New York Governor Cuomo yesterday announced awards totaling $4.3 million to 17 businesses that are helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation while increasing energy efficiency. “Transportation is responsible for three-fourths of the State’s fossil fuel use and 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Since 1996, NYSERDA has provided $93 million to 246 businesses performing transportation research and development work.” [Governor Cuomo’s Press Office]

After US natural gas storage inventories were battered by an extremely cold winter, refilling storage during injection season is proving a challenge as many predicted. This could put upward pressure on prices, particularly if next winter begins with below-average inventories. “Working gas in storage was 850 Bcf as of Friday, April 11, 2014, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 24 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 850 Bcf less than last year at this time and 1,010 Bcf below the 5-year average of 1,860 Bcf.” [EIA] The East region – where inventories are about half where they were last year at this time – received April snow earlier this week and recorded a net injection of 6Bcf. Futures prices increased by $0.20 on the Nymex.

The US government is not doing enough to strengthen offshore oil and gas drilling regulations in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon accident that occurred 4 years ago this Sunday. “As we commemorate one of the worst environmental disasters in United States history, we hope our leaders can rethink the expansion of offshore drilling, put real safety measures in place in the gulf and chart a course for safer and cleaner solutions to end the need for this risky business in the first place.” [New York Times]