The Center for Offshore Safety, the oil industry's voluntary effort to improve drilling safety, on Wednesday turned to a familiar and highly experienced safety expert, naming longtime Shell scientist Charlie Williams to be its first executive director.
Williams is well known to the fledgling organization, having led the effort to create it before being named its first chairman last year. He will step down from that position and will retire as Shell's chief scientist for well engineering and production.
The future of the country's offshore industry "is going to be based on the industry's ability to demonstrate our absolute commitment to work safely and responsibly while continuing to learn and enhance and improve our safety performance," Williams told reporters via teleconference Wednesday.
The planned Cape Wind offshore project in Massachusetts won a $200 million commitment from Denmark's public pension fund, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., pledged to push a vote to complete the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility in Nevada if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., moves to limit filibusters, Roll Call reports.
The Army Corps of Engineers said it would not conduct a cumulative environmental review of three coal export terminals or consider overseas climate change impact in its reviews, E&E reports.
Legal experts say U.S. natural gas companies could file lawsuits against the Energy Department to speed decisions on liquefied natural gas exports, Reuters reports.
House Appropriations Committee Democrats criticized Republicans for cutting Energy Department spending on renewable energy by 50 percent, The Hill reports.
A communique released at the close of the G8 summit expresses leaders' concerns over climate change and pledges support for a new international climate change treaty in 2015, Business Green reports.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced a bill to open parts of Alaska's Tongass National Forest to timber development, KTOO reports.
