On May 6, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published proposed regulations [REG-132634-14], which if finalized would clarify that income from certain oil and natural gas fracturing (“fracking”) services is “qualifying income” for purposes of determining whether a master limited partnership (MLP) qualifies for favorable “passthrough” federal tax status.
Vice President Joe Biden underscored the administration’s call for infrastructure spending during a Bloomberg Government event that focused on the country’s deteriorating delivery and transportation systems. Some highlights: The Washington politics of infrastructure spending is challenging. “The idea that there is a debate on the Hill on the need to invest in infrastructure is mind… Keep reading →
Just a month after oil major Royal Dutch Shell announced that it would acquire BG Group, the UK’s third largest energy company, for $70 billion in cash and stock, making it the biggest energy deal in a decade, Shell’s CEO Ben Van Beurden was off to China to convince regulators there that the deal did… Keep reading →
Back in March it was first reported by the major German TV network ARD (Tagesschau.de) that German utility E.ON was contemplating mothballing one of the most efficient power plants in Europe, a gas-fired high-efficiency combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant called ‘Irsching 4 and 5’ in the southern state of Bavaria – which only went… Keep reading →
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman pulled out of meetings at the White House and Camp David this week at the last minute. The move is being interpreted as a signal the Saudis are unhappy with United States’ Iranian foreign policy. “Jon Alterman, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said King Salman’s… Keep reading →
WASHINGTON – The Energy Department announced yesterday that it has issued a final authorization for Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States. The Cove Point LNG Terminal in Calvert County, Maryland is authorized to… Keep reading →
Supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline have been frustrated if not furious at what they see as unnecessary delays by President Barack Obama in deciding the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline. And by now, it appears, opponents of the pipeline are getting antsy too. As Bloomberg News reports, this is a bit of a… Keep reading →
New York can begin to catalyze the transformation of its electric utilities by putting the right incentives in place for utilities to perform some of the duties envisioned for its distributed system platforms of the future. In a February order, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) released the first major decision of its… Keep reading →
Opinion: Approving Energy Exports Would Unlock Huge Economic Growth
By Margo ThorningThe Department of Energy recently approved an application from Alaska LNG to export natural gas. But there’s a catch: these exports can only go to nations where the United States has a free-trade agreement in place. Never mind the fact that the top markets for LNG are India, China, and Japan, where we don’t have… Keep reading →