A group of US Midcontinent mayors and the American Petroleum Institute separately urged the US Department of Energy to authorize LNG exports.

Project permits from federal agencies other than the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are taking interstate pipelines longer to obtain since passage of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, a new study by the INGAA Foundation found.

Islamist militants attacked the In Amenas gas production facility Jan. 16 in eastern Algeria near the Libyan border and were said to have seized an “undetermined” number of hostages, according to various news reports.

US Sec. of the Interior Ken Salazar announced Jan. 16 that he plans to leave his position by Mar. 31 to return to his home state of Colorado, having fulfilled his 4-year promise to President Barack Obama.

A federal appeals court for the District of Columbia rejected a petition to rehear a legal challenge to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s allowing introduction of gasoline with a higher ethanol blend into the marketplace.

The US Bureau of Land Management released a draft resource management plan (RMP) for its Grand Junction, Colo., field office, and will accept comments on it until Apr. 25. The final RMP will guide management decisions involving more than 1 million surface acres and 1.2 million of subsurface mineral estate for the next several decades, it said on Jan. 14.

The US Environmental Protection Agency, in compliance with settlement agreements, has revised standards to reduce air pollution from stationary engines.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed listing the Gunnison sage grouse as an endangered species.

The US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s new chairman raised questions about an independent study the US Department of Energy is using to determine whether applications to export LNG are in the national interest.

Policies that encourage responsible development of more US oil and gas could significantly help the nation address its serious federal budget deficit and unemployment problems, US Chamber of Commerce Pres. Thomas J. Donohue said.

The Association of Oil Pipelines (AOPL) asked the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Jan. 7 to fix a developing dispute that the trade association says threatens pipelines’ ability to get financing for new construction.