A group of Republican senators led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have asked the country’s top intelligence official to study the geopolitical impact of expanded American energy production. “We are writing to strongly support analytical efforts by the Intelligence Community assess the geopolitical and international security implications of our nation’s energy renaissance, and to ensure that policymakers are kept fully informed of this analysis,” the senators wrote in a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Tuesday.

A 2012 report from the National Intelligence Council called increasing American energy production a potential “tectonic shift” in policy. It said that by 2020, the U.S. “could emerge as a major energy exporter” thanks to the shale oil boom, and Republicans have argued that could have a big impact on American foreign policy.” [The Hill]

WPX Energy Inc, a natural gas produces, have agreed to buy RKI Exploration & Production LLC for $2.35 billion, acquiring up oil-rich assets in the Permian basin. “The acquisition will give WPX about 92,000 acres in Permian’s Delaware Basin – spread across Texas and New Mexico – at about $12,500 per undeveloped acre.

Acreage in the basin – the biggest and fastest-growing U.S. shale oil field – was worth as much as $30,000-$35,000 per acre at $100 oil, said Imperial Capital analyst Bob Christensen. WPX shares rose as much as 7 percent to $11.88 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.” [Reuters]

On Tuesday, Gov. Pat McCrory and energy industry leaders celebrated the opening of the first industrial-scale wind power project in North Carolina. “Iberdrola Renewables has its headquarters in Portland, Ore. and is the project developer and has the largest renewable asset base of any company in the world.

The company has more than $10 billion of operating assets totaling more than 6,000 MegaWatts of owned and controlled wind and solar generation in the United States.” [TWC News]