Natural Gas News Blog @newzblogz.com

Last week we railed how a new bill passed by the Oregon Legislature didn't contain any major funds for road construction. The bill, Connect Oregon, works to shore up our major ports for maritime and air transportation. It also examines our rail capabilities. It was pointed out to us that the bill does have some road construction around North Bend airport. It was also noted the roads are probably needed for executives to reach Bandon Dunes Golf Course.

Not so fast. Checking with the Port of Coos Bay, we discovered the June 2006 purchase of 1,300 acres from Weyerhaeuser. The property is on a portion of the North Spit, long zoned for industrial and industrial marine development. Before the acquisition, the port held less than 110 acres in various spread out parcels.

On further examination, Coos Bay is one of three sites being considered for Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk's container terminal. This hunk of real estate could open in 2014, hire 2,500 folks at its peak and pay an average of $52,000 per year, per person. All this provided an infrastructure of rail, air and - oh yes - highways, are in the mix.

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Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips refused to sign deals Tuesday to keep pumping heavy oil under tougher terms in Venezuela's Orinoco River basin, signaling their departure from one of the world's largest oil deposits.

Analysts said the move, however, won't have a major effect on supplies or lead to higher prices at U.S. pumps because production by the two companies will shift to other producers who agreed to the pacts.

The changes are part of a broader nationalization drive by President Hugo Chavez to assume greater control over strategic areas of the economy. Aside from the oil industry, the government recently nationalized the country's top telecommunications and electricity companies.

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Residents and businesses that took advantage of Fountain Inn Natural Gas' lax late payment rules now have lost that advantage.

The Fountain Inn City Council passed policy changes in April that recently went into effect, and the gas department has been getting bombarded with phone calls about the notices, according to city officials.

Mike Pittman, manager of Fountain Inn Natural Gas said some customers would run up a natural gas bill -- some as much as $2,000 -- over the winter months, then get their gas cut off in the spring. They wouldn't pay off their bill until the following fall, when they'd pay only a $60 reconnect fee and no penalties.

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Florida's long-elusive dream of becoming a mini-Hollywood could get a boost from a land far, far away - Dubai.

Several Florida politicians have been touring executives from a Dubai-based Capital Plus Holding around Florida cities in hopes the Middle Eastern firm would pick Florida for a major new media production site.

Tampa is among several cities under consideration by the company, including Miami and Orlando.

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SINGAPORE - Oil prices were steady in Asia Wednesday as traders awaited the release of a U.S. government inventory report expected to show increases in supplies of crude, gasoline and distillates.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose a penny to $67.78 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, mid-afternoon in Singapore. The contract fell $1.41 to settle at $67.77 a barrel Tuesday.

"Prices already factor in the builds. Now traders don't want to move until they see the data," said Koichi Murakami, an analyst with brokerage Daiichi Shohin in Tokyo.

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