BOE Report Staff

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado congressman is suing a drilling company to prevent them from using hydraulic fracturing on land near his property. A hearing is scheduled Friday to hear claims by U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, a Boulder Democrat, who says drilling across the street from a rural home he owns near Berthoud will damage his quality of life. According to the Boulder Daily Camera, the complaint filed in Denver District Court by Mountain Property Improvement LLC names Denver-based [Read more]

  FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. - Alberta's oilsands capital now has room to grow. The provincial government has given the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray, the rights to more than 22,000 hectares of Crown land. The province hopes the allocation will lead to new housing, businesses and jobs in the area. Energy Minister Ken Hughes says the land should meet the needs of the municipality for the next 25 years. Hughes said the population of Fort McMurray [Read more]

  EDMONTON - The provincial government has appointed six people with varied backgrounds to serve as commissioners for the Alberta Energy Regulator. The appointees have experience in farming, drinking water safety, environmental law and public service. They will sit on panels, conduct hearings and preside over energy project applications, reconsiderations, inquiries and appeals. Bringing their farming experience to the regulator are Terry Engen and Jurgen Preugschas. Steve [Read more]

NEW YORK (AP) -- The nation's natural gas supplies rose last week, the government said Thursday. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas in storage grew by 41 billion cubic feet to 2.786 trillion cubic feet for the week ended July 19. Analysts expected a rise of 47 billion to 51 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Plates, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. The inventory level was 1.6 percent below the five-year average of [Read more]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Natural gas has stopped flowing from a well that has been ablaze in the Gulf of Mexico and remaining small flames are from gas still in the pipe, regulators said Thursday. The well "bridged over," the line blocked by sand and sediment that filled in the area being drilled, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in a news release. "The fire has decreased to a small flame fueled by residual gas at the top of the well," the statement said. It said both [Read more]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The owner of a natural gas drilling rig aflame off of Louisiana's coast said preparations were under way for the possible drilling of a relief well to divert gas from the site and bring the well under control. Fire Erupts On Gulf Of Mexico Rig After Natural Gas Blowout http://t.co/vU8JziJK6K pic.twitter.com/NpJ3dahctW— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 25, 2013 Adam Bourgoyne, a former dean of Louisiana State University's petroleum engineering department, said [Read more]