Court Settles California Undersea Border Dispute

Posted on by December 17, 2014

The Supreme Court settled a nearly 70-year-old dispute on Monday, Dec. 15, about the undersea boundary between California and federal territory. The ruling will help resolve conflicting claims over oil and gas leases and prevent future litigation, federal and state officials said.

The issue had its origins in 1945, when California issued oil leases on undersea land near Long Beach. President Harry Truman declared that all submerged lands belong to the federal government. In 1947 the Supreme Court agreed, and federal officials sued California.

Congress attempted to resolve the conflict with a law that said states owned land up to three miles from their coasts, but the legislation did not set the precise location of that undersea border.

In Monday’s ruling the Supreme Court set the boundary in the form of 100 pages of map coordinates.

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ARB Fuels Assessment Hearing Dec. 18

Posted on by December 11, 2014

The California Air Resources Board will hold a hearing Thursday, Dec. 18, at 9 a.m. to provide a status update on the ARB staff’s Technology and Fuels Assessment.

The assessment is being conducted as part of the agency’s Sustainable Freight Strategy and Future State Implementation Plans.

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Oxy Completes California Spin-Off

Posted on by December 11, 2014

Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) announced that it has completed the spin-off of its subsidiary California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company operating exclusively in California.

“We spent more than 15 years building a California company, and we expect it to provide significant value to California Resources Corporation stockholders,” said Stephen I. Chazen, President and Chief Executive Officer.

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GOP Focuses on Reversing Crude Oil Export Ban

Posted on by December 9, 2014

With the 2014 elections over, it appears that GOP House Republicans may be ready to take up debate on reversing the four-decade ban on exports of US crude oil.

U.S. Representative Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, today (Dec. 9) introduced H.R. 5814, aimed at removing all restrictions on the export of crude from the United States.

The bill would also establish a National Policy that “no official of the Federal Government shall impose or enforce any restriction on the export of crude oil.”’

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ARB Seeks Comments on Production Emissions

Posted on by November 25, 2014

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) invites the public to participate in a workshop Tuesday, December 9, on a proposed ARB regulation to reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas production, processing, compressor stations and storage operations.

ARB staff will present regulatory approaches, cost impacts and emission estimates. They will also discuss plans for an environmental analysis of the proposed regulation, and will seek input on economic impacts and possible alternatives.

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LA Planners Oppose Fracking Halt

Posted on by November 13, 2014

A proposal for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in Los Angeles, approved by the City Council in February, hit a roadblock when the City’s Planning Department advised that implementing the ban was not in the City’s best interest. The Department also said it lacked staff with the required expertise to draft the required regulations regarding oil and gas operations.

Even if it hired staff with the necessary skills, the agency said in a 67-page report to the Council, any restrictions imposed by the City would probably be preempted by federal, state and county regulations.

Local jurisdictions do have the power to regulate the location of oil and gas activity through zoning and land use regulations, the report noted. But, it adds, it is the position of the energy industry that “local jurisdictions have no authority to regulate how oil and gas extraction occurs.”

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