Policy Review

An examination of recent policy and regulatory initiatives

• Alaska Gasline Development Corporation Bill: Aims competitively-priced gas supply

  June 1, 2013
  House Bill (HB) 4 expands the authority of the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) and establishes it as an independent corporation of the state.

• Australia’s debate over the domestic gas reservation policy : Pricing a major factor

  May 1, 2013
  Australia’s domestic gas market consists of three geographically and economically separate markets: the eastern, western, and northern markets.

• LNG tax in British Columbia: Likely to hit a booming industry

  April 1, 2013
  Canada’s British Columbia (BC) province is planning to become the most competitive LNG production centre in the world.In line with this goal...

• Austria’s Network Development Plan: Provokes wide criticism

  March 1, 2013
  Austria’s largest transmission system operator (TSO), Gas Connect Austria GmbH, has developed a Coordinated Network Development Plan for 2013–2022.

• Reverse-Gas Flow Project in the EU: A step towards an integrated gas market

  February 1, 2013
  In December 2012, four transmission system operators (TSOs)– FluxSwiss Sagl (FluxSwiss), Fluxys TENP, Fluxys Belgium SA (Fluxys Belgium), and Snam...

• Uganda’s Gas Policy: Attracting investors across the value chain

  January 1, 2013
  With the discovery of commercially exploitable reserves of oil and gas in Uganda over the last decade, the country’s oil and gas sector is witnessing a policy shift.

• South Africa’s Gas Policy: The changing state-of-affairs

  December 1, 2012
  South Africa’s energy industry is abuzz with its new-found enthusiasm for gas. The country which is heavily dependent upon its coal reserves to meet its energy...

• California’s New Pipeline Safety Laws: Improved accountability and autonomy

  November 1, 2012
  The last few years have witnessed several instances of leakages and explosions in oil and gas pipelines in the United States. Under increasing pressure...

• Algeria’s New Hydrocarbon Law: Tax relief to boost foreign investment

  October 1, 2012
  Algeria is an important hydrocarbon producer and exporter. In the past few years, it has been facing stagnating conventional oil and gas production.

• Integrating New Gas Capacity in Europe: creating a market-based regime

  September 1, 2012
  The European energy regulatory bodies have been actively pursuing their energy policy objectives, which entail the development of competitive markets...

• Canada’s Environmental Act: Streamlined procedures to benefit pipeline operators

  August 1, 2012
  Long delays in securing environmental approvals for big infrastructure and energy projects have often led to the suspension or abandonment of these projects due to...

• Indonesia’s Gas Policies: Domestic gas pricing hurts future production

  July 1, 2012
  Indonesia, the largest producer of gas in Southeast Asia and the second largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter in the world, is experiencing a shift in its position.

• Israel’s Gas Policy: Meeting domestic demand is priority

  June 1, 2012
  The recent gas discoveries in Israel, which has so far been a natural resource-constrained economy, have led the government to develop and...

• Mexico’s National Energy Strategy 2012–26: Increasing the role of natural gas

  May 1, 2012
  The National Energy Strategy (NES) 2012-26, recently released by the Mexican government, provides a long-term framework for the development of the ...

• Brazil’s Pipeline Policy Update: Promoting investment in gas infrastructure

  April 1, 2012
  Over the past few years, there has been a tremendous growth in the natural gas reserves of Brazil. In 2000, the share of natural gas in Brazil’s energy mix was negligible.

• European Gas Model: Establishing a single energy market for the EU

  March 1, 2012
  The European Union (EU) aims to achieve a fully functional, interconnected and integrated internal energy market for the region by 2014 so as to allow natural gas and electricity..

• US Pipeline Safety Act, 2011: Strengthens enforcement tools for regulators

  February 1, 2012
  On January 3, 2012, the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 (Pipeline Safety Act, 2011) was signed into law by the US president.

• Colombia’s New Gas Regulations: Promoting production to expand exports

  January 1, 2012
  Natural gas is high on the policy agenda of Colombia. The country is implementing various measures to expand its natural gas industry and to attract investment.

• GCC’s Gas Dilemma: Pricing policies deter development of regional gas infrastructure

  December 1, 2011
  The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, despite sitting on huge natural gas reserves, has been struggling to meet rising domestic gas demand in the recent years...

• Funding European Energy Projects: New guidelines to expedite priority projects

  November 1, 2011
  Last month, the European Commission (EC) once again demonstrated its commitment to build a Europe-wide single energy grid. On October 19, 2011, the EC proposed a plan to speed up and aid financing of key projects to expand and strengthen Europe’s energy networks over the 2014–20 period. The new proposal specifies regulations on guidelines for the development of the Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E).