Latest Energy Headlines
All the headlines from our Energy Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Iran Oil Shipping Insurance Issues Will Take 2-3 Months to Resolve: Tanker Firm
Mar 1 2016 // Frontline, one of the world’s largest independent tanker firms, says securing insurance for cargoes carrying oil from Iran is likely to take another two to three months, potentially limiting Iran’s ability to...
U.S. Regulator Treads Lightly on Railroads Over Hazmat Violations: Report
Mar 1 2016 // Federal regulators are failing to refer serious safety violations involving freight rail shipments of crude oil and other hazardous cargo for criminal prosecution, and are going lightly on civil fines, according to a...
Thawing Arctic Ice Creates New Environmental Risks as Shipping Routes Open
Feb 25 2016 // The Arctic is thawing even faster than lawmakers can formulate new rules to prevent the environmental threat of heavy fuel oil pollution from ships plying an increasingly popular trade route. Average Arctic temperatures...
Louisiana Court Rules Flood Board Can Hire Outside Lawyers for Oil Suit
Feb 22 2016 // A south Louisiana flood board has won a legal round in its fight against oil and gas companies over coastal wetland damage. A state appeal court ruled last week that the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East...
Oklahoma Agency Calls for Cuts in Wastewater Well Volumes to Stem Quakes
Feb 18 2016 // The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), which regulates oil and gas production activity in the state, has come up with a volume reduction plan for oil and gas disposal wells in response to the surge in earthquakes in...
New North Dakota Oil and Gas Rules Would Require Pipeline Bonds
Feb 17 2016 // North Dakota regulators are proposing new rules aimed at the oil industry. A slate of proposed rules were unveiled on Feb. 16, including a requirement that would require bonding for all crude and saltwater...
Sierra Club Lawsuit Claims Fracking Contributing to Oklahoma Earthquakes
Feb 16 2016 // Sierra Club weighed into the controversy over fracking and increased earthquake risk with a lawsuit accusing a Chesapeake Energy Corp. unit, Devon Energy Production Co. and New Dominion LLC of triggering tremors in...
5.1M Quake Among Latest Swarm of Temblors in Oklahoma
Feb 16 2016 // A 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook northwest Oklahoma and was felt in seven other states on Feb. 13, the U.S. Geological Survey said, the third-strongest temblor ever recorded in the state where the power and frequency of...
New York-Based Insurer Says U.S. Has Lifted Sanctions for Iranian Oil Cargoes
Feb 12 2016 // A U.S.-based insurer to the global shipping industry said it got government authorization to cover non-American companies transporting oil from Iran, potentially helping the Persian Gulf country to revive exports of crude...
How Supreme Court Could Upend Obama Clean Power Plan
Feb 11 2016 // The U.S. Supreme Court’s unexpected move to block President Barack Obama’s policy to cut pollution from coal plants highlights what both sides in the legal fight agree is a key weakness in the rules — a...
Energy Insurers Become Latest Casualty of Oil Slump as Projects Are Postponed
Feb 11 2016 // The insurance industry is becoming the latest casualty of the oil price slump, with postponements and cancellations of energy projects forcing down premium rates and income in a market that was already crowded. Insurers...
Insurance Agency Growth, Profits Slipped in 2015 on Oil Bust, Soft Market: Reagan
Feb 9 2016 // Insurance agency and brokerage organic revenue growth slowed to 4.6 percent for 2015, according to the latest Reagan Consulting Organic Growth and Profitability (OGP) survey. That was down from the organic growth of 6.2...
California Commissioner Explains Call for Insurer Divestment from Coal
Feb 4 2016 // One can say California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has a beef with coal. Jones made a bold move on Jan. 25 when he asked all insurance companies doing business in California to voluntarily divest from their...
Arkansas Utility Wants U.S. to Uphold Exxon Mobil Spill-Related Fines
Feb 4 2016 // A water utility company in Arkansas is urging a federal regulatory agency to uphold fines and new safety requirements for Exxon Mobil Corp. regarding an oil spill in Mayflower. In a letter to the Pipeline and Hazardous...
International Insurers Still Reluctant to Provide Cover for Iran Oil Cargoes
Feb 3 2016 // Oil companies looking to steal a jump on rivals in the race to benefit from Iran’s emergence from Western sanctions risk having tankers left in limbo by international insurers’ continued reluctance to provide...
Gasoline Imports Easier to Insure than Crude Exports in Post-Sanctions Iran
Jan 28 2016 // Major oil firms and trade houses are gradually resuming energy trading with Iran but efforts remain very cautious and often face huge legal obstacles, meaning a post-sanctions return to full-scale activity will take weeks...
Survey: Natural Gas Production in West Virginia Surpassing Expectations
Jan 28 2016 // A single Ohio County, West Virginia Marcellus Shale well yielded enough natural gas in 2014 to provide electricity for 24,315 homes, according to new numbers released by the West Virginia Geological & Economic...
Exxon: Oil & Gas to Will Continue Dominate Energy Sector for Decades
Jan 27 2016 // The way Texas-based oil giant Exxon Mobil sees it, the global energy landscape won’t be radically different in 2040 than it is today. Oil and gas will remain king, accounting for an even slightly larger share of the...
Insurance Placement Difficulties Delay Iranian Crude Exports to Europe
Jan 27 2016 // Efforts by Iran to start exporting oil to Europe are being held up as foreign tanker owners are still struggling to secure insurance for cargoes, leading shipping players said on Tuesday. A nuclear deal between world...
California Gas Leak Follows Years of Lax Regulation of Aging Storage Wells
Jan 25 2016 // Long before a natural gas storage well sprung a disastrous leak near Los Angeles, Calif., utilities and national industry groups were raising alarms about the danger of aging underground storage infrastructure. The leaking...
