Natural Gas Futures move Higher in Early Trade

U.S. natural gas futures edged higher on Monday, though gains were likely to remain limited as short-term weather forecasts kept calling for mild summer temperatures across much of the U.S. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in September tacked on 0.82%, or 3.1 cents, to trade at $3.829 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours.

 

A Dozen States File Suit Against New Coal Rules

Twelve states filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration on Friday seeking to block an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to regulate coal-fired power plants in an effort to stem climate change. The plaintiffs are led by West Virginia and include states that are home to some of the largest producers of coal and consumers of coal-fired electricity.

Oil spill damage to Gulf was deeper, wider than thought, say scientists

Four years after a BP oil rig exploded and flooded the Gulf of Mexico with an estimated 170 million gallons of oil, scientists have discovered further evidence of coral communities affected by this environmental disaster. Scientists at Pennsylvania State University, in State College, Pa., found coral communities that show signs of damage from 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill more than 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the disaster site. The new findings suggest that the oil spill’s footprint is both deeper and wider than was previously thought.

 

Biofuels Power Corp Announces Plans to Build Gas-to-Liquids Pilot Plant in Houston, Texas

Biofuels Power Corporation (OTCBB:BFLS) announced today that it has signed a letter of intent with ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions (Africa) (Pty) Ltd (“ThyssenKrupp”) and Liberty GTL, Inc. (“Liberty”) to build a small-scale gas-to-liquid demonstration facility in Houston, Texas (“GTL Pilot Plant”). The parties have established a non-binding target date to complete installation and commissioning of the GTL Pilot Plant on or before December 31, 2014. The purpose of the GTL Pilot Plant is to commercially demonstrate converting stranded natural gas resources to synthetic crude oil.