NATURAL GAS
The Office of Inspector General found that the State Department followed proper conflict-of-interest guidelines in selecting the contractor for the proposed Keystone XL project’s environmental review. On February 26, 2014, the State Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its Compliance Follow-up Review weighing the State Department’s selection of third-party contractor Environmental Resources Management (ERM)…....
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has released its final environmental review identifying mitigation measures to advance energy exploration activities off the Mid- and South-Atlantic coast. On February 27, 2014, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released its Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for geological and geophysical (G&G) survey activities in the Mid-…...
BLM has released a draft environmental analysis of the first proposed commercial oil production project in the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve. On February 21, 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a notice seeking public input on the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the proposed Greater Mooses Tooth Unit 1 (GMT1),…...
Con Edison’s new multi-year rate plan keeps electric, gas, and steam delivery charges unchanged for 2 to 3 years and includes $1B for climate resiliency measures. Consolidated Edison Company’s (Con Edison) new multi-year, rate-stabilizing agreement approved by the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) on February 20, 2014 will keep its base electric rates…...
On January 28, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing to receive testimony on S. 1600, the Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2013. This Act that would enable domestic production of critical minerals necessary in the manufacturing of many clean energy technologies. Overview Critical minerals play and important role in…...
A Nebraska District Court declared that a 2012 law which authorized Nebraska Governor Heineman to approve the proposed Keystone XL route is unconstitutional. On February 19, 2014, the Lancaster County District Court struck down Legislative Bill (LB) 1161, the 2012 legislation which authorized Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman to approve the proposed Keystone XL pipeline route…...
The EPA has released revised underground injection control guidelines for diesel fuel use in oil and gas hydraulic fracturing activities. On February 11, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released revised guidelines to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program Class II requirements, as amended by the 2005 Energy Policy Act,…...
The U.S. Department of Energy continues LNG export terminal approvals with the sixth going to Sempra Energy. On February 11, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conditionally granted the sixth conditional licence to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to non-free-trade agreement (non-FTA) countries. The license was granted to Sempra Energy, who looks to export LNG from its…...
Drilling operations in Shell’s second Mars field platform are expected to push the Shell’s Mars field oil production levels to 100,000 barrels per day in 2016. On February 4, 2014, Royal Dutch Shell Plc announced it started oil production from the Mars B field through Olympus, the largest deep-water floating platform in the Gulf of…...
The recent domestic oil and gas production boom and industry pressure has re-started U.S. crude oil export ban debate under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. Overview In 1973, the United States experienced a historic oil crisis in response to the Arab oil embargo and the subsequent 70 percent OPEC oil price increase…...
Shell has decided to halt 2014 Arctic drilling operations following a court ruling that DOI’s Chukchi Sea lease sale was based on arbitrary production estimates. On January 30, 2014, Royal Dutch Shell Plc announced its decision to stop its offshore Alaska exploration program for the second consecutive year. The announcement comes after a January 22…...
The Whitehouse has released guidelines for federal departments and agencies to implement the 2013 Arctic National Strategy On January 30, 2014, the White House released an implementation plan to execute the National Strategy for the Arctic Region issued in May 2013. The plan details specific activities to implement the Arctic Strategy’s three lines of effort:…...