US Senate Wants to Hike Gasoline Tax
U.S. Two U.S. senators on Wednesday said they want to raise the federal gasoline and diesel tax by 12 cents a gallon to prevent a fund that pays for about half of the country's transportation projects from running out of money in August. Republican Senator Bob Corker and Democrat Chris Murphy called for raising the tax 6 cents a year for two years and linking future fuel tax increases to inflation. The gasoline tax is now 18.4 cents a gallon, and the diesel tax is 24.4 cents a gallon.
Oil Prices High amid Iraq Violence
Oil prices jumped to nine-month highs on Thursday, as concerns mounted that escalating violence in Iraq could disrupt oil supplies from the second-largest OPEC producer. Sunni Islamist militants, who took over Iraq's second-biggest city Mosul earlier this week, extended their advance south toward Baghdad and surrounded the country's largest refinery in the northern town of Baiji on Thursday. "The fear is that will cause a threat to Iraqi oil exports," Christopher Bellew, a trader at Jefferies Bache, said.
White House: Baiji Oil Refinery Remains in Iraqi Govt. Control
The White House said on Thursday that Iraq's largest oil refinery in the northern town of Baiji remained in control of the government of Iraq despite advances in the region by militants with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. "We understand that that oil refinery remains in control of the government of Iraq but I don't have any other additional information about that issue," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in a daily briefing.
White House Calls China's Actions in Vietnam Dispute Provocative
China's decision to place an oil rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea is a provocative act and raises tensions in the region, the White House said on Friday. "We consider that act provocative and we consider it one that undermines the goal that we share, which is peaceful resolution of these disputes and general stability in the region," White House spokesman Jay Carney said at his regularly scheduled briefing.
White House Urges Dialogue, Not Intimidation In China Rig Dispute
The White House said on Wednesday that a dispute between China and Vietnam that erupted within days of President Barack Obama's visit to Asia to address regional tensions needs to be resolved with dialogue, not intimidation. While the United States was not a party to the dispute, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama had repeatedly stressed on his trip last month the need for peaceful dialogue on various disputes involving China and the South China Sea.
US Urges Dialogue in Chinese Oil Rig Dispute
The White House said on Wednesday that a dispute in the South China Sea over erection of a Chinese oil rig about 120 miles (193 km) off the Vietnam coast needs to be resolved through dialogue, not intimidation. Spokesman Jay Carney said the United States is not a party to the dispute but said President Barack Obama on a recent Asia tour had repeatedly stressed the need for peaceful dialogue on various disputes involving China and the South China Sea.
White House Says No Issue With Biden's Son - Ukraine Co.
The White House on Tuesday brushed aside questions about whether the involvement of Vice President Joe Biden's son in a Ukrainian natural gas company raised ethical issues at a time when the administration is promoting energy diversity in the country. R. Hunter Biden, a lawyer and a partner in an investment firm, was named this week to the board of directors of Burisma Holdings, a private company that has drilled for natural gas in Ukraine since 2002.
US to Avoid Global Energy Meeting in Moscow
U.S. officials will not attend an energy forum being held in Moscow next week that is perhaps the largest regular meeting of global energy ministers, government sources said on Monday. Nobody from either the departments of State or Energy will attend the May 15-16 biennial International Energy Forum, or IEF, the sources said. The IEF is headquartered in Riyadh and was set up after the 1990-91 Gulf War when oil prices spiked. The last biennial meeting was held in Kuwait, at which U.S.
Brent Oil Rises as Ukraine Starts Military Ops
Benchmark Brent oil rose slightly on Tuesday after news that Ukrainian armed forces launched military operations in the east of the country, but crude futures encountered headwinds from the prospect of rebounding oil exports from Libya and the expiration of the front-month contract. Russia declared Ukraine on the brink of civil war as Kiev began a "special operation" against pro-Russian separatists in the eastern town of Kramatorsk and retook a main airfield there.
White House Says Oil Reserve Sale Separate from Russia Dispute
Reuters - The White House said the Department of Energy's sale of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve announced on Wednesday was an operational test and was not related to the dispute with Russia over Ukraine. "This action is taken consistent with the requirements by law of the DOE to evaluate the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and its drawdown capacity," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. (Reporting By Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Sandra Maler and David Storey)
