Regulatory

Attorneys have cited the absence of a safety valve in lawsuits on behalf of residents that have been dislocated by a two-month-old natural gas storage well leak in the northwest end of the Los Angeles San Fernando Valley (see Daily GPI,Nov. 19).

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has identified thousands of idled well locations it will be focusing on in 2016, according to a 43-page report, “Final Reclamation Inspection and Implementation Program,” completed by COGCC staff.

Emphasizing the environmental benefits of increased reliance on natural gas, American Petroleum Institute (API) CEO Jack Gerard outlined the trade association’s apparent lobbying strategy amid growing concern about the climate impacts of fossil fuels.

Opponents of Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC’s Northeast Energy Direct (NED) — and everyone else — have about another week to comment on the project at FERC. The commission extended the comment period to Jan. 15 to make up for technical difficulties with its eFiling system that prevented some document submissions over the holidays.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) told FERC that Columbia Gas Transmission LLC’s proposed WB XPress Project, which would increase capacity of the company’s regional interstate pipeline system by 1.3 Bcf/d, appears “unlikely” to pose a threat to the environment.

An Asian plan to open an Atlantic Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker terminal for U.S. and Canadian production advanced Wednesday, when the National Energy Board (NEB) granted the project a 25-year import/export license.

In a voluminous FERC filing Monday, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC (TGP) responded to questions from the Commission about its Northeast Energy Direct (NED) project and refuted criticisms that were leveled by the Massachusetts attorney general (AG) against the project in November.

Repsol Energy North America Corp., the largest shipper on Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline LLP (M&NE), has told FERC that M&NE and affiliate Algonquin Gas Transmission LLC have failed to answer questions about how their Atlantic Bridge Project could affect existing M&NE shippers.

Separate federal and state probes are now underway in California as the Aliso Canyon underground natural gas storage well leak continues to draw the spotlight. The leaking well in the foothills northwest of downtown Los Angeles has officials focusing on unanswered questions regarding the volumes of methane escaping into the atmosphere and the extent to which over-pressurization led to the well failure.