National news

Nov. 6, 2015
Obama Rejects Keystone Pipeline 

In a crucial victory for the climate, wildlife and the millions who spoke against it, President Obama rejected the Keystone XL project today, saying that building the tar sands oil pipeline is not in the national interest.

READ MORE:  htttp://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2015/keystone-xl-pipeline-11-06-2015.html  

WATCH 1-MINUTE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/v/Q7gObkguVts&feature=youtu.be?version=3&vq=hd1080&autoplay=1

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Dec. 24, 2014
Tennessee Pipeline to Pay Fine, Fund Pennsylvania Clean-Up Program
By Jamison Cocklin, Shale Daily

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has reached a settlement with Kinder Morgan Inc. affiliate Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC (TGP) that will require the midstream company to pay a $210,000 fine and fund a $540,000 clean-up program in the state.

READ MORE: http://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/100853-tennessee-pipeline-to-pay-fine-fund-pennsylvania-clean-up-program

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Dec. 17, 2014
Citing Health Risks, Cuomo Bans Fracking in New York State
By THOMAS KAPLAN, New York Times

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration announced on Wednesday that it would ban hydraulic fracturing in New York State because of concerns over health risks, ending years of debate over a method of extracting natural gas.

READ MORE:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/cuomo-to-ban-fracking-in-new-york-state-citing-health-risks.html?_r=0

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Dec. 10, 2014
Kinder Morgan founder to relinquish CEO role
By Jim Polson Bloomberg NewsDec. 10, 2014

Billionaire Kinder Morgan Inc. founder Richard Kinder intends to turn over the CEO reins to his No. 2, shedding day-to-day duties at the world’s biggest pipeline company by market value.

READ MORE: http://www.telegram.com/article/20141210/NEWS/312109627/1237

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Dec. 10, 2014
Emboldened By Keystone, Critics Delay New Pipelines
FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL By Amy Harder

The Keystone XL pipeline was touted as a model for energy independence and a source of jobs when TransCanada Corp. announced plans to build the 1,700-mile pipeline six years ago.

But the crude-oil pipeline’s political and regulatory snarls since then have emboldened resistance to at least 10 other pipeline projects across North America. Using Keystone XL as a template, national environmental groups are joining with local activists in a strategy aimed at prolonging government reviews of proposed pipeline routes and their environmental impact.

As a result, six oil and natural-gas pipeline projects in North America costing a proposed $15 billion or more and stretching more than 3,400 miles have been delayed, a tally by The Wall Street Journal shows. At least four other projects with a total investment of $25 billion and more than 5,100 miles in length are facing opposition but haven’t been delayed yet.

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A Dec. 2014 report from Sightline Institute provides useful background information on Kinder Morgan:
The Facts About Kinder Morgan
http://www.sightline.org/research/the-facts-about-kinder-morgan-2/

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Dec. 5, 2014
In face of opposition, company to reroute gas pipeline
Boston Globe

Stung by intense local opposition to a proposed natural gas pipeline winding through western and central Massachusetts, a Houston energy company said Friday that it will pursue an alternative route that bypasses many Massachusetts communities by veering north and shooting across southern New Hampshire.

Read more:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/12/05/face-opposition-company-reroute-pipeline/wj0k4WbfYr5FFyyHtPmFGJ/story.html

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Dec. 3, 2014
Kinder Morgan Maintains 2015 Dividend Outlook Despite Lower Energy Prices
24/7 Wall St.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) has now announced its post-merger 2015 financial expectations. The news looks great on the surface, in that the post-merger company still expects to declare dividends of $2.00 per share for 2015 with over $500 million of excess coverage. This would be a 16% higher payout than the $1.72 per share budgeted for 2014. Still, the major difference we see here in Wednesday’s post-merger outlook versus the pre-merger outlook is that there is not the stated commitment of 10% dividend growth guidance out to 2020, and the next assumption is that the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price average is now being put at $70.

Read more:
247wallst.com/energy-business/2014/12/03/kinder-morgan-maintains-2015-dividend-outlook-despite-lower-energy-prices/

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Oct. 9, 2014
Fracking Firms Get Tested by Oil’s Price Drop
Wall Street Journal
Tumbling oil prices are starting to frighten energy companies around the globe, especially drillers in North America, where crude is expensive to pump.
Read more:
http://online.wsj.com/articles/fracking-firms-get-tested-by-oils-price-drop-1412899027

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Nov. 17, 2014
The following is an excerpt of a complicated story about Kinder Morgan’s financial set-up. While it may be difficult to understand if you’re not an accounting expert, there is one clear message: Kinder Morgan has taken all the lessons its executives learned at Enron and is putting them to great advantage now. Here’s an excerpt from the article:

Trans Mountain Pipeline: Big Bucks for US Investors, Peanuts for Us
The Tyee
“Effectively KMI gets to work the intricacies of the accounting system. It will buy assets from its subsidiaries at a premium price and then depreciate these assets as if they were brand new. The deal creates a hefty $1.4 billion in tax savings each year for at least two decades. The market’s reaction to the reshuffling of Kinder Morgan’s corporate structure is likely why Rich Kinder, KMI’s largest shareholder, pocketed an extra $800 million the day after the announcement.”

Read more here:
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/11/17/Tran-Mountain-Pipeline-Investments/

Working to protect New Mexicans from harmful impacts of development in our communities