Project FinanceRSS

  • September 17, 2012

    Brazilian Judge Lifts Ban On Vale's $4B Rail Expansion

    A Brazilian federal judge on Friday reinstated environmental licenses for the railroad portion of mining giant Vale SA's $4 billion transport infrastructure expansion and stayed an injunction that had shut down work on the project for more than a month.

  • September 17, 2012

    NY Greenlights Niagara Mohawk's Bid To Issue $1.6B In Debt

    New York regulators said Friday that Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., owned by U.K.-headquartered National Grid PLC, can issue up to $1.6 billion in new, long-term financing to improve its debt picture and fund the construction of a new upstate plant. 

  • September 17, 2012

    Shell's Arctic Delays Dampen Industry's Drilling Hopes

    Royal Dutch Shell PLC said Monday it would push back oil drilling plans in the Arctic following a series of regulatory delays and technical setbacks, a decision experts say will discourage future offshore projects in the region, even as regulators vow to support Shell's ongoing exploration activities.

  • September 17, 2012

    FERC Denies NiSource Unit's Rate Ceiling Waiver Bid

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday denied a bid by a NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage-owned pipeline operator to allow an exception to its rate ceiling after energy giants including Chevron USA Inc. and Anadarko Energy Services Co. argued that such a waiver would unfairly distribute market power.

  • September 17, 2012

    Inuit Enviro Board Clears Canadian Iron Ore, Rail Project

    A territorial Inuit review board signed off Friday on a proposal from Baffinland Iron Mines Corp. to build a multibillion-dollar iron ore mine, rail and port operation at the top of North America, after laying down nearly 300 conditions to minimize the environmental impact of the project.

  • September 17, 2012

    Enviros Say Maine LNG Project Needs Harder Look From FERC

    A Maine environmental group on Monday told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that analysis of a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal doesn’t examine how the project could disturb toxins in a northeastern bay, potentially contaminating sea life and harming local food supplies.

  • September 17, 2012

    FERC OKs Sunoco Crude Access Project In West Texas

    Sunoco Inc. and its partners on a 40,000-barrel-a-day pipeline project anchored in West Texas won approval Friday from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, paving the way for the line's development and negotiations with prospective shippers.

  • September 17, 2012

    Hiscock & Barclay Hires Ex-West Firm Shale Pro In Albany

    Hiscock & Barclay LLP has lured an oil and gas attorney with expertise in shale development from her post as The West Firm's regulation and litigation practice chair for its Albany, N.Y., office, the firm revealed Monday.

  • September 17, 2012

    EPL Pays $550M For Hilcorp's Shallow-Water Gulf Oil Fields

    Louisiana energy company EPL Oil & Gas Inc. has agreed buy some of Hilcorp Energy Co.'s shallow water oil and gas assets in the Gulf of Mexico for $550 million, nearly doubling its proven energy reserves, EPL said Monday.

  • September 17, 2012

    Japan's Latest Shale Buy-In Gets $508M In JOGMEC Equity

    Japan's government-backed energy and mining investor on Friday committed more than $500 million to help Inpex Corp. and JGC Corp. buy into a Canadian shale gas project, the latest in ramped-up equity commitments for the bank, known as JOGMEC.

  • September 17, 2012

    Waste Connections To Pay $1.3B For Oil Field Disposal Co.

    Solid waste disposal company Waste Connections Inc. will fork over about $1.3 billion for fellow waste firm R360 Environmental Solutions Inc., it said Monday, giving it entry into booming oil and gas plays in need of infrastructure and services as activity ramps up.

  • September 14, 2012

    Argentine Oil Co. Signs Chevron To Help Develop Vaca Shale

    Nationalized Argentine oil and gas company YPF SA inked an agreement with Chevron Corp. on Friday to develop a vast shale play in western Argentina, part of the South American country's $37.2 billion plan to boost hydrocarbon production over the next five years.

  • September 14, 2012

    Obama Names K&L Gates Partner To DC Airport Authority

    The White House announced Thursday that President Barack Obama will appoint two lawyers, including K&L Gates LLP litigator William Shaw McDermott, to the board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the agency overseeing construction of the $5.6 billion D.C. airport rail extension that was recently labeled "dysfunctional" by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

  • September 14, 2012

    Enbridge Fined After Failing Pipeline Inspection

    Pipeline safety regulators proposed $68,000 in fines against Enbridge Inc. on Friday for failing an inspection of a crude oil pipeline in Ohio — a slap on the wrist that comes as the company has faced intense scrutiny for a series of recent pipeline accidents.

  • September 14, 2012

    GOP Reps. Pass 'No More Solyndras' Bill To Nix Energy Loans

    The Republican-dominated House on Friday approved the "No More Solyndras Act," a bill that would pull the plug on the U.S. Department of Energy's much-maligned programs that have provided more than $30 billion in loans to dozens of renewable energy projects, some of which have gone bankrupt.

  • September 14, 2012

    EPA Raises Bar On Biodiesel Requirements

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday hiked its alternative diesel fuel mandate for 2013 by more than a quarter, raising the total volume of biodiesel required in U.S. diesel fuel markets to 1.28 billion gallons.

  • September 14, 2012

    Enviros Lose Bid To Nix Mountaintop Mining Pending Appeal

    A West Virginia federal judge on Thursday refused to grant an injunction pending appeal in a suit challenging a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mountaintop removal permit issued to Highland Mining Co., finding that the environmental groups that brought the suit are not likely to win on appeal.

  • September 14, 2012

    Calif. Senate Leader Sets Sights On Revamping CEQA

    The California Senate leader on Thursday announced plans to hold several meetings in the coming months to consider overhauling the California Environmental Quality Act, a month after he abandoned a controversial proposal aimed at curbing lawsuits brought under the state's core environmental law.

  • September 14, 2012

    Enviros Get Green Light For Shell Alaska Drilling Appeal

    An Alaska federal judge on Thursday allowed a coalition of environmental groups to immediately appeal to the Ninth Circuit his refusal to dismiss a preemptive challenge by two Royal Dutch Shell PLC units to potential suits seeking to block their Alaskan oil exploration activities.

  • September 14, 2012

    FERC OKs $3.5B Line To Carry Okla., Texas Wind Power

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved a $3.5 billion overhead line that will carry 3,500 megawatts of clean energy from western Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas to the southeastern U.S., project developers said Tuesday, kicking off service agreement negotiations with potential customers.