Those solar zones that the Obama administration has created on public lands in the West, they’re for solar. No mining allowed. The Bureau of Land Management made this temporary ban a long-term thing earlier this month, putting 475 square miles in six western states off-limits to new mining claims for the next 20 years. It’s a move… Keep reading →
By Sri Jegarajah The risk of a disorderly decline in benchmark U.S. crude futures is growing after a four-week rally sent prices to 16-month highs and money managers amassed record bullish bets, defying an economic slowdown in China and the North American shale energy supply boom. WTI (West Texas Intermediate, the oil grade underpinning the U.S. crude futures… Keep reading →
Opec countries’ oil export revenues – excluding Iran – reached $982 billion last year, up by 5% over the previous year, according to Energy Information Administration estimates. This marks a record for EIA estimates covering the 1975-2012 time period, with Saudi Arabia accounting for 32% of the total. But revenues are projected to fall this year and… Keep reading →
The US federal government has long had a hand in guiding development of the country’s energy sector. In some cases, such as the Department of Energy’s role in the early stages of research and development that helped usher in the shale boom, this has been hailed as a success. In others, such as the highly-publicized… Keep reading →
DOE released a report examining the impacts of climate change on the nation’s energy and electricity infrastructure, including an assessment of ongoing efforts and potential opportunities to improve the energy sector’s climate resilience. On July 11, 2013, the Department of Energy (DOE) released a report examining current and future impacts of climate change on… Keep reading →
Regulation of the energy sector tends to lag technological developments. This has been an underlying issue in heated debates about the safety and dangers of hydraulic fracturing, and whether it should be regulated at the federal level. A group of energy experts convened at OurEnergyPolicy.org for an online discussion of how waste produced during the… Keep reading →
Mexico’s National Action Party (PAN) has outlined a proposal for energy market reform, which entails amendments to the constitution removing obstacles that have blocked private investment in the country’s oil and gas sector. “It is an unsustainable, non-viable model that needs to be thoroughly reformed in order to return to productivity,” PAN party chairman Gustavo… Keep reading →
A U.S. Court of Appeals vacated a 2011 EPA rule that delayed GHG regulations for biomass facilities for three years, finding that EPA’s decision was groundless. On July 12, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of conservationist groups that challenged a 2011 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)… Keep reading →
A rise in well permitting in recent weeks seems to point to robust drilling activity in the second half of this year, according to Barclays. The bank monitors permitting data in 30 states, which has been on an upward trajectory of late. Onshore drilling permit activity showed a 4% increase month-over-month in June, adjusted to… Keep reading →
Gina McCarthy has finally been confirmed by the Senate as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. Environmentalists largely welcomed the news, while energy industry trade groups’ statements seem focused on avoiding “burdensome” regulations. Some groups seemed to react as much to the protracted confirmation process as to its culmination. Here is what they had to say. BlueGreen… Keep reading →
