Newsbrief archive for July 02, 2010

IPAMS in the News

Colo.'s Vermillion Basin will be off-limits to drillers, BLM says(subscription required)

published in: E&E Land Letter on: 07/01/2010 by: Phil Taylor
The Vermillion Basin, a remote area of northwest Colorado prized by hunters and hikers for its remote wilderness character, will be made unavailable to oil and gas development, the Bureau of Land Management announced this week.

BLM brings 'cultural' bias to permitting decisions, analysis says(subscription required)

published in: E&E Land Letter on: 07/01/2010 by: Scott Streater
The Bureau of Land Management could reduce the environmental impacts of oil and natural gas drilling on public land by enforcing the regulatory powers already at its disposal, according to a new analysis that also contends lax regulation has damaged natural resources across the West.

Featured Article

MIT: Natural gas will help cut greenhouse gas emissions

published in: USA TODAY on: 07/02/2010 by: Staff
Natural gas will play a major role in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions over the next several decades, largely by replacing old, inefficient coal plants, according to a two-year study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

News from around the West

White River National Forest officials to write EIS on oil, gas leasing

published in: Glenwood Springs Post Independent on: 07/02/2010 by: Staff
Managers of the White River National Forest (WRNF) will be putting together an environmental impact statement (EIS) “to identify the portions of the WRNF that will be administratively available for oil and gas leasing … and the conditions under which surface activities can take place,” according to a statement from the Forest Service.

Rex Energy buys Wyoming land for $18.7M

published in: Associated Press on: 07/01/2010 by: Staff
Rex Energy Corp. said Thursday it plans to buy land in Wyoming for $18.7 million.

Reps Meet in Williston to Discuss Oil Impact on State

published in: KFYR-TV News on: 06/30/2010 by: Ashley Urban
The oil boom in northwest North Dakota has created many jobs and opportunities in Williston. Even cities as far away as Grand Forks are benefiting.

Western Election News

Colo. GOP Senate race heats up

published in: Associated Press on: 07/01/2010 by: Kristen Wyatt
In a dingy, wood-paneled restaurant with a $9 pizza buffet, Ken Buck is waging the latest fight with a Republican Party establishment that favors candidates with shinier political pedigrees.

U.S. not 'sovereign' over federal lands, Utah GOP Senate candidate says(subscription required)

published in: E&E Land Letter on: 07/01/2010 by: Phil Taylor
An attorney seeking to replace Utah Sen. Robert Bennett (R) has pledged to push legislation to curb the Interior secretary's authority to cancel oil and gas leases and argued that the United States may only exercise sovereignty over federal lands with the consent of the state's Legislature.

Washington Watch

Regulators assess the ultimate blackout threat

published in: New York Times/E&E ClimateWire on: 07/02/2010 by: Peter Behr
An aged transformer in a utility substation blew up this month in the Denver metro area. It sent up a geyser of flame and smoke, knocking out power to 31,000 homes.

Climate forecast hazy as Senators look for direction

published in: Politico on: 07/02/2010 by: Darren Samuelsohn
Climate and energy legislation is expected to hit the Senate floor when lawmakers return from their July 4 recess. But it’s going to have to find its way out of no man’s land first.

Climate bill hopes hang on Jeff Bingaman

published in: Politico on: 07/01/2010 by: Coral Davenport
If brand-name senators like Barbara Boxer, John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham can’t get a climate bill through the Senate, does a quiet guy like Jeff Bingaman stand a chance?

Bingaman: Do or Die Time on Energy Bill(subscription required)

published in: Wall Street Journal on: 07/01/2010 by: Stephen Power
A hot idea circulating in Washington is that congressional Democrats might try to pass climate-change legislation in the lame-duck session after the November elections.

Poll: Gulf Oil Spill Hurts Obama’s Image

published in: U.S. News & World Report on: 07/01/2010 by: Paul Bedard
When it comes to presidents with the worst reputation as masters of disasters, it's hard to beat former President George W. Bush and his handling of Hurricane Katrina.

Media Watch

Op-ed: First gulf drilling, now Colorado

published in: San Francisco Chronicle on: 07/02/2010 by: David Sirota
In recent weeks, Washington has provided ample evidence that the fossil fuel industry remains as powerful as ever in the wake of the Gulf Coast apocalypse.

Markets

Bearish inventory report reduces oil prices

published in: Oil & Gas Journal on: 07/01/2010 by: Sam Fletcher
Oil prices continued to slip June 30 in the New York market after the Energy Information Administration reported total petroleum inventories rose by 1.4 million bbl, compared with the Wall Street consensus for a 500,000 bbl withdraw.

Industry News

Pennsylvania may sit on bigger shale gas bonanza

published in: Reuters on: 07/01/2010 by: Jon Hurdle
Is there even more natural gas than thought encased in the rock below Pennsylvania?

QEP Resources spins off from Questar; to be based in Denver

published in: Denver Business Journal on: 07/01/2010 by: Mark Harden
QEP Resources Inc. said Thursday it has completed a spinoff from Questar Corp. as a public company and will be based in Denver.

Top five bottlenecks in the Gulf oil spill response

published in: Christian Science Monitor on: 07/01/2010 by: Patrik Jonsson
With each oily wave hitting marshes and beaches from the Gulf oil spill, desperation grows along the already stained Gulf Coast.

Storm Continues to Hinder Work on Oil Spill

published in: New York Times on: 07/01/2010 by: John M. Broder
Hurricane Alex, was downgraded Thursday morning to a tropical storm, but it continued to halt progress on containment work in the Gulf of Mexico and threatened to disperse oil  farther into the marshes along the Mississippi Delta.