Politics & Regulation

President Trump announced this past Friday that a construction permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline has been granted by the State Department.

In a bid to counter Gazprom''s access to Germany's Opal gas pipeline, Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz is attempting to join Polish gas supplier PGNiG in a court case challenging the EU decision granting Gazprom greater access to the pipeline,
as ptj reported previously.

After two years, a delicate conflict between Russia and the European Union could soon be over. The European Union Commission wants to stop the a antitrust-suit against Gazprom after the Russian state has made concessions. However, before the procedure is actually terminated, interested parties should have the opportunity to comment, said Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

Williams Cos. 322 km, $3 billion Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline project has been approved by officials at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC.

Energy Transfer Partners' proposed $4.2 billion, 1147 km Rover natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to Ontario, Canada has been approved by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission after a two year review.

The US Army has given permission to carry the last section of the Dakota Access oil pipeline leading over one of their sites. End of January, President Trump revived the two controversial pipeline projects Keystone-XL and Dakota Access, which had been stopped by Trump’s predecessors, Obama.

Energy East, the proposed 4,500-kilometre $15.7 billion pipeline that would carry more than a million barrels a day of Canadian crude from Alberta to refineries and an export terminal in St. John, will be reviewed once again by the Canadian National Energy Board.

Work on the troubled project has been delayed numerous times since it was publicly announced in 2013.

In a long anticipated move to enhance the security of supply, reduce dependency on Russia and boost regional cooperation, Bulgaria and Serbia have signed an agreement to jointly build a 150 km gas pipeline between the two countries.

The so-called Interconnector Link is expected to be operational by the end of 2020.

Though President Trump signed an Executive Order this week to expedite the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline, James Boasberg, a Federal judge, has ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should begin with a full environmental study of the disputed crossing of the Missouri River in North Dakota.

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a number of executive orders to advance approval of the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. His administration takes a swift step forward to finally enable the construction of these two pipelines, which both had been blocked by former president Barack Obama’s administration.

Building on a series of deliberations over the past year designed to strengthen the regulatory environment pertaining to gas leaks and pipeline operations, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said on Friday it has passed a rule to boost safety requirements on the country's oil and refined products pipelines.

The often delayed and much maligned Energy East Pipeline in Canada will be given new life by the appointment of three new members of the National Energy Board charged with making a determination whether the pipeline should go ahead.

The previous Energy East pipeline panel stepped down amidst questions about a potential conflict of interest last year.

The European Commission's recent decision to grant Gazprom more capacity in the OPAL pipeline serving markets in central Europe has been roundly denounced in Poland, with key government officials labeling the decision destabilizing and a threat to Poland's energy security.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has given the green light to two highly controversial oil pipelines as being in "the best interest of Canada." Native Indians as well as environmental groups were particularly critical of the proposed expansion and said they would do all they could to stop it.

Calgary-based TransCanada is hopeful that the Trump win in last week's election will resuscitate the oft maligned Keystone XL pipeline rejected on 6 November 2015 by outgoing President Obama and given up for dead.

TransCanada said it was "“evaluating ways to convince the new administration on the benefits, the jobs and the tax revenues this project brings to the table.”