Regulatory

Abigail Ross Hopper, current director of the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) and a strong supporter of offshore wind energy, has been named director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) effective Jan. 5, according to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell.

As the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) email scandal continues to unfold, a California regulator on Wednesday blasted allegations that he was more chummy with a PG&E executive than had previously been disclosed.

Dual-fuel capability “has a much lower cost for a new combined-cycle plant” than firm natural gas transportation for power generators in the Eastern Connection, and for simple-cycle plants the difference is even more pronounced, according to a study summarized in the last of eight Gas-Electric Coordination Quarterly Update reports issued by FERC Thursday.

Wyoming on Monday asked the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to deny challenges from environmental groups to its federally approved plan for controlling nitrogen oxides (NOx), or haze.

FERC took action on four natural gas pipeline projects at its meeting on Thursday, issuing three certificates of public convenience and necessity (CPCN) for three expansion projects and vacating an order for construction of a compressor station.

The nomination of Colette Honorable, current chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission, to become a commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was confirmed by a voice vote in the U.S. Senate Tuesday night.

President Obama Tuesday extended indefinitely a four-year-old freeze for oil and natural gas leasing in the waters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay, a move criticized by industry representatives.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will face a $60 million cut in its funding and will have to cut staff to the lowest level since 1989 if President Obama signs the $1.01 trillion spending bill that passed both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support.

American Midstream Partners LP notified FERC on Thursday that it has reached a settlement over plans to abandon its 88-year-old Midla pipeline system in Louisiana and Mississippi.