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May 18, 2012
Lead Stories
Austin American Statesman
May 17, 2012
AUSTIN ENERGY'S CREDIT LIKELY TO BE DOWNGRADED, ADVISER TELLS COUNCIL
The City of Austin's financial adviser delivered a stern warning Thursday: Austin Energy's credit rating is likely to be downgraded, which would add significant long-term costs to the utility.
"I think there's a strong potential that the rating could go down," said Bill Newman, a bond expert at the firm Public Financial Management, who told the City Council a downgrading is even more likely if a much-debated upcoming electric rate increase is too small. "I'm sorry to be the sledgehammer diplomat that I am, but that's the way I see it, and I think that's the way (Wall Street) will see it."
The credit rating affects how much the city-owned utility can borrow for large projects, such as building or replacing substations.
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CNBC
May 17, 2012
WORLD OIL DEMAND RETURNING TO GROWTH: OPEC
Oil demand has been growing in the United States, where consumption in April grew for the first time since March 2011, and Japan, helping to offset weaker demand in crisis-hit Europe, OPEC said on Thursday. “Given the stabilization of the U.S. economy and the shutdown of Japanese nuclear power plants, world oil demand growth has—at least for the short-term—stopped its declining trend and is showing some growth, OPEC said in its monthly oil market report.
World oil demand will rise by 900,000 barrels per day this year, the organization said, broadly unchanged from last month’s estimate.
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CNN
May 17, 2012
U.S. SLAMS CHINESE SOLAR PANELS WITH NEW TARIFFS
The U.S. Commerce Department announced stiff tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels Thursday, a move critics said could raise costs for consumers and further inflame trade tensions with Beijing.
The preliminary ruling came as a result of a finding that Chinese solar cell manufacturers are "dumping" their products on the American market below production costs.
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Houston Chronicle
May 17, 2012
CUSHING-TO-GULF COAST PIPELINE REVERSAL COMPLETED
The Seaway pipeline will begin carrying oil from the glutted Cushing, Okla. storage hub to the Gulf Coast refining market this weekend, owners announced Thursday.
Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge Inc., partners in the 500-mile pipeline, said they have completed the six-month project to reverse Seaway’s flow.
The 30-inch wide pipeline has carried oil north since 1995. But growing crude production from Canada and northern states has created an oversupply in the midcontinent, allowing domestic oil to trade more cheaply than that imported from overseas.
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Oil & Gas Stories
Bloomberg
May 18, 2012
G-8 LEADERS TO DISCUSS OIL MARKET AS IRAN EMBARGO NEARS
The impact on oil prices from sanctions on Iran will be on the agenda when President Barack Obama meets with other leaders of the Group of Eight nations, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said.
Strategic oil reserves also will be part of a “broad discussion” about energy markets at the summit, Donilon said at a briefing, refusing to say whether the U.S. will advance any decision about tapping supplies.
The U.S. and its allies are monitoring oil markets “particularly in light of the Iranian sanctions,” he said. “I’m sure that the leaders will discuss the range of options that they might have before them.”
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Bloomberg
May 18, 2012
EAST TIMOR ENDS FIRST DECADE FIGHTING OIL CURSE
The Southeast Asian nation of East Timor celebrates 10 years of independence tomorrow night facing a challenge that has eluded emerging economies across the world: How to stop oil wealth wrecking your economy.
After a decade of contract delays, deadlocked oilfield negotiations with Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL) and a political crisis that almost precipitated civil war, East Timor has moved from the poorest country in Asia, dependent entirely on international aid, to one with a $10 billion resources fund and almost entirely dependent on oil.
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Bloomberg
May 17, 2012
FIRST INDIA SHALE GAS SEEN IN 4 YEARS, CHINA OUTPUT NEARS
Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) of India and competitors may drill for at least four years before producing the first commercial shale gas in the nation as China expects to commence output next month and Australia boosts reserves.
ONGC, India’s biggest explorer, is studying data for shale- gas deposits and awaiting a government policy on commercial drilling for gas trapped in shale rock, Sudhir Vasudeva, chairman of the state-run company, said in a telephone interview yesterday. China Petrochemical Corp. will start pumping the nation’s first shale gas from a project in Sichuan province next month, according to a report on Caixin’s website on May 15, citing the company.
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CNBC
May 18, 2012
OIL HITS 2012 LOW UNDER $107 ON EURO ZONE TURMOIL
Oil prices slipped below $107 a barrel on Friday and hit a 2012 low as investors fought shy of riskier, growth-oriented assets on fears that Greece would leave the euro, and after a downgrade of 16 Spanish banks by Moody's added to the gloom. London Brent crude was down 59 cents to $106.90 after earlier slipping to its lowest level for the year at $106.40.
U.S. light, sweet crude was down 7 cents to $92.49.
"The driving factor is still what is going on in Europe with the downgrades of the Spanish banks and very negative sentiment towards risk investments," said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "It's not surprising to see further falls in Brent today."
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Houston Chronicle
May 18, 2012
CHESAPEAKE COULD FACE TOUCH CHOICES TO CLOSE BUDGET GAP
Chesapeake Energy faces a $3.9 billion shortfall between cash it expects to raise for the rest of the year and what it needs for new drilling and debt, according to a Chronicle analysis - a situation that could force a tough choice between cutting expenses or selling valuable assets.
Estimates of the shortfall vary among analysts, based on their projections of such factors as the future price of natural gas - higher prices would improve Chesapeake's finances - and the prices Chesapeake can command for assets including acres of oil and gas properties in Texas' Permian Basin.
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Houston Chronicle
May 18, 2012
ENBRIDGE ENLARGING PIPELINE THAT RUPTURED IN 2010
Enbridge Inc. will enlarge a pipeline that ruptured nearly two years ago in southwestern Michigan so it can carry more oil from deposits in western Canada and North Dakota, a company official said Thursday.
Replacement of the 286-mile-long line that runs from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ontario, is part of a $2.6 billion project to boost the flow of oil to refineries in the eastern U.S. and Canada through a network of pipelines that extends through portions of Michigan and other Great Lakes states.
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Daily Finance
May 17, 2012
HOW ENERGY MARKETS ARE AFFECTING THE DOW
Since peaking on May 1, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI) has closed down every day except one, losing about 5% of its value in the process. But as the blue chips have slid, oil prices have slipped even further, down more than 10% since closing near $106 per barrel on May 1, and shares of United States Oil (ASE: USO) , an ETF tracking the West Texas crude price, have dropped from more than $40 all the way down to $35.
News today that U.S. oil demand had increased 2.2% along with a 1.2% uptick in gasoline use over the last week helped momentarily stem the drop in oil prices, but the day's drop continued, down over 1% as of this writing. Crude inventories also rose by 2.1 million barrels, remaining at 22-year highs.
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Bloomberg
May 17, 2012
PICKENS SHUNS CHESAPEAKE STOCK FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2008
T. Boone Pickens, the Texas billionaire who spent the past decade promoting U.S. natural gas as an alternative to Middle East oil, has walked away from the nation’s second-largest gas producer and the man he calls a friend as Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) (CHK)’s value dropped by a fourth.
Pickens’s sale of almost half a million Chesapeake shares in the past six weeks comes as the 83-year-old hedge-fund manager maintains his longstanding praise for Chesapeake’s “visionary” chief executive officer, Aubrey McClendon. The decision to unload his stake marks the first time Pickens hasn’t held shares in the company since 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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NPR
May 17, 2012
FRACKING'S METHANE TRAIL: A DETECTIVE STORY
Gaby Petron didn't set out to challenge industry and government assumptions about how much pollution comes from natural gas drilling.
She was just doing what she always does as an air pollution data sleuth for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"I look for a story in the data," says Petron. "You give me a data set, I will study it back and forth and left and right for weeks, and I will find something to tell about it."
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The Express Tribune
May 17, 2012
RUSSIA SAYS ACTION ON SYRIA, IRAN MAY GO NUCLEAR
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned on Thursday that military action against sovereign states could lead to a regional nuclear war, starkly voicing Moscow’s opposition to Western intervention ahead of a G8 summit at which Syria and Iran will be discussed.
“Hasty military operations in foreign states usually bring radicals to power,” Medvedev, president for four years until Vladimir Putin’s inauguration on May 7, told a conference in St. Petersburg in remarks posted on the government’s website.
“At some point such actions which undermine state sovereignty may lead to a full-scale regional war, even, although I do not want to frighten anyone, with the use of nuclear weapons,” Medvedev said. “Everyone should bear this in mind.”
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Utilities Stories
Ft. Worth Star Telegram
May 17, 2012
TEXAS PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION INTENDS TO DRIVE UP ELECTRICITY PRICES
READ MORE HERE: HTTP://WWW.STAR-TELEGRAM.COM/2012/05/17/3968655/TEXAS-PUBLIC-UTILITY-COMMISSION.HTML#STORYLINK=CPY
Public Utility Commission members are set to meet in Austin today, and they're expected to continue their quest to jack up electricity prices.
It has to be done sooner or later, the three commissioners agree, to induce companies to build more power plants in the state. Without more plants, some hot summer day not too far down the road we're likely to see rolling blackouts because there won't be enough electricity to go around.
"If we don't get investment in our generation market, we are in a world of hurt," Commission Chairwoman Donna Nelson of Austin said at a meeting last month.
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/05/17/3968655/texas-public-utility-commission.html#storylink=cpy
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Corpus Christi Caller Times
May 16, 2012
LAS BRISAS PROJECT SLOWED BUT NOT SIDETRACKED BY LAWSUIT, BOARD MEMBER SAYS
Despite recent legal setbacks related to an air permit needed to break ground on the project, Las Brisas Energy Center officials are prepared to take their case to a higher court, if necessary, to build a petroleum coke power plant on the Corpus Christi Inner Harbor.
Travis County District Court Judge Stephen Yelenosky on Monday sent a letter noting his intention to send Las Brisas' air quality permit back to the state for more detailed review, a decision applauded by the plant's opponents as setting a major roadblock for the plant.
Las Brisas board member Rogers Herndon said Tuesday any rumor of the plant's demise is premature.
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Reuters
May 17, 2012
CALIFORNIA & TEXAS SUMMER POWER SUPPLIES TIGHT - FERC
Power supplies in California and Texas could be tight this summer, potentially boosting prices and testing the local electric reliability, the staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said Thursday.
If the San Onofre nuclear power plant does not return to service this summer, FERC said Southern California and particularly the San Diego area could see very low reserve margins.
Southern California Edison (SCE), a unit of California power company Edison International, operates the 2,150-megawatt San Onofre nuclear plant for its owners, including SCE and California power company Sempra Energy's San Diego Gas and Electric.
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Energy Digital
May 16, 2012
IS COAL DEAD?
Over the last few years, the Environmental Protection Agency has aggressively pursued regulations to get rid of coal in the US. In addition to low natural gas prices, the stricter pollution rules will make many facilities unprofitable and forced to shut down.
Last month, the EPA effectively achieved a de facto ban on new coal-fired power plants, leaving little hope for remaining sites. Under the Clean Air Act's “new source performance standards,” new utilities will be required to install equipment to control CO2 emissions, such as carbon capture and sequestration—some of the most expensive and complex industrial equipment on the market.
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Electric Light and Power
May 17, 2012
CONTRACTS AWARDED FOR CREZ TRANSMISSION LINE CONSTRUCTION
Quanta Services, Inc. expanded of its master agreement regarding Competitive Renewable Energy Zone projects assigned to Electric Transmission Texas, LLC by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Under the expanded master agreement, Quanta has the exclusive right initially to negotiate the construction of the entire 460 miles of new 345-kV transmission line projects in west Texas. Quanta previously had initial bidding rights to about 250 miles of the projects.
Quanta also won two individual project authorizations under the master agreement for the construction of about 155 miles of ETT's CREZ projects. All of ETT's CREZ projects are planned to be complete by the end of 2013.
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Scientific American
May 17, 2012
THE BACKBONE OF THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM: A LEGACY OF COAL AND THE CHALLENGE OF RENEWABLES
“Energy policy” and “clean energy” may be political hot buttons this year, but the technological realities and challenges to achieving energy and environmental goals are seldom discussed. There is strong public sentiment that the U.S. should decrease our reliance on fossil fuels because of concerns about pollution, global warming, ecosystem damage, and energy security. Although a domestically abundant energy source, coal power is imputed as being a major contributor to smog, acid rain, and global warming. High-profile accidents associated with coal mining and coal ash management have further damaged coal’s reputation. Grass-roots campaigns to replace coal as a major source of electricity claim that wind, solar, and geothermal power could replace retired coal capacity.
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Alternatives & Renewables Stories
Bloomberg
May 17, 2012
U.S. SOLAR TARIFFS ON CHINESE CELLS MAY BOOST PRICES
The U.S. yesterday imposed tariffs of as much as 250 percent on Chinese-made solar cells to aid domestic manufacturers beset by foreign competition, though critics said the decision may end up raising prices and hurting the U.S. renewable energy industry.
The U.S. Commerce Department ruled that Chinese manufacturers sold cells in the U.S. at prices below the cost of production and announced preliminary antidumping duties ranging from 31 percent to 250 percent, depending on the manufacturer. China criticized the action, saying the U.S. is hurting itself and cooperation between the world’s two largest economies.
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Bloomberg
May 17, 2012
JAPAN’S DOMESTIC SOLAR EQUIPMENT SHIPMENTS SURGE 38% IN JAN-MAR
Japan’s domestic shipments of solar cells and modules surged 38 percent to 392 megawatts in the first three months of this year, the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association said today.
The growth was led by the residential market, which rose 45 percent to 331 megawatts, the industry group said in a statement. Exports fell 53 percent to 163 megawatts.
For the full year ended March 31, domestic shipments rose 32 percent to 1,404 megawatts as the residential market increased 40 percent to 1,206 megawatts, the association said. Exports for that period fell 13 percent to 1,281 megawatts.
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Talking Points Memo
May 17, 2012
HOUSE COMMITTEE TORPEDOES MILITARY BIOFUEL PROGRAMS
Tucked away in the House Armed Services Committee’s proposed Pentagon budget is a provision that could bring the U.S. military’s ambitious foray into biofuels to a screeching halt.
Earlier this week, the Republican-led committee voted to ban the Department of Defense from purchasing alternative fuels that cost more than “traditional” fossil fuels.
That would eliminate several emerging biofuels that have undergone successful testing by the Air Force and Navy over the past year on aircraft and ships.
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Forbes
May 16, 2012
SOLARCITY: DITCH YOUR BIG UTILITY AND GET A FREE ROOFTOP SOLAR SYSTEM
In states with deregulated electricity markets, power providers must compete for customers who can switch to a competitor much like they change cellphone services. That’s created an opening for renewable energy companies like Maryland’s Clean Currents. But how to lure customers away from fossil fuel rivals?
How about a free rooftop solar system?
In a deal announced Tuesday with SolarCity, the Silicon Valley solar installer, Clean Currents customers in Maryland and Washington, D.C. will get photovoltaic panels free in exchange for signing a 20-year-power purchase agreement that locks in their electricity costs at a price about 10% below current rates.
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Forbes
May 17, 2012
SMALL WIND ENERGY GOES URBAN IN ITALY, KOREA, BRAZIL AND TEXAS
It’s possible to reduce today’s energy consumption for street and road lighting by as much as 60% with new technologies – LED, smart lighting, distributed wind energy and even lights out programs. By example, the city of San Jose, California was able to trim down their $4 million annual electric bill for streetlights just by converting their street lights to LEDs. The city of Calgary replaced all of their street lighting with efficient lights which ended up saving the city about $2 million a year. The City of Oslo in Norway, installed intelligent street lighting which led to an energy savings of 70%.
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Regulatory Stories
Bloomberg
May 17, 2012
HOUSE PANEL BACKS MEASURE TO DELAY U.S. EPA GASOLINE RULES
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation to study and delay Environmental Protection Agency rules that would affect the price of gasoline.
The committee voted 28-13 today for the bill that would prohibit the EPA from requiring reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions from refineries or use of lower polluting sulfur in gasoline while a government panel studies the effect of regulations on prices.
The EPA hasn’t proposed either regulation, and Democrats said it didn’t make sense that rules yet to be issued were already pushing prices higher.
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Dallas Observer
May 17, 2012
TRY NOT TO BREATHE TOO MUCH TODAY, DFW
According to a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality prediction, the air today has been categorized as Code Orange, or "unhealthy for sensitive populations." Now, you may think, as a fine physical specimen, that this doesn't apply to you. But you'd be wrong. "Sensitive" doesn't mean what you think. Sure, asthmatics shouldn't breathe outdoors. Neither should folks with heart conditions. Yet it also pertains to children who plan to burn some pent-up exuberance by frolicking in the backyard. It pertains to you, the runners in the top cardiovascular percentiles, whose exertions will make for an especially hack-y, wheezy jog.
And it might be even worse than you think.
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Politico
May 17, 2012
WHEN IT COMES TO NATURAL GAS, OBAMA CAN’T WIN
President Barack Obama talked up natural gas in his State of the Union address, his top aides have held dozens of meetings with natural gas industry leaders and his administration has given the industry what it wanted on two big regulatory issues.
What he’s gotten in return: a giant headache. Industry backers have hammered away at virtually all of the White House’s rule-making efforts while pouring millions of dollars into campaigns fighting Obama’s reelection.
At the same time, environmentalists and even some Republicans have complained that natural gas is too cozy with the White House.
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Houston Chronicle
May 18, 2012
HOUSE BILL AIMS TO CURB PENTAGON’S POWER TO BUY ALTERNATIVE FUELS
The White House is threatening to veto a defense spending bill after complaining that the measure would limit the military’s ability to power its planes, ships and tanks with alternative fuels.
At issue are provisions in the defense spending bill set to be debated by the House of Representatives this week that take aim at the Pentagon’s use of alternative fuels.
The measure would block the military from buying alternative fuels that cost more than their conventional counterparts.
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Ft. Worth Star Telegram
May 17, 2012
RAILROAD COMMISSION CANDIDATES SAY EPA MUST BE REINED IN
If the role of the Texas Railroad Commission is to fend off federal attempts to intervene in oil and gas drilling in the state, the several candidates for two open seats appear fully committed to that end.
At voter forums, during interviews and on their campaign websites, the federal government, notably the Environmental Protection Agency, is offered as public enemy No. 1. It's a stance that preceded the sudden resignation of EPA's Dallas region administrator Al Armendariz on April 30, a move prompted by the disclosure of 2010 comments Armendariz made in which he likened his enforcement policies to Roman conquerors using crucifixion to ensure compliance by subjects.
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AOL
May 17, 2012
EPA'S JACKSON SAYS FRACKING WATER STUDY WON'T STOP DRILLING
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson on Wednesday sought to tamp down concerns raised by Republican senators that the Obama administration will try to curtail shale gas and oil development through its studies of hydraulic fracturing. At a hearing before a Senate Appropriations Committee panel on EPA's $8.3 billion 2013 budget request, Jackson said a request for $8 million for additional hydraulic fracturing research was not intended to put new roadblocks in the way of domestic drilling.
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May 17, 2012
Lead Stories
Dallas Morning News
May 16, 2012
GOVERNMENT QUIETLY REDUCED PREPARATIONS FOR NUCLEAR EMERGENCIES
Without fanfare, the nation's nuclear power regulators have overhauled community emergency planning for the first time in more than three decades, requiring fewer exercises for major accidents and recommending that fewer people be evacuated right away.
Nuclear watchdogs voiced surprise and dismay over the quietly adopted revamp — the first since the program began after Three Mile Island in 1979. Several said they were unaware of the changes until now, though they took effect in December.
At least four years in the works, the changes appear to clash with more recent lessons of last year's reactor crisis in Japan. A mandate that local responders always run practice exercises for a radiation release has been eliminated — a move viewed as downright bizarre by some emergency planners.
Dallas Morning News stories may be behind subscribers-only paywall
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Houston Chronicle
May 16, 2012
VT. BECOMES 1ST STATE TO BAN HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday signed into law the nation's first ban on a hotly debated natural gas drilling technique that involves blasting chemical-laced water deep into the ground.
The Democrat, surrounded at a Statehouse ceremony by environmentalists and Twinfield Union School students who pushed for the ban, said the law may help Vermont set an example for other states. The ban may be largely symbolic, though, because there is believed to be little to no natural gas or oil beneath the surface in Vermont.
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Bloomberg
May 16, 2012
TAXPAYERS PAY AS FRACKING TRUCKS OVERWHELM RURAL COW PATHS
A surge in hydraulic fracturing to get gas and oil trapped in rock means drillers need to haul hundreds of truckloads of sand, water and equipment for a single well. Drilling that added jobs and tax revenue for many states also has increased traffic on roads too flimsy to handle the 80,000-pound (36,300 kilogram) trucks that serve well sites.
The resulting road damage will cost tens of millions of dollars to fix and is catching officials from Pennsylvania to Texas off guard. Measures to ensure that roads are repaired don’t capture the full cost of damage, potentially leaving taxpayers with the bill, according to Lynne Irwin, director of Cornell University’s local roads program in Ithaca, New York.
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Oil & Gas Stories
CNBC
May 16, 2012
CHESAPEAKE BOARD CALLED ON TO FIRE CEO MCCLENDON
A leading fund manager called on the board of Chesapeake Energy to fire its chief executive on Monday, after it revelations that he had taken $1.1 billion in personal loans against his stakes in the energy company.
In an open letter to the board of directors, Pedro de Noronha, managing partner and portfolio manager at Noster Capital, said Aubrey McClendon should be fired with immediate effect and that other CEOs would have been removed for “far lesser infraction[s].”
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CNBC
May 17, 2012
OIL PRICES FALL AS GREECE WORRIES SPOOK INVESTORS
Oil prices slid with world shares and the euro on Wednesday as investors fretted about ths political situation in Greece and fled from riskier assets. "Another is the strength of the dollar flight to safety. As you know, there is an inverse relationship between the dollar and the price of oil," he said.
Brent crude was down 64 cents at $111.60 a barrel Wednesday morning. U.S. oil was down $1.28 to $92.70 a barrel, up from an earlier low of $91.81 a barrel, the lowest since November 3.
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CNBC
May 16, 2012
SAUDI SAYS $100 PER BARREL GREAT PRICE FOR OIL
Top crude exporter Saudi Arabia wants an oil price of around $100 a barrel and would like to see global inventories rise before demand picks up in the second half of the year, Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Sunday. International Brent crude [LCOCV1 Loading... () ] settled at $112.26 on Friday, well off a peak of over $128 in March. Brent has mostly traded above $100 since early 2011, keeping fuel costs high and threatening to damage a fragile global economy.
"We want a price around $100, that's what we want," Naimi told reporters ahead of an industry event in Australia. "A $100 price is great."
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Houston Chronicle
May 16, 2012
TECHNOLOGY CAN UNLOCK NEW FIELDS, CURB FEARS OF PEAK OIL
Technology advancements in the energy sector can boost oil and gas production, improve safety and curb fears that fossil fuels are rapidly running out, a Chevron official said today.
During the opening session of a Houston energy conference this morning, Jay Pryor, Chevron’s vice president for business development, touted a number of technology advancements that have improved the efficiency and safety of fossil fuel production, including enhanced oil recovery, 3D seismic imaging, horizontal wells, and hydraulic fracturing.
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KSAT
May 16, 2012
2 BURNED IN NIXON FRACKING EXPLOSION
Two workers reportedly suffered second-degree burns early Wednesday morning after an explosion at a fracking site in Nixon.
The Gonzales County Sheriff's Office says the explosion happened around 2:30 a.m. at Vann Energy in the southeast part of the town.
Both workers were airlifted to San Antonio Military Medical Center.
Sheriff's deputies report the fire was put out shortly after the explosion.
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USA Today
May 16, 2012
NY ANTI-FRACKING MOVEMENT GETS STAR-STUDDED BOOST
The anti-fracking movement in New York state turned up the star power Tuesday with a rally in the Capitol and concert at the Empire State Plaza.
New Yorkers Against Fracking held a rally at the grand stone staircase inside the Capitol before a concert at The Egg, a 982-seat performing arts center in the state Capitol complex. The coalition called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for gas in the Marcellus Shale region of southern New York.
Actors Mark Ruffalo and Melissa Leo hosted the concert that featured Natalie Merchant, John Sebastian, Joan Osborne and a number of other performers.
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NPR
May 16, 2012
MEDICAL RECORDS COULD YIELD ANSWERS ON FRACKING
A proposed study of people in northern Pennsylvania could help resolve a national debate about whether the natural gas boom is making people sick.
The study would look at detailed health histories on hundreds of thousands of people who live near the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation in which energy companies have already drilled about 5,000 natural gas wells.
If the study goes forward, it would be the first large-scale, scientifically rigorous assessment of the health effects of gas production.
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Seeking Alpha
May 16, 2012
SHULMAN: FRACKING EQUALS GROWTH AND INCOME
I get blank stares when I discuss the "tertiary" beneficiaries of fracking: companies sitting in the right place at the right time with the right operating capabilities. Wall Street, politicians, economists -- few seem to understand the long-term implications of a huge new supply of relatively dirty oil and gas flowing from the Midwest and Canada to the Gulf. The Street is focused on the extraction companies, the steel tubing companies, even the sand companies -- but those plays are known and the run is over for now.
I like tertiary companies; call them the undiscovered country. Especially when they have yield of 9% or more.
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Bloomberg
May 14, 2012
BIGGEST SHIP HEDGE FUND TURNS BULLISH ON SUPERTANKERS
The biggest hedge fund in shipping is turning bullish on the largest oil tankers for the first time in four years as the U.S. push toward energy independence provides China with a greater share of global crude supply.
The U.S. is importing the least in 13 years as China buys more than ever, lengthening voyages for tankers and effectively reducing the fleet’s capacity, government data show. Very large crude carriers, each hauling 2 million barrels, will earn $40,000 a day this year, 81 percent more than in 2011, said Andreas Vergottis, the Hong Kong-based research director of Tufton Oceanic Ltd., which manages about $1.3 billion of assets.
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San Antonio Express News
May 16, 2012
EAGLE FORD OIL LEVELS EXPECTED TO SOAR
The development of the Eagle Ford Shale continues to prompt dazzling assessments and predictions from experts, who said at an energy symposium Wednesday that in four years, the oil-rich formation could become the nation's second-most-productive shale play.
Production in the Eagle Ford could reach 1 million barrels a day by 2016, a year after the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana does, said Trevor Sloan, director of energy research at ITG Investment Research in Calgary, Canada. “So the growth rate out of there would be pretty spectacular.”
But before production can reach that level, some problems have to be solved.
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West Virginia State Journal
May 16, 2012
ND BECOMES NATION'S SECOND-LEADING OIL PRODUCER
North Dakota has passed Alaska to become the second-leading oil-producing state in the nation, trailing only Texas, state officials said Tuesday.
North Dakota oil drillers pumped 17.8 million barrels in March, with a daily average of 575,490 barrels, Assistant State Mineral Resources Director Bruce Hicks said. That compares with 17.5 million barrels in Alaska, though still far behind Texas.
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USA Today
May 16, 2012
U.S. ENERGY INDEPENDENCE IS NO LONGER JUST A PIPE DREAM
Every president since Richard Nixon has called for the U.S. to wean itself from needing oil from unstable or unsavory countries. The nation's new-found energy riches are likely to bring that ambition closer to reality in the next two decades, according to many forecasters.
It's no pipe dream. The U.S. is already the world's fastest-growing oil and natural gas producer. Counting the output from Canada and Mexico, North America is "the new Middle East," Citigroup analysts declare in a recent report.
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Utilities Stories
NASDAQ
May 15, 2012
RAILROADS PERFORM DESPITE COAL WOES
Despite the ongoing uncertainties surrounding the demand for U.S. coal, railroads delivered stellar performances, backed by pricing and volume gains. According to market reports, North American Class 1 railroads registered substantial growth of approximately 29% in their first quarter earnings.
Railroads transport nearly two-third of coal shipments. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports, utility coal represents approximately 93% of the domestic coal demand and therefore contributes a substantial part of rail-based coal shipments.
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Wall Street Daily
May 15, 2012
SIMPKINS: HERE’S THE REAL PARIAH OF THE ENERGY MARKET
Natural gas may be the most hated commodity on the planet right now, but at least it has a bright future ahead of it.
The same can’t be said for coal – the real pariah of the energy market.
Appalachian coal prices are down 24% in the past year, while coal from the Powder River Basin is down 45%. That compares to a 56% decline for natural gas prices in that time.
But while natural gas has suffered the steeper decline, coal will have a much harder time bouncing back.
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Bloomberg
May 16, 2012
HIGH-TECH GLUE IS SECRET TO NEW CO2 'FLYPAPER'
Utilities could burn world coal reserves to the last lump without worrying climate activists, if there were some kind of carbon flypaper to catch greenhouse gases before they joined the atmosphere.
Industry has used ammonia compounds to capture carbon dioxide for food-and-beverage use for years. Global efforts to implement carbon capture and underground storage have stalled, but scientific research into potentially better, cheaper technologies continues.
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Alternatives & Renewables Stories
Power Engineering
May 16, 2012
ERCOT: TEXAS INCREASED RENEWABLE GENERATION BY 13 PERCENT IN 2011
Texas posted a 13 percent increase in renewable energy generation, from 28 million MWh in 2010 to 31.7 million MWh in 2011, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Wind generation was the largest share with 30.8 million MWh, followed by landfill gas with 497,645 MWh, hydro with 267,113 MWh, biomass with 137,004 MWh and solar at 36,580 MWh. Hydro generation was down from the 609,257 MWh recorded in 2010 thanks to ongoing drought conditions in the state, while solar more than doubled from 14,449 MWh the previous year.
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MSNBC
May 16, 2012
MEXICAN WIND ENERGY BOOM PLAYS OUT ON GUSTY SHORES
LA VENTOSA, Mexico — On an arid plain where sudden gusts of wind can rip roofs off buildings and knock over tractor trailers, Mexico is building a new engine for its energy future.
Surrounded by towering turbines in every direction, the town of La Ventosa — which means "the windy place" in Spanish — is at the heart of a wind power boom in the country.
Mexico, the world's 14th biggest economy, still punches well below its weight in terms of wind energy, ranking 24th on the planet in installed capacity last year, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
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Regulatory Stories
Dallas Morning News
May 16, 2012
DALLAS CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WANT TO KNOW: IS DRILLING SAFE?
Dallas City Council members had plenty of questions Wednesday for the head of the Dallas Gas Drilling Task Force as she presented the city-appointed group’s recommendations for a new ordinance on natural gas wells.
But three themes came up most often: whether drilling is safe in the first place, whether the city should allow drilling in parkland and floodplains, and whether drilling will hurt water supplies.
The questions were directed at the group’s chairwoman, Lois Finkelman, during a council briefing, which was interrupted momentarily when anti-drilling protesters began shouting. Mayor Mike Rawlings ordered police to remove the protesters.
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Dallas Morning News
May 15, 2012
STATE'S EXTENSION FOR EXIDE AMID FRISCO DISPUTE ANGERS OPPOSITION GROUPS
The state is giving Exide Technologies an extra 14 months to comply with the new air-quality standard for lead because of the company’s dispute with the city of Frisco over permits.
The extension is part of the state implementation plan and agreed order that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality released Friday. Those documents, which the commission will vote on later this month, spell out what the company’s battery recycling plant must do to comply with the new lead standard approved in 2008. Earlier proposals had listed the federal deadline of November 2012 to make changes for compliance.
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Cleveland Live
May 16, 2012
OHIO SENATE WANTS FRACKING CHEMICALS IDENTIFIED BUT NEGLECTS WIND FARMS
The public would have a better idea of what chemicals shale gas well developers are using, under legislation approved by the Ohio Senate on Tuesday and now headed to the Ohio House.
But the state stands to lose $2 billion in new wind farm development because of that same bill.
If approved by the House of Representatives next week as expected, the legislation would encourage public colleges and other institutions to build heating and power plants fired by natural gas and get credit for them as renewable energy, as proposed by Gov. John Kasich.
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Raleigh News Observer
May 16, 2012
FRACKING BILL ADVANCES IN N.C. LEGISLATURE
The state’s prospects for fracking gained speed Wednesday with the advance of a bill that would legalize the natural gas drilling method within two years.
But the bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Bob Rucho of Mecklenburg County, is not universally accepted even within the GOP-dominated legislature, and will complete with an alternate fracking proposal pushed by a sponsor who promises to pack it with public protections that underscore the anxieties surrounding the issue.
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San Antonio Express News
May 16, 2012
SAEN: SMITHERMAN, SLEDGE BEST PICKS FOR GOP
The antiquated and misnamed Texas Railroad Commission is in dire need of restructuring and renaming. It regulates the oil and gas industry and has absolutely nothing to do with railroads.
Three elected full-time commissioners, who are not required to have a background in oil or gas, run the agency. The post is often used as a stepping stone for those with higher political ambitions.
Two railroad commission seats are on the 2012 ballot.
Six candidates are seeking the Republican nomination for the seat vacated by Elizabeth Ames Jones, who resigned to seek the District 25 Texas Senate position.
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May 16, 2012
Lead Stories
Houston Chronicle
May 15, 2012
OBAMA CHALLENGES OIL COMPANIES TO DRILL EXISTING LEASES
The White House on Tuesday pushed back against the oil and gas industry's claims that the Obama administration is blocking domestic energy development, releasing a new analysis showing that 46 million acres of federal lands and waters leased for drilling are sitting idle.
According to the Department of Interior report, oil and gas companies are actively drilling or have launched development on less than a third of the 36 million acres they have leased offshore, and on just over half of their onshore leases.
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WOAI
May 15, 2012
FRACKING BOOM BLAMED FOR DEADLY ACCIDENTS
The Karnes County Sheriff says the roads aren’t safe for drivers, and blames the Eagle Ford Shale.
“It’s just a scary place to be on the road right now,” Sheriff David Jalufka says.
Two years ago, his deputies issued 642 citations and warnings. Last year, that number skyrocketed to 2,600.
The Sheriff blames most of the nearly 500 accidents last year on reckless driving by oil workers.
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Huffington Post
May 14, 2012
FRACKING STATES LOSING JOBS AND REVENUE AS INDUSTRY SHRINKS
While Pennsylvania, northwestern Louisiana and gas-rich areas around the Gulf of Mexico are losing jobs and revenue as the fracking industry shrinks after a price collapse, oil-rich North Dakota and Texas are in the midst of a boom.
Other winners in the fracking lottery include central and southern Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio and Wyoming, where the economy is expanding and revenues are climbing.
As oil prices are expected to stay around $100 a barrel for at least a couple of years, the success of these states may last longer. But the high volatility of energy prices may give local economies a headache.
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Galveston Daily News
May 15, 2012
EMISSIONS STILL ON THE DECLINE
The company hired by local industry to report to the state on air quality in Texas City said emissions once again were lower compared to when testing began 20 years ago. After four straight years of significant declines in benzene emissions, the 2011 levels are actually flat or in some cases increased compared to a year ago.
Overall measurements at nine air monitors in the city show emissions are well below the Air Monitoring Comparison Value established by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that are considered safe to the general population’s health.
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Oil & Gas Stories
Ft. Worth Star Telegram
May 15, 2012
CHESAPEAKE ENERGY'S CREDIT IS DOWNGRADED
Standard & Poor's lowered Chesapeake Energy's credit rating Tuesday, questioning how quickly the company can remedy its financial woes.
Chesapeake shares (ticker: CHK) dropped nearly 6 percent in heavy trading to $14.65, the lowest since March 2009.
The credit-rating agency believes that Chesapeake will struggle to generate enough cash to pay off its debts amid the lowest natural gas prices in a decade. S&P also said "mounting turmoil" from CEO Aubrey McClendon's personal financial dealings could make it tougher for the company to raise money.
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San Antonio Express News
May 15, 2012
SHALE BOOM HAS RAILS ROLLING AT PORT S.A.
Drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale is boosting development at Port San Antonio's East Kelly Railport, an area that was moribund just six years ago.
Rail traffic at the port jumped by more than 75 percent in fiscal 2011 compared with the year before, with much of the growth coming from oil field supplies offloaded from railcars to 18-wheelers and bound for drillers in the shale, officials said Tuesday.
“This is the best example, perhaps in our city's history, of turning lemons into lemonade,” Mayor Julián Castro said Tuesday as he stood near railcars stacked with drilling pipe, lumber, tubing and sand.
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PennEnergy
May 10, 2012
FRACKING WATER MARKET
Each fracked well can require as much as 22,000 cubic meters of water. That equates to 140,000 barrels, or 5.88 million gallons. All of it needs to be treated... and companies are already popping up to take advantage.
We now know that hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is a powerhouse energy technology.
The United States is producing more natural gas than it has in years...
Last year at this time, there were 1.736 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas in storage. Right now, there are over 2.576.
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Resource Investing News
May 11, 2012
WATERLESS NATURAL GAS FRACKING METHOD UNVEILED
Following a stream of dire headlines about plummeting natural gas prices, explorers and producers are finally beginning to shift their attention to advancements on the production side – more specifically, to a new natural gas extraction method.
A planned shale gas drilling project in New York state has drawn global attention for its aim to make use of a waterless form of hydraulic fracking – a new technique designed to reduce the pollution associated with controversial natural gas drilling processes.
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Bloomberg
May 10, 2012
SHALE GAS EXPLORER SAYS U.K. PRODUCTION MAY START IN 2014
Cuadrilla Resources Ltd., a U.K. shale-gas explorer that suspended drilling in northwest England after causing minor earthquakes, expects to resume work this year and said gas production may start in 2014.
“By the first quarter of 2013, we will be far enough along in the exploration program to say this makes sense to go ahead and apply for a full field development permit,” Cuadrilla Chief Executive Officer Mark Miller said in an interview. “Production could be under way as early as 2014.”
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Reuters
May 14, 2012
REGULATION TOP RISK SEEN BY ENERGY COS - US STUDY
Government regulation is the top risk seen by crude oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, according to a study of annual reports by the top 100 producers done by accounting and consulting firm BDO USA LLP.
The study of annual filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also found a large jump in concern over the regulation of hydraulic fracturing, which has become a top method for extracting oil and natural gas from shale formations in the United States, according to BDO.
"A big part of the No. 1 risk is that lurking belief the industry has a target on its back in the eyes of the government," said Charles Dewhurst, who leads BDO USA's natural resources practice.
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NPR
May 14, 2012
SCIENCE AND THE FRACKING BOOM: MISSING ANSWERS
Drillers need billions of gallons of water. It's their dynamite: They use it to split rock.
And they need trucks to move that water. Everywhere you drive in Pennsylvania's gas country, you're stuck behind a truck. You get mud all over your car. One-stoplight towns have traffic jams at noon.
Dan Lopata, who's in charge of water for Chesapeake Energy, says trucks are a pain for everybody.
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NPR
May 15, 2012
SICK FROM FRACKING? DOCTORS, PATIENTS SEEK ANSWERS
People living near gas well drilling around the country are reporting similar problems, plus headaches, rashes, wheezing, aches and pains and other symptoms. Doctors like Julie DeRosa, who works at Cornerstone, aren't sure how to help people with these mysterious symptoms.
"I don't want to ignore symptoms that may be clues to a serious condition. I also don't want to order a lot of unnecessary tests. I don't want to feed any kind of hysteria," DeRosa said.
To try to figure out what's going on, the clinic called the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which is investigating. It also started testing the air for chemicals, monitoring wind direction around the clinic and keeping diaries of everyone's symptoms. In addition, the clinic contacted Raina Rippel, project director for the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project.
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Corpus Christi Caller Times
May 15, 2012
LAS BRISAS POWER PLANT WILL LIKELY LOSE AIR PERMIT
On the northern end of the Corpus Christi ship canal, in the shadow of six major oil refineries, sit several large black mounds. They’re piles of petroleum coke, the carbon solids left over from the process of refining. Across the canal there are several hundred homes where locals live, known as Refinery Row. And until this week, the Las Brisas Energy Center was close to building a power plant that would burn that coke for energy.
In a letter Monday, Judge Stephen Yelenosky of the 345th Judicial District Civil Court said he intends to reverse the potential plant’s air permit.
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Houston Chronicle
May 15, 2012
TOTAL SAYS LEAK ON NORTH SEA PLATFORM STOPPED
French energy company Total says a gas leak on a North Sea platform has been stopped after a 12-hour operation to pump heavy mud into a well.
Yves-Louis Darricarrere, Total’s president of exploration and production, said Wednesday in a statement that “a major turning point has been achieved.”
A total of 238 staff were evacuated from the platform, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) off the Scottish coast, in March after the leak was detected.
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Utilities Stories
Texas Tribune
May 15, 2012
MAJOR PLAYER IN FIGHT AGAINST COAL COMPANY BOWS OUT
In what the leader of an environmental group said was a surprising and stunning blow to an effort to stop a Mexican company from mining coal on the border, an American Indian tribe has backed out of the fight.
The Eagle Pass-based Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas has officially withdrawn its opposition to a permit application filed by the Dos Republicas Coal Partnership, which seeks permission to mine low-grade coal from approximately 6,300 acres of land in the border town. The coal will not be used in Texas, however, but instead shipped to the Mexican state of Coahuila.
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BusinessDay
May 15, 2012
INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS AWAIT GREEN LIGHT
THE independent power producer (IPP) procurement programme is steaming ahead, much to the delight of renewable energy developers.
The Department of Energy will next Monday announce the successful bidders for the second round of the procurement programme. Companies that have submitted bids and those that hope to submit bids in future "windows" will, therefore, be closely monitoring the department’s announcement. They will be watching the latest allocation of megawatts partly to see where grid capacity will be taken up.
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Financial Channel
May 15, 2012
STATE ELECTRIC RETAIL CHOICE PROGRAMS ARE POPULAR WITH COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have adopted electric retail choice programs that allow end-use customers to buy electricity from competitive retail suppliers. While residential customer participation rates are low in almost all of these states, a majority of commercial customers have signed up with competitive suppliers in 9 states and a majority of industrial customers have signed up in 12 states. Acording to EIA, the highest participation rates are found in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic states, and Texas where electricity is supplied through Regional Transmission Organizations and states have unbundled generation from retail delivery and sales.
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Alternatives & Renewables Stories
Fort Dodge (IA) Messenger News
May 15, 2012
CORN DEMAND SET TO JUMP
Back in the pre-ethanol days, when ethanol plants were being proposed, King said, "I remember they said, 'we can add a nickel to the price of your corn.' We were thrilled about that nickel.
"(Ethanol's) been very, very successful, and if you look at this situation, now you have two plants competing. They'll set the grain prices for a long ways around here."
As the price gets better, he said, more grain will pour in from farther outside the immediate area, and even those areas' corn end users will compete to get grain within their customer bases.
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Santa Barbara Independent
May 15, 2012
BIODICO LANDS $2 MILLION GRANT
For years now, the biodiesel industry has been led by the pioneering and innovative strides of Santa Barbara-based Biodico. Its president, Russell Teall, a UCSB graduate, founded the company in the mid 1990s, and since then the biodiesel manufacturer has taken its expertise worldwide, conducting biodiesel feasibility studies in numerous countries from Argentina to Thailand, as well as opening biofuel production facilities at home and abroad, in Australia, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and California.
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NASDAQ
May 15, 2012
HYKAWY: THE RARE EARTHS INDUSTRY IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING
Is the rare earths space an industry in decline, a bubble popped? Not so, according to Jon Hykawy, head of global research and a clean technologies analyst at Byron Capital Markets. Hykawy tells The Critical Metals Report in this exclusive interview that establishing a supply outside of China could breathe new life into this exiled market. While the winners in the industry may be as rare as the elements they mine, Hykawy believes that the financial community is going to have to revisit rare earths once companies start to produce meaningful cash flows.
The Critical Metals Report: Most analysts outside the rare earth elements ( REE ) space suggest steering clear of this industry. To some extent, even you are suggesting that-except for a handful of players. Can you elaborate?
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Regulatory Stories
San Antonio Express News
May 16, 2012
PANEL TO DEBATE PROS, CONS OF GOVERNMENT REGULATION OF GROUNDWATER
A symposium Thursday at Trinity University will tackle one of the most contentious water issues facing the state: How can government regulate groundwater?
In February, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in the Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day case that landowners have a constitutionally protected right to the water below their land. That ruling assured property owners the right to sue if any regulation limits their use of the water below their property, just as they can with oil and gas.
The justices did note, however, that some regulation is needed and left it to the lower courts to decide what regulations should trigger compensation for land owners.
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Dallas Morning News
May 15, 2012
DEVELOPMENT TRUMPED DRILLING IN FLOWER MOUND ELECTION
Northern said voters who support gas drilling and more development carried Saturday’s election. She and Filidoro sounded a cautionary note about what it could mean for Flower Mound.
“The mandate from residents is that they no longer support the master plan and smart growth,” said Northern, referring to protocols that guide the town’s development and ensure that growth doesn’t outpace infrastructure.
“A lot of our traditional standards and reviews will be forgone in favor of expediency,” said Filidoro, warning that the result will be “less quality and more development.”
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The Hill
May 14, 2012
WH OFFICIAL: RELATIONS WITH OIL SECTOR THAWING, BUT NOT 'HUNKY-DORY'
The White House is trying to improve its icy relationship with the oil-and-gas industry, but things are far from "hunky-dory," a top energy aide to President Obama said Monday.
“The notion that we rolled out the welcome mat or have this hunky-dory relationship that we’re all holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya’ is not exactly where we’re at today,” White House energy adviser Heather Zichal said.
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HTRNews
May 15, 2012
TEXAS JUDGE: COAL PERMIT WON'T STAND UP IN COURT
State environmental regulators did not follow federal guidelines when they issued an air permit for a proposed coal-fired power plant on the Gulf Coast, and a Texas judge indicated the paperwork is too flawed for construction to begin.
District Court Judge Stephen Yelenosky sent the letter Monday in response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, who challenged the air permit issued for Las Brisas Energy Center last May by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Yelenosky indicated he would not back the state agency, saying parts of the permitting process were "flawed," "misleading" and wrong.
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May 15, 2012
Lead Stories
Politico
May 14, 2012
WHAT HAPPENED WITH 'CLEAN COAL?'
The Obama campaign added "clean coal" to the energy priorities on its web site this week, days after the president lost several counties in coal-rich West Virginia and criticism from GOP lawmakers.
On a page outlining President Obama's "all-of-the-above" approach, the campaign replaced a section highlighting "fuel efficiency" with one highlighting "clean coal." The change was first reported by The Hill.
Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith declined to explain why the new wording appeared. Instead, she touted the president's commitment to clean coal and attacked Mitt Romney.
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Reuters
May 11, 2012
SLUGGISH ELECTRIC DEMAND PLAGUES U.S. UTILITIES
Sluggish U.S. electricity consumption has yet to return to the level seen in 2007 as effects of the 2008 recession linger for utilities and power producers, according to industry data.
Warmer-than-normal winter weather again depressed power use in the first quarter compared to 2011, paring utility earnings in many cases and leaving executives to search for other signs of future recovery, like employment trends, the number of vacant homes and data-center development.
"There was literally no winter weather anywhere in our geographic footprint at any time," said David Crane, chairman of NRG Energy, an independent power producer with nearly 25,000 megawatts of generation located in the U.S. Northeast, Texas, Louisiana and California.
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Ft. Worth Star Telegram
May 14, 2012
CHESAPEAKE CEO WELCOMES ICAHN INTEREST; FIRM PUTS OFF SALE OF FUTURE PRODUCTION FROM EAGLE FORD SHALE
Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon said Monday that he would welcome activist investor Carl Icahn as a shareholder.
Icahn, who is reportedly buying a substantial stake in the beleaguered natural gas producer, has a reputation for investing in companies and aggressively calling for change. But McClendon hinted that no shakeup was afoot in a conference call Monday to discuss a $3 billion loan from Goldman Sachs, which the company announced late Friday.
McClendon said Chesapeake has postponed a planned sale of as much as $1 billion in future production from the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas oilfields. It also delayed the spinoff of its drilling subsidiary until at least next year.
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Oil & Gas Stories
San Antonio Express News
May 14, 2012
PANAMA CANAL WIDENING TO HAVE GLOBAL RIPPLE EFFECT
The deepening and widening of the Panama Canal will have a ripple effect on shipping throughout the world, but what happens in Texas depends on the various ports, officials said Monday.
When larger ships start routinely crossing the canal in 2015, long-haul container ship routes will change because they will be able to make more all-water deliveries, said Rodolfo Sabonge, the canal's vice president for market research and analysis. He was in San Antonio as a keynote speaker for a conference of the Federation of Freight Forwarders, Logistics Operators and Cargo Agents of Latin America.
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Houston Chronicle
May 14, 2012
QUANTIFYING THE ENERGY REVOLUTION
Consumer Energy Alliance has long recognized and advocated for the immense economic benefits that domestic energy production brings. From Pennsylvania to Texas and up to Michigan, we’ve witnessed the tremendous impact that increased energy production – both traditional fossil fuel and renewable energy – has brought to communities. And now, we have the studies to back that up.
Last week, a series of reports confirmed just how significant energy production can have on the economy. In South Texas, increased activity in the Eagle Ford Shale last year contributed over $25 billion in economic impact. This translates to 47,000 new jobs in the twenty-county region as well as $615 million in state and local tax revenue. The Center for Community and Business Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio study further concluded that South Texas has only seen the start of an economic boom. Within the next decade, the Eagle Ford will support 117,000 full-time jobs. Talk about stimulating the economy.
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Marketwatch
May 14, 2012
MARKETWATCH: ICAHN TURNS UP THE HEAT ON CHESAPEAKE ENERGY
Carl Icahn is circling a badly-wounded Chesapeake Energy Corp. For the company’s founder and chief executive, Aubrey McClendon, this could mean more trouble. To battered shareholders, however, it sounds like a rescue mission.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Icahn, the billionaire corporate raider, will soon announce he has acquired a “significant” stake in Chesapeake. That makes sense. Chesapeake’s share price hit a three-year low Friday, the culmination of deeply depressed natural gas prices, a series of major asset sales, and concerns that Chesapeake, the nation’s second-biggest gas producer, is still dangerously over-leveraged.
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Washington Post
May 14, 2012
UKRAINE’S WINDFALL OFFERS FREEDOM FROM RUSSIA
What’s more, Anders Aslund, an expert on Eastern European economies, warns that Chevron and Shell’s natural gas projects could very easily become ensnared in official corruption, benefiting a small circle of oligarchs surrounding Mr. Yanukovych and producing little fuel.
Yet by the same token, the new gas deal provides Ukraine an opportunity to demonstrate that its government can insulate critical economic affairs from that corruption, letting Chevron and Shell conduct their work free from unnecessary hindrance. Bringing Western corporate efficiency into Ukraine’s energy sector would also help remove one of the largest long-term obstacles to the country’s westernization: Russia.
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NASDAQ
May 14, 2012
SUNOCO TO RESTART PHILADELPHIA CRUDE UNIT THURSDAY
The following table lists unplanned and planned production outages at U.S. refineries as reported by Dow Jones Newswires. The information is compiled from both official and unofficial refining sources and doesn't purport to be a comprehensive list.
Sunoco Inc.'s (SUN) Philadelphia refinery crude unit shut by a brief fire on May 9 is expected to restart on May 17, a person familiar with the plant said on May 14.
Phillips 66 (PSX) on May 12 said complex personnel worked to restore normal operations at its Sweeny refinery in Old Ocean, Texas, after power was restored following an interruption earlier in the day, according to a filing to state regulators. Several units were listed as the sources of the emissions, including the sulfur recovery complex and regenerative thermal oxidizer.
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Marketwatch
May 14, 2012
CHESAPEAKE TO DELAY EAGLE FORD OIL FIELD DEAL
Chesapeake Energy Corp. said Monday that it would delay a $1 billion oil deal in the Eagle Ford oil shale in Texas, but that major asset sales in the Permian and in the Mississippi Lime basins remained on track to close in the third quarter.
Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon said that language the company included in a quarterly filing Friday warning of a delay in asset sales led many to worry that the Permian and Mississippi Lime sales "were somehow in jeopardy." But the language was referring to a Volumetric Production Payment deal in the Eagle Ford, in which the company would have sold some of the field's production in advance to investors, McClendon said. Chesapeake stock had tumbled 14% on Friday in the wake of the company's filing.
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Marketwatch
May 14, 2012
CHESAPEAKE SHARES GAIN; ENERGY SECTOR SKIDS
Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s stock rose from a three-year low Monday, as the company assured Wall Street about its plans to sell up to $11 billion assets this year and reports surfaced of Carl Icahn buying shares of the downbeaten company.
Energy stocks in the S&P 500 index dropped 1.8%, on average, by the closing bell, as the broader equities market moved lower to start the week. Shares of oil service firm bore the brunt of the selling, with Noble Corp. and Cameron International both down about 3% and Lufkin Industries off about 5%.
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Power Engineering
May 13, 2012
NATURAL GAS PIPELINE CONSIDERED FOR REGION
A high-volume natural gas pipeline could wind across a 230-mile gap from South Central Tennessee through North Alabama and Northwest Georgia on its way to link with a pipeline northeast of Atlanta.
Officials with Houston, Texas-based Spectra Energy Corp. say that, if a green light follows assessments by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other federal, state and local authorities, the proposed pipeline will connect directly the company's Texas Eastern system in Columbia, Tenn., to the Transco Interstate pipeline system near Lawrenceville, Ga.
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Reuters
May 13, 2012
EXXON BEAUMONT REFINERY COKER MALFUNCTIONS -FILING
A coking unit malfunctioned on Saturday at Exxon Mobil Corp's 344,500 barrel per day (bpd) Beaumont, Texas, refinery, according to a notice the refinery filed with the U.S. National Response Center.
A wet gas compressor tripped out of operation on the coker, according to the unit.
A hydrocracking unit was temporarily shut last week at the refinery.
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State Journal
May 13, 2012
CHESAPEAKE ENERGY RECEIVES $3 BILLION LOAN
Chesapeake Energy Corp. has received a $3 billion loan from Goldman Sachs and Jefferies Group, giving the company more time to sell assets and lower its debt.
Chesapeake has been aggressively selling oil and gas assets, but its stock tumbled Friday after the company suggested that some of its planned sales could be delayed. Investors, who worried about a cash crunch if any sales were delayed or halted, sent Chesapeake's stock down 13.8 percent to close at $14.81 on Friday.
But the Oklahoma City company's shares climbed 3.7 percent to $15.35 in after-hours trading on news of the unsecured loan.
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Bismarck Tribune
May 14, 2012
NEED, JUSTIFICATION FOR KEYSTONE GROWS
TransCanada has reapplied for approval of its proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, and Congress should bypass President Obama and set the stage to approve construction of the $7-billion, 2,145-mile pipeline.
Establishment of the pipeline would reduce U.S. dependence on oil from the Middle East and South America. It represents private investment and will create jobs, especially during construction. The pipeline will help move crude oil from western North Dakota to southern refineries in a way that’s safer than by truck or rail -- safer for the environment and people on the road in this state’s oil patch.
President Obama delayed a decision, until after the November general election, on the north half of the pipeline that proposes to bring oil extracted from coal tar sands, diluted bitumen, from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada, to Gulf Coast refineries in Texas. Obama has approved construction of the southern segment of the pipeline between Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast.
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West Virginia Gazette Mail
May 12, 2012
MARCELLUS BOOM STILL BOOMING
A new horizontal well in Tyler County produced an amazing 7 million cubic feet of natural gas in a single day, along with 650 barrels of valuable liquids: ethane, propane, butane and pentane. The operator, Magnum Hunter Resources of Texas, said of the 10,880-foot-deep well near Middlebourne:
"We believe this to be a new super-rich area for our company, which we [call] 'Magnum Rich.'"
An Associated Press analysis estimated that horizontal-style Marcellus Shale drilling produced $1.2 billion earnings in West Virginia last year -- about one-third of the $3.5 billion it generated in Pennsylvania. New York state hasn't yet allowed deep-well "fracking" that is required to exploit the Marcellus strata.
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Houston Chronicle
May 15, 2012
ANADARKO WAS PART OF $25 BILLION SCHEME, U.S. SAYS
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC)’s Kerr-McGee Corp. faces testimony from more than 50 witnesses in a trial starting today over an alleged scheme that enriched the company by $25 billion while polluting sites from New York to New Mexico.
The suit, brought by Kerr-McGee’s bankrupt spin-off Tronox Inc. (TROX) against Anadarko in 2009, and taken over by the Justice Department on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, seeks to recover $25 billion to clean up 2,772 polluted sites and compensate around 8,100 tort claimants who say they’ve been harmed by the toxins. It will test whether money can be recovered from a successor to a polluting company, even when a bankruptcy has ostensibly cleaned the slate.
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Houston Chronicle
May 15, 2012
EX-BP ENGINEER MIX SAYS EVIDENCE MAY CLEAR HIM IN SPILL CASE
Attorneys for a former BP engineer accused of deleting text messages about the size of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill said Monday an unnamed third party holds evidence that proves his innocence.
The attorneys for Kurt Mix, a 50-year-old drilling engineer from Katy, said the evidence is protected under the attorney-client privilege of a third party and “conclusively demonstrates” that Mix did not obstruct justice by deleting evidence, according to a motion filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.
Lawyers for Mix, the only person so far to face criminal charges in connection with the BP spill, are asking the court to force disclosure of the evidence. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice.
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New York Times
May 14, 2012
CHESAPEAKE ENERGY’S CHIEF, UNDER INVESTOR PRESSURE, SEEKS TO WIN OVER SKEPTICS
Chesapeake Energy sought to calm investors on Monday by disclosing details of a new $3 billion unsecured bridge loan aimed at buying time for the financially beleaguered company to bargain for the best terms in selling valuable oil fields in West Texas and other assets.
Plummeting natural gas prices have put Chesapeake, the nation’s second-largest gas producer after Exxon Mobil, in a squeeze in recent months, upending a business model that led the company to pile up debt, with long-term liabilities of $13 billion as of March 31, to finance a frenzy of land acquisition and drilling across the country.
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Utilities Stories
Austin American Statesman
May 14, 2012
ON HEELS OF ELECTION, CITY COUNCIL RESUMES DEBATE OVER PROPOSED ELECTRIC RATE INCREASE
"This is a terrible time for an increase. I wish we could wait another year or two before proposing higher electric rates, but we can't," Spelman said. He said the average home's electric rate would rise 8 percent under the complicated new rate structure, adding about $8 to a monthly bill. Larger homes would see a bigger rate increase.
Council Members Laura Morrison and Kathie Tovo quickly objected to the proposal because they said it too closely mirrors Austin Energy's plan, which they consider flawed, an assessment still shared by some environmental activists and consumer advocates.
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Ft. Worth Star Telegram
May 14, 2012
ACT QUICKLY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ENERGY-EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS
Funding is available for Oncor's home energy efficiency program and residential audit program, Molina said. The low-income weatherization program will start in June, and the start date for the home performance with Energy Star products incentive program is being scheduled.
Oncor's solar program, which provides money to help offset the cost of installing a solar photovoltaic system, has been so popular it is sold out for the year, but homeowners can get on a waiting list for future funding, Molina said.
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Omaha World Herald
May 13, 2012
TENASKA IS A POWERHOUSE AT 25
A group called Texans Against Tenaska argues that a coal-fired power plant planned near Sweetwater, Texas, would use too much water and pollute the air. In Taylorville, Ill., opponents of a proposed $3.6 billion coal-fired plant include agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland Co., which objects to the long-term electricity purchase contracts that utilities would sign with Tenaska.
The opposition and long approval processes haven't stopped the Tenaska corps from completing or starting 44 large-scale energy projects since 1987, when Howard Hawks, Thomas Hendricks and four other Enron Corp. officers decided to stay in Omaha rather than move to Houston.
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Wall St. Journal
May 12, 2012
TROUBLE IN COAL COUNTRY FOR OBAMA
Danger signs for Mr. Obama appeared as recently as Tuesday, when more than 40% of voters in West Virginia's Democratic primary cast their ballots for a felon in prison in Texas rather than for the president. Democrats said the result reflected anger at Mr. Obama's energy policy.
The Obama administration has said its policies are needed to protect health and the environment. A campaign spokeswoman said the president "is working every day to make America more energy-independent, and ensuring that coal has a future in our energy mix is a part of that effort."
Presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney has touted his support for coal plants and accused the president of overregulating businesses.
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Alternatives & Renewables Stories
Mobile Press Register
May 13, 2012
DERIDED AS FRAUD, BALDWIN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY COMPANY DRAWS INTEREST FROM CANADIAN INVESTOR
MOBILE, Alabama -- A trial in Mobile’s federal court in 2009 appeared to expose a Baldwin County company’s alternative energy operation as a fraud, but that has not stopped investors’ interest in the Bay Minette-area plant.
A bankruptcy plan approved by a judge this month hinges on a Canadian company’s ability to borrow millions of dollars to buy the plant built by Cello Energy. If successful, most Cello creditors would get paid. If not, the judge could dismiss the bankruptcies of the company and the estate of Cello’s founder, the late Jack W. Boykin.
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USA Today
May 13, 2012
WIND INDUSTRY'S FUTURE IN QUESTION AS TAX CREDIT NEARS END
The end of a key federal tax incentive for the wind industry could put a damper on much-needed wind turbine replacement efforts — known as repowering — just as many of the region's iconic windmills are hitting the upper limit of their 30-year lifespan.
The credit provides wind developers a tax break of 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for the power they generate from utility-scale wind projects for the first 10 years of production. It's set to expire Dec. 31.
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Data Center Knowledge
May 14, 2012
DATA CENTERS SCALE UP THEIR SOLAR POWER
What would an aircraft carrier look like when it’s covered with an array of solar panels? This photo of the DuPont Fabros Technology data center in New Jersey will give you an idea. The building is 1,100 feet long – about the length of a Nimitz class aircraft carrier – and will eventually provide more than 470,000 square feet of data center space to enterprises and Internet companies in the greater New York market.
Solar arrays will likely never be able to fully support the power requirements of a major data center. The enormous photovoltaic array atop NJ1 is a 2.17 megawatt system. The data center beneath currently provides 18 megawatts of critical power for its data centers – and that’s just the first phase, which takes up half the building. Once the second half comes online, that power capacity will double to 36 megawatts.
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Florida Today
May 14, 2012
THOR RENEWABLE ENERGY WANTS TO EXPAND BREVARD OPERATIONS
A biofuels company wants to significantly expand its Brevard County operations, adding 70 jobs and making a $41 million capital investment in the area.
But, first, Singapore-based Thor Renewable Energy Inc. is looking for tax breaks from the county valued at more than $2.2 million, as well as still-to-be-determined financial incentives from the state. Without the incentives, the company indicated that it could expand instead in Texas or Louisiana. Another option is Asia, where Thor started with two employees in 2010.
“It’s always a tug of war,” Thor Chief Executive Officer William Cox said. “We’ll just have to see how that works.”
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Regulatory Stories
Dallas Morning News
May 14, 2012
STATE'S EXTENSION FOR EXIDE AMID FRISCO DISPUTE ANGERS OPPOSITION GROUPS
The state is giving Exide Technologies an extra 14 months to comply with the new air-quality standard for lead because of the company’s dispute with the city of Frisco over permits.
The extension is part of the state implementation plan and agreed order that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality released Friday. Those documents, which the commission will vote on later this month, spell out what the company’s battery recycling plant must do to comply with the new lead standard approved in 2008. Earlier proposals had listed the federal deadline of November 2012 to make changes for compliance.
Dallas Morning News stories may be behind subscribers-only paywall
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Amarillo Globe News
May 13, 2012
LARGE WAR CHESTS, FUNNY VIDEO DRAW ATTENTION TO SIX-PERSON RACE
The Texas railroad commissioner race headlined by a longtime Pampa legislator and the daughter of a former House speaker is getting more scrutiny than usual in the May 29 Republican primary.
Rep. Warren Chisum of Pampa and Austin attorney Christi Craddick, whose father Tom Craddick was House Speaker from 2003 to 2009, have raised enough money to outdistance the other four candidates vying for an open seat in the three-member agency that regulates the state’s oil and gas industry.
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Amarillo Globe News
May 12, 2012
4 ACTIVELY CAMPAIGN FOR RAILROAD COMMISSION
Although there are six Republican candidates vying for the open seat in the three-member Texas Railroad Commission, only four are actively campaigning for the post.
Becky Berger, 55, of Schulenberg in east central Texas, is the only geologist on the crowded candidate field.
She is running for railroad commissioner out of concern that in recent years some commissioners have been unqualified for the post, Berger said.
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Law.com
May 14, 2012
EIGHT TEXAS FIRMS SCORE BIG ON LIST OF 2011 DEALS
It's an energy-fueled transactional heyday for the large Texas firms that were on the short list of the nation's busiest deal-making firms in 2011.
A total of eight Texas firms appear on charts in The American Lawyer 's Corporate Scorecard 2012, which ranks firms on the volume and value of transactional work in 2011. That's the same number of Texas firms on the scorecard charts as last year. Most of the BigTex firms are making repeat appearances on the scorecard charts.
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Other Stories
Austin American Statesman
May 14, 2012
WEAR: DRIVERLESS CARS? NOT SO FAST
The news last week was that the State of Nevada issued a special testing license for the cars to Google, which apparently is not satisfied controlling only our cyberlives. To qualify for the license, under a law passed by the Nevada Legislature, each vehicle has to have logged 10,000 miles off the public streets, and the company has to have posted a $1 million surety bond.
The idea behind all this, we're told, is that human beings are doing such a lousy job of driving cars — something like 30,000 deaths a year in U.S. vehicle accidents — that surely a Spockmobile could do a better job. General Motors, Stanford University researchers and others are working on similar technology.
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May 14, 2012
Lead Stories
Reuters
May 12, 2012
RFEDDALL, BERKOWITZ: INSURERS FIND IT TOUGH TO PRICE FRACKING RISK
From water worries to well blowouts, the inherent risks of oil and gas extraction are often played down by those in the business. But another group of profit-seekers has every reason to keep a close eye on dangers for drillers: their insurers.
Underwriters now face a politically charged problem in the perceived threats to water supplies of hydraulic fracturing.
Amid litigation and federal probes, insurance companies are left scratching their heads over how to price the risk of the oil and gas production technique now better known as fracking.
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Houston Chronicle
May 14, 2012
STEFFY: CHESAPEAKE’S HOUSE OF FINANCIAL HORRORS
Chesapeake Energy’s best hope for survival, at least for the near future, may be the same muddled financial structure that has led to the company’s unraveling.
The Oklahoma City-based company is a Frankenstein’s monster of finance, which may deflect takeover bids despite the 34 percent slide in the company’s stock price this year. Chesapeake’s complexity makes it difficult for a potential buyer to determine what the company is worth or what liabilities might come with its properties.
“When there are other properties available that are presented in a straightforward manner, you’d have to think that people will gravitate toward those,” said John White, with Houston-based Triple Double Advisors, an investment manager that specializes in energy.
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Bloomberg
May 10, 2012
BIG OIL'S BIG IN BIOFUELS
BP (BP) has invested $7 billion in alternative energy since 2005. ExxonMobil (XOM) is spending $600 million on a 10-year effort to turn algae into oil. And Royal Dutch Shell (RDS/A) has invested billions of dollars in a Brazilian biofuels venture, buying up sugar cane mills, plantations, and refineries to make ethanol. In the U.S., Shell produces small lots of so-called drop-in biofuels—engine-ready products that can replace gasoline—from a pilot plant in Houston that uses sugar beets and crop waste.
On the way to a renewable energy future, a funny thing has happened: Big Oil has become the biggest investor in the race to create green fuels.
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Yahoo! News
May 12, 2012
OBAMA CAMPAIGN ADDS ‘CLEAN COAL’ TO WEBSITE AFTER REPUBLICAN OUTCRY
President Obama's campaign website added "clean coal" to a list of energy priorities late this week, days after Republican lawmakers noted the omission and a federal inmate received about 40 percent of the vote against Obama in the Democratic primary in coal-heavy West Virginia.
Previously, the campaign's website highlighted "fuel efficiency" on a list of seven energy priorities, but it has been replaced by "clean coal" and the site now touts Obama's "10-year goal to develop and deploy cost-effective clean coal technology."
While the addition to the website is new, Obama's support for clean coal is not. The president officially supported investing in clean coal technology even before he was elected president, but the fossil fuel was not listed on this particular webpage until this week.
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Oil & Gas Stories
Washington Post
May 13, 2012
IRAN, UNABLE TO SELL OIL, STORES IT ON TANKERS
Increasingly hard-pressed to find buyers for its petroleum, Iran has been routinely switching off satellite tracking systems on its sea-bound oil tankers for more than a month, in what U.S. officials and industry analysts describe as a cat-and-mouse game with Western governments seeking to enforce sanctions on Iranian exports.
The unusual tactic was begun in early April and affects a quarter of Iran’s tanker fleet, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which has been monitoring the practice. The move, a violation of maritime law, is only modestly effective in cloaking 1,000-foot-long tankers as they ply the oceans in search of open ports and willing buyers. But it underscores Iran’s precarious position as it faces ever-tighter Western restrictions against its oil industry, which provides the bulk of export and government revenue.
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New Europe
May 11, 2012
FRACKING REACHES POINT-OF-NO-RETURN FOR EU LEGISLATORS
The European Parliament, specifically the Industry Research and Energy Committee, has launched a debate on the industrial and energy aspects of shale gas. It has been recorded that Poland views shale gas as an opportunity for more energy diversity as well as energy security – especially in terms of reducing dependency on third country gas imports.
The draft motion for a Parliament Resolution, prepared under supervision of the reporter MEP Niki Tzavela (EFD, GR), underlined the importance of promoting openness, monitoring and use of best practices. According to the draft report, gas is a quick and cost-efficient way of reducing reliance on other fossil fuels. It also stated that by helping to lower greenhouse gas emissions and backing up renewable, gas may become a “bridge fuel”, leading the European Union towards the transformation of the energy system outlined by the Roadmap 2050 initiative.
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Fox News
May 13, 2012
SHELL REPORTS FIRE, UNPLANNED UNIT OUTAGE AT MOTIVA PORT ARTHUR REFINERY
Shell Oil (RDSB.LN, RDSA.LN) said a unit was shut unplanned on Saturday at its joint venture Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, after a relatively brief fire at an associated heater.
A filing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ, said the R2 heater outlet check-valve caught fire which resulted in the shutdown of a lube hydrocracking unit at around 7:45 a.m. CDT on Saturday.
"(The) Unit was Shut down and depressured to (the) flare system per Emergency shutdown procedures. (The) Plant emergency response team responded and extinguished the fire. (The) Unit was isolated and secured," the filing to the TCEQ said.
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CleanTechnica
May 11, 2012
IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CLEAN ENERGY & NATURAL GAS
If you’re not familiar with The Onion, you should really give it a look — it’s a fake news site that often actually does better at reporting the news and important issues of the day than… well… anyone else around. Some of its coverage on global warming, extreme weather, and our response to these issues absolutely rocks.
Yesterday, it published a piece on natural gas fracking that triggered a light-bulb moment in my head (well, actually, it was the title of the TreeHugger piece sharing it that did so — Thanks to Fracking, PR Industry is Booming).
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USA Today
May 11, 2012
EPA: PA. VILLAGE'S WATER NOT POLLUTED BY GAS FRACKING
Drinking-water wells in a northeastern Pennsylvania community show no unsafe levels of contamination from the drilling method known as fracking, the Environmental Protection Agency announced today. Test results (pdf) for the last 12 of 61 homes in Dimock, "did not show levels of contaminants that would give EPA reason to take further action," the agency said, according to the Associated Press.
Data on two homes was not released because the agency was unable to contact the owners.
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Wall St. Journal
May 13, 2012
MIDWEST SEES A SAND RUSH
Scouts armed with geological maps and elevations from Google Earth are knocking on doors in the upper Midwest in search of what seems too common to mine: sand.
The sedimentary material is in high demand among U.S. oil and natural-gas producers, setting off a sand rush in Wisconsin, Minnesota and other Midwestern states. While adding jobs, the mining boom is prompting pushback from some local residents, who are surprised by the frenzy and leery of its impact on their communities.
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Houston Chronicle
May 13, 2012
ERCOT LOOKING FOR WAYS TO KEEP LIGHTS FOR THE SUMMER, FUTURE
As the warm Texas summer months loom, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is searching for ways to keep the lights on through this summer and in the future.
ERCOT, which serves 23 million people across Texas, said earlier this month that it plans to bring back 2,000 megawatts of power from idle plants to meet the growing demand in Texas.
Even with that extra generation, the state’s grid operator says there is a “significant chance” that it will have to issue multiple emergency alerts, asking consumers to conserve power during peak hours.
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Houston Chronicle
May 14, 2012
TOTAL SAYS GAS LEAK STOPPED AT NIGERIA FIELD
French oil company Total SA said Sunday it stopped a natural gas leak at one of its plants in Nigeria’s crude-rich southern delta after 54 days, an emergency that forced the firm to shut down the field and evacuate the area.
Total said it used heavy fluids and cement plugs to stop the gas flow from its Obite natural gas field in Rivers state, in the heart of the country’s Niger Delta. Workers will put a cement seal on the well to permanently staunch the flow from the well, Total said in a statement.
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Houston Chronicle
May 12, 2012
SHALE MAY DOUBLE AUSTRALIA’S GAS RESOURCES, FERGUSON SAYS
Australia is likely to possess vast areas of shale that may double the country’s gas resources, according to a report released today by Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson.
“This report reconfirms Australia’s capacity to continue to be a major gas exporter supplying the world’s growing demand” for the fuel well into the future, Ferguson said in a statement. The nation has enough identified resources, excluding shale, to maintain current production rates for 184 years, the report said.
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Houston Chronicle
May 14, 2012
CHESAPEAKE’S $3 BILLION LIFELINE HEAPS PRESSURE ON MCCLENDON
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK)’s $3 billion lifeline from New York banks increases the pressure on Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon to sell Texas oilfields and find deep-pocketed drilling partners.
Chesapeake, the worst-performing U.S. oil and natural-gas stock this year, can’t afford to delay $14 billion in asset sales that it warned investors may hurt its ability to comply with earlier loan agreements. The company is trying to cope with a cash crunch caused by low natural-gas prices.
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Bloomberg
May 14, 2012
GLENCORE SAID TO BUY SOKOL CRUDE FOR JULY FROM ROSNEFT
OAO Rosneft (ROSN) sold a cargo of Russia’s Sokol crude to Glencore International Plc (GLEN) for July loading at a premium of about $7.50 a barrel more than benchmark Dubai prices, said two traders who participate in the market, declining to be identified because the information is confidential.
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Utilities Stories
Texas Tribune
May 11, 2012
KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON IN TEXAS
Candidates for the Railroad Commission are traversing the state, vying to fill the slot that Gov. Rick Perry recently plugged with the appointment of Buddy Garcia, formerly of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, who's not on the ballot, but will serve through the end of the year. And there's also Barry Smitherman's defense of his appointment to that commission.
But environmentalists are watching many races lower on the ballot. Among them: Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, who has recently been outspoken about the nuclear waste dump being built in West Texas and who faces a serious challenger in Carlos Vasquez; state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, who faces a fierce challenge from former Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones; and Dr. Donna Campbell of New Braunfels.
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Dallas Business Journal
May 11, 2012
ONCOR PART OF INITIATIVE TO STANDARDIZE ENERGY USAGE DATA
A new reporting format for electric utility companies aims to standardize customer energy usage data, providing information to customers and opening new business opportunities in the electricity industry.
Dallas-based Oncor Electric Delivery, the regulated transmission company that serves North Texas, is among utilities nationwide participating in the “Green Button” initiative to provide customers with simple, standardized energy usage reports that are easily accessible on home computers.
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San Antonio Express News
May 12, 2012
CPS SAYS IT WILL LIMIT RATE HIKES
CPS Energy CEO Doyle Beneby pledged Friday to limit the utility's requests for a rate increase to every other year.
Earlier this week, Beneby said CPS would abandon its plan to ask for a rate hike in September.
Instead, CPS will ask the City Council to let it boost rates in January. The council must approve all rate hikes for the city-owned utility.
Beneby told members of the Express-News Editorial Board on Friday that when the utility seeks a rate increase in January, it will ask for “considerably less” than 4.9 percent.
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Austin American Statesman
May 12, 2012
BUDA, KYLE TO CONSIDER SETTLEMENT WITH MONARCH UTILITIES ON RATE HIKES
After more than a year of negotiations, a deal is on the table to resolve a contested request by a utility company to raise water and wastewater rates for about 24,000 Texas homes.
If Kyle and three other municipalities approve the proposal to raise water rates for Monarch Utilities customers by nearly 14 percent — about $9 for the average customer, or a third of the original increase sought — the company's drawn-out effort to collect more revenue in Texas will draw to a close.
The Kyle City Council is poised to consider the offer from Monarch at its Tuesday meeting. A public hearing is also planned for residents to weigh in.
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Alternatives & Renewables Stories
KFDA
May 12, 2012
LOCAL WIND ENERGY OUTLOOK
Despite a few recent setbacks, wind energy continues to grow in our area.
Today, Class 4 Winds held a seminar focusing on transmission lines and other projects taking place. Energy companies tell us they are eyeing the panhandles, areas well-known for wind. Despite cuts in tax credits, local experts say wind energy is worth tapping into.
"There's a need for more electrical generation, there's a need for an upgraded grid system and new infrastructure," Class 4 Winds Executive Director, AJ Swope, said. "Regardless of what happens with any subsidies or tax incentives with wind energy, we'll see these lines go up and be utilized in one form or fashion."
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Recharge News
May 14, 2012
SAMSUNG PARTNERS WITH LINCOLN FOR US SOLAR DEVELOPMENT JV
Lincoln, headed by wind industry veteran Declan Flanagan, announced the completion of its first project -- a 12.5MW installation in New Jersey -- and the 50-50 partnership with Samsung.
The new partnership, called Monument Power, will work on Lincoln's most advanced PV projects. Lincoln has more than 30 active wind and solar projects in California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida.
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Regulatory Stories
Dallas Morning News
May 11, 2012
TCEQ POSTS LASTEST STATE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, AGREED ORDER FOR EXIDE
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has posted copies online of the revised state implementation plan and agreed order for Exide Technologies that will be considered at the commission's May 30 meeting in Austin.
These documents address changes that the company must make at its Frisco facility to lower its lead emissions and come into compliance with the new air-quality standard for lead. The standard was strengthened tenfold in 2008 because of research in recent years that has shown that lead causes health problems at the smallest levels measured. There is no safe level of lead exposure. In children, it causes learning disabilities, lowered IQs and other brain damage. In adults, lead has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes.
Dallas Morning News stories may be behind subscribers-only paywall
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Bloomberg
May 9, 2012
OBAMA WARMS TO ENERGY INDUSTRY BY SUPPORTING NATURAL GAS
Huddled around the West Wing table were an unlikely group of co-conspirators with the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama.
One participant had been fighting Obama’s proposal to raise taxes by $24 billion on oil companies; another had complained that a federal labor board is hampering hiring; a third pushed Congress to repeal Obama’s provision to clean up pollution from boilers. On the one issue they were called to discuss on that April day, however, they could rally around the Democratic administration: its recent embrace of natural gas.
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Bloomberg
May 12, 2012
HOUSE PASSES SPENDING BILL WITH RIDER TO EASE HIGH-CARBON FUELS PROHIBITION
The House approved a measure May 10 to ease the federal government's prohibition on the use of alternative or synthetic transportation fuels that emit more greenhouse gases than traditional fuels.
The measure was one of several environmental policy rider amendments that were attached to an appropriations bill (H.R. 5326) that would fund the Commerce Department, among other agencies. The bill was approved by a vote of 247-163.
The fuel amendment, offered by Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas), would prohibit the use of funds in the bill to enforce section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (Pub. L. No. 110-140).
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 Copyright May 18, 2012, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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