Politics

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Plans Natural Gas Forums

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The Senate Energy Committee’s natural gas forums, scheduled for May 2013, will assess several issues surrounding natural gas development to ensure that upcoming policies will maximize economic benefits while maintaining environmental safety.

On April 3, 2013, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore) and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced the committee’s plan to hold three natural gas forums in May. The forums will address topics including a scrutiny of estimates of domestic supply, and potential benefits and consequences resulting from expansion of exports. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 11, 2013 at 12:30 PM

DOE Nominee Moniz Asked About LNG Exports at Hearing

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President Obama’s nominee to lead the Department of Energy, Ernest Moniz, dealt with questions about LNG exports from both sides of the aisle during his Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing held Tuesday April 9th.

If confirmed, which is widely expected, Moniz would be in charge of the department responsible for issuing some of the permits needed to export LNG from the US. He previously supported exports in a co-chaired 2011 MIT report entitled “The Future of Natural Gas,” which concluded “The U.S. should sustain North American energy market integration and support development of a global ‘liquid’ natural gas market with diversity of supply. A corollary is that the U.S. should not erect barriers to natural gas imports or exports.” Keep reading →

 /  Published April 10, 2013 at 2:30 PM

AFPM Says EPA Fuel Standard ‘Divorced from Reality’

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The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers filed comments opposing the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“I have long asserted that the RFS is broken and is harmful to countless parties, but nothing has been done to address the problems it has created,” said AFPM President Charles T. Drevna in a statement. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 10, 2013 at 10:30 AM

Energy News Roundup: Iran Moving Beyond Oil, US Oil Pipelines and Off Road Vehicle Parts from China Run Afoul of EPA

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Here are some interesting energy-related tid bits making the rounds this week.

Iran Moving Beyond Oil Keep reading →

 /  Published April 5, 2013 at 12:30 PM

New Panel to Review EPA’s Hydraulic Fracturing Research Study

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EPA’s Science Advisory Board will form an independent panel to provide transparent feedback on its 2014 draft report on hydraulic fracturing and its impact on drinking water resources.

On March 25, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) independent Science Advisory Board announced formation of a panel of independent experts to review the agency’s hydraulic fracturing research report,which is to be completed in 2014. The 31-member Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel will review and provide scientific research on the EPA’s Congressionally-mandated draft report on the potential impacts of fracturing on drinking water. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 4, 2013 at 1:00 PM

A Failing Grade for Energy Infrastructure Hurts U.S. Competitiveness

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The nation got a wakeup call recently when the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its Report Card for America’s infrastructure. Listed among the failing grades for roads, bridges and ports, was a grim evaluation of our energy infrastructure.

Giving it a grade of D+, the Report Card detailed the need for investment throughout the nation’s electricity system, but focused primarily on the aging electric grid. The nation’s power grid, which consists of a system of interconnected power plants, transmission and distribution facilities, some of which date back to the 1880s, is in dire need of repair. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 4, 2013 at 10:30 AM

Why the Global Oil Market is not Like a Bathtub

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It’s a commonly used analogy for the global oil market: Crude oil is fungible and supplies from
producing countries and companies enter a giant pool that is drained by a wide variety of consumers. Analysts, academics and politicians often talk of the global oil trade in this manner, saying that additional supplies of oil – regardless of where they originate – are good for US energy security because increased volumes available on the global market should exert downward price pressure. Well, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s not that simple.

The situation is clarified in a recent journal article titled “Crude Oil Is Not Fungible, Where It Comes from Does Matter, and Global Markets Are More Fragmented Than Many Think.” The piece, written by Jonathan Chanis, a long-time commodity trader, finance expert and current Columbia University professor, appeared in American Foreign Policy Interests: The Journal of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 3, 2013 at 2:30 PM

Some Power Groups Dodge New Financial Requirements

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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has come under fire for the nuanced lists of exemptions it has offered to various firms and groups as it implements some portions of Dodd Frank legislation that require greater transparency and tighter limits on hedging and trading of the derivatives it oversees.

Included in this group have been certain “natural” players perceived as having an inherent physical position in a relevant commodity and therefore less likely to game the market without regard for fundamental supply and demand or to hold dangerously large positions. Also included as of this week are public power companies and cooperative utilities, which have been exempted from all but the anti-fraud, anti-manipulation and record inspection provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act when it comes to energy transactions. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 2, 2013 at 2:30 PM

Video: Interior Secretary Salazar Prepares to Step Down

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In this video, the US Department of Interior highlights outgoing Secretary Salazar touring five new national monuments designated by President Obama; the Secretary bids an emotional farewell at a ceremony at the Department of the Interior; and the Obama Administration releases a new national strategy to fight climate change by preserving our natural resources.

Salazar is stepping down and President Obama has nominated Sally Jewell to take his place. Jewell is president and chief executive of outdoor recreation company REI and worked as an oil field engineer earlier in her career. The Department manages the country’s energy resources located on federal lands both onshore and offshore. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 2, 2013 at 1:30 PM

It’s On! EPA’s Proposed Cleaner Fuels and Cars Standards Applauded by Some, Hated by Others

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Last week the US EPA proposed regulations known as Tier 3 rulemaking that would increase fuel efficiency and tighten controls on sulfur in gasoline. The EPA described the new rules as “sensible standards for cars and gasoline that will significantly reduce harmful pollution, prevent thousands of premature deaths and illnesses, while also enabling efficiency improvements in the cars and trucks we drive.”

The environmental community, many politicians and some business associations are strongly in favor of the regulations, while the refining industry is bitterly opposed. Both sides claim the regulations will save money and have very different views on how the rules will affect gasoline prices. The following is a collection of statements EPA sent in an email from prominent environmental, political and trade group voices speaking in favor of the regulations: Keep reading →

 /  Published April 2, 2013 at 11:15 AM
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