County Seeks Delay of Leases for Oil, Gas Exploration: Agency to Auction Off Oil, Gas on Private Land
That was the message from Monterey County supervisors to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management over the pending auction of oil and gas exploration leases on about 35,000 acres in South County.
The proposed lease sale, which is part of a 2007 management plan for BLM holdings on the Central Coast and in the Southern Diablo Mountain Range, is scheduled for June 23 in Sacramento.
County supervisors voted unanimously Monday to ask the federal agency to hold off the lease sale for at least three months to give county planners time to weigh the possible impacts.
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One Big Fracking Problem for Oil and Gas Industry
Legislation introduced this week that targets hydraulic fracturing — a technique used to access vast new fields for drilling – is pitting the oil and gas industry against environmentalists in a debate over public health, federal versus state regulation and the protection of industry trade secrets.
Here’s what the legislation also will do: deliver massive lobbying firepower to Capitol Hill. In the lead up to the long-anticipated bill, lobbying against the measure was already well underway. In the first quarter of 2009, the American Petroleum Institute spent $1.8 million lobbying for a variety of issues including hydraulic fracturing. Read more
MCoal Corporation Files Rosa Coal Mine Permit Application
NovaDX Ventures Corp.’s wholly-owned subsidiary, MCoal Corporation (”MCoal”), reports on its progress on the Rosa Coal Mine Project:
The Alabama Surface Mining Commission (”ASMC”) has finished its completeness review and has accepted for filing MCoal’s mine permit application for the first phase of auger mining at the company’s Rosa Coal Project in Blount County, Alabama.
Neil MacDonald, CEO of NovaDX, commented that, “MCoal has met a significant milestone in the development of the Rosa Coal Project. Together with permit applications we have pending with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Army Corps of Engineers, this milestone completes our permitting applications required for the Rosa Coal Project. We are now advertising our mine plans in the local community and over the next sixty days will be responding to the ASMC with respect to any public comment that may arise. We expect to receive all necessary permits by the end of August and begin mining operations in September.” Read more
MCoal Corporation Files Rosa Coal Mine Permit Application
NovaDX Ventures Corp.’s wholly-owned subsidiary, MCoal Corporation (”MCoal”), reports on its progress on the Rosa Coal Mine Project:
The Alabama Surface Mining Commission (”ASMC”) has finished its completeness review and has accepted for filing MCoal’s mine permit application for the first phase of auger mining at the company’s Rosa Coal Project in Blount County, Alabama.
Neil MacDonald, CEO of NovaDX, commented that, “MCoal has met a significant milestone in the development of the Rosa Coal Project. Together with permit applications we have pending with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Army Corps of Engineers, this milestone completes our permitting applications required for the Rosa Coal Project. We are now advertising our mine plans in the local community and over the next sixty days will be responding to the ASMC with respect to any public comment that may arise. We expect to receive all necessary permits by the end of August and begin mining operations in September.” Read more
Coal Demand Down Due to Slow Economy
The longwall production at the Blacksville No. 2 coal mine has been idled for a seven-week period beginning this week.
And one official said layoffs are possible if demand for coal doesn’t increase.
CONSOL Energy Senior Vice President Tom Hoffman said the decision to slow down production at the mine was a result of the economic slowdown. Because people are using less electricity there is less demand for coal.
Blacksville No. 2 coal mine produces high-Btu bituminous coal, which is also mined at seven other area mines. Read more
Consol Energy To Restart Virginia Coal Mine
Consol Energy Inc. said it plans to restart longwall production at its Buchanan Mine near Mavisdale, Virginia in mid-July. The company had idled longwall production at the mine, which produces metallurgical coal, in early March to balance supplies with an anticipated reduction in demand from steel producers.
The company said it recently settled with its two largest metallurgical coal customers several issues surrounding existing contractual commitments for coal. As a result, Consol said it anticipates sales through the end of the year will support production volumes of around 240,000 tons per month. Read more
