News bites: Keystone pipeline’s southern piece advances

The New York Times reports that the Obama administration has granted a permit for part of the southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline.

But the vastly more controversial part of the project — which would carry oil sands from Alberta into the United States and down to the Gulf Coast — remains under review.

The Associated Press examines federal plans for future oil-and-gas leasing in Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast.

The Houston Chronicle looks at what’s in store for troubled natural gas giant Chesapeake Energy as a new board chairman takes over.

The Wall Street Journal explores how energy producers, struggling with low natural-gas prices, “have been relying on related fuels such as ethane, propane and butane to remain profitable.”

“But so many companies have increased drilling of wells with the fuels, known as natural-gas liquids, that their prices are falling as well, creating a new supply-glut problem for the industry and threatening to crimp profits,” the paper reports.