Regulatory

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has appointed three people to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC), which oversees energy resources. Appointed were Ashley Lowe Ager of Durango, a soil conservation/reclamation professional; Kent Jolley of Glenwood Springs, a royalty owner and rancher; and Winston Perry Pearce of Denver, a petroleum/geology engineer with industry experience.

If Congress repealed three tax preferences for oil and natural gas producers, domestic gas drilling could decline by about 11%, depending on gas prices, and domestic gas prices could increase 7-10% by 2030, according to a paper published by the Council on Foreign Relations.

Two oil/natural gas ballot measures in Colorado that are strongly opposed by the industry were submitted to state officials for signature verification on Monday, the state imposed deadline for submittal.

California Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers on Monday put on hold the state grid operator’s pursuit of a western regional power grid that gradually lessens dependence on natural gas-fired generation among other byproducts called for under a state law passed last year (SB 350). Concerns about the state’s ongoing aggressive climate change programs prompted the action.

Staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Office of Enforcement (OE) said it has preliminarily determined that National Energy & Trade LP violated FERC’s Prohibition of Natural Gas Market Manipulation “by fraudulently trading physical basis at Texas Eastern M3 (Tetco M3) during the January 2012 bidweek to increase the value of its financial basis position.” OE staff alleges that Houston-based National Energy sold physical basis at Tetco M3 at arbitrarily low prices early in the morning to benefit a large short financial basis position acquired before bidweek, a large part of which it repurchased after making its physical basis sales. Staff also alleges that National Energy fraudulently traded physical basis at Henry Hub during the April 2014 bidweek to increase the value of its financial exposure, by trading physical basis after the close of the NYMEX solely to benefit its exposure to the Henry Hub Inside FERC index.

Consol Energy Inc. has reached a settlement with state and federal regulators to pay $3 million for Clean Water Act violations that occurred years ago in its coal operations. Consol had been waiting to reach the agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Justice and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The company has already spent heavily to resolve some of the violations and prevent future incidents. It also has set aside money to pay for the settlement. The government alleged that Consol consistently violated its Clean Water Act discharge permits. Federal regulators started reviewing the company’s discharges in 2011. Consol would also better manage and monitor mining wastewater at its Bailey Mine Complex in Pennsylvania as part of the settlement. The company has been transitioning to a pure-play natural gas exploration and production company in recent years. It has sold $5 billion in coals assets since 2012. It has just one non-operated coal complex in its portfolio.

Statoil ASA has filed a lawsuit against Marshall County, WV, to recover about $350,000 it overpaid for property taxes last year.

FERC Commissioner Tony Clark, who announced earlier this year that he would not seek reappointment when his term ended on June 30, said Thursday that he would leave the regulatory agency following the scheduled Sept. 22 business meeting.

FERC has approved the application for Williams Partners LP’s Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Co. LLC’s (Transco) Dalton Expansion.