 2017 up to 100,000 acres for oil and natural gas exploration spread over five counties in the northwestern corner of the state.

Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Commissioner Christi Craddick on Tuesday outlined her plans for lightening the regulatory burden on the state’s oil and natural gas producers.