The Obama administration have imposed tighter restrictions on oil and gas fracking operations on public lands in an attempt to lower the risk of water contamination that has been chiefly behind the recent boom in U.S. energy production.”The regulations represent the administration’s most significant effort to tighten standards for hydraulic fracturing, a technique that helped… Keep reading →
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The Audubon Society is upset with a US Department of Interior decision to allow wind farm operators to obtain permit extensions allowing accidental bird death or injury for up to 30 years. Interior says the permit extensions provide regulatory certainty to wind developers, but Audubon thinks the move fails to balance “the need for conservation… Keep reading →
It’s day two of the federal government shutdown, and there’s no real sense yet of how long it might last. In the meantime, investment bank Simmons & Co has helpfully laid out some possible effects on the oil and gas industry, depending on its duration. This could include delays to additional Department of Energy approvals for… Keep reading →
There will be enough workers to “keep the lights on” at key agencies if the shutdown persists. At 12:03 a.m. this morning, after lawmakers in Congress failed to reach agreement on funding the government, thousands of federal employees lumbered out into the streets of Washington, D.C. looking for taxpayer money to spend. They knocked over… Keep reading →
Alaska Governor Sean Parnell is urging recently-confirmed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to push ahead with exploration of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Parnell presented Secretary Jewell with a 187-page proposal for a seven-year program to conduct seismic surveys of ANWR area 1002, which would help to better define the area’s oil and gas potential.… Keep reading →
In its latest installment of “This Week at Interior,” the US Interior Department discusses the recent findings released by the US Geological Survey indicating there may be additional oil & gas reserves located in formations below the Bakken Shale. Watch this short video about that discovery and more.
When Ken Salazar announced he would step down as Secretary of the US Department of the Interior it created a difficult decision for President Obama and brought a campaign issue back to the fore. Regulating development on federally-owned lands – particularly for oil and gas drilling – is one of the most polarizing energy issues of the day and because this is a primary function at the Interior Department, the issue and the department’s role has exploded into the political arena.
The department’s mission: “The US Department of the Interior protects America’s natural resources and heritage, honors our cultures and tribal communities, and supplies the energy to power our future.” The onshore and offshore acreage managed by Interior account for 30 percent of US natural gas output, 30 percent of the country’s oil production and up to 40 percent of US coal production. Keep reading →
