Regulatory

National support has swiftly fallen short of volunteering to pay for Canadian oil and natural gas export pipeline projects.

Industry groups are prepping for review of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed voluntary Natural Gas STAR Methane Challenge Program, through which oil and natural gas companies could make and track commitments to reduce methane emissions.

After months of hearings, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday unveiled a lengthy, comprehensive energy bill that calls for, among other things, the expedited review of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and associated infrastructure, and for any related legal challenges to such exports.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has signed an agreement to work cooperatively with federal and state officials to preserve greater sage grouse habitat on working rangelands.

Alaska may not conduct 3-D seismic exploration and drilling in the 1.5-million coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), according to a U.S. District Court ruling issued in Alaska Tuesday. It is the latest blow to the state’s long-running effort to assess the area’s resource potential.

The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) on Wednesday granted a Royal Dutch Shell plc unit conditional approval of two permits for limited exploratory drilling activities in the Chukchi Sea offshore Alaska, but it is limited to drilling only the top sections of wells and barred — for now — from drilling into oil-bearing zones.

Kinder Morgan Inc.’s (KMI) Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline project has been a lightening rod for protest by New England pipeline skeptics since it was announced. Now, NED-minded New Hampshire lawmakers say more scrutiny is needed of the FERC process for approving such projects to ensure that the public is fully heard.

FERC Chairman Norman Bay said while these were “exciting times” for the natural gas industry as a whole, it was imperative for the industry to improve its coordination with the power generation sector, while also getting serious about cybersecurity challenges and improving its outreach efforts to communities impacted by ever-growing infrastructure.

The Bear Head liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project proposed for the Strait of Canso in Nova Scotia has received U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approval to export up to 440 Bcf per year of U.S. natural gas to Canada for liquefaction and export to free trade agreement (FTA) countries.