Fight over Alaska Arctic Drilling has Just Begun
Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, won a decades-long battle on Wednesday to open part of an Arctic wildlife reserve in her state to oil and gas drilling, but Democratic senators and conservationists vow the war has only begun. The tax bill passed by Congress contains language pushed by Murkowski and supported by President Donald Trump to hold two lease sales in the 1.5 million-acre (600…
White House Seeks Greater Power over Emergency Oil Stocks
The Obama administration wants greater authority from Congress to tap the emergency oil reserve to control spikes in global petroleum prices, seeking a more aggressive role for the 40-year-old stockpile. Authorized by Congress in 1975 after the Arab oil embargo, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has long been a defensive weapon to protect the U.S.
U.S. Refiners Want Condensate Exports Halted
A lobbyist group for four U.S. oil refiners urged the federal government on Thursday to stop issuing approvals for energy companies to ship abroad a lightly processed crude oil, saying it is prohibited by a nearly 40-year-old ban on oil exports. Consumers and Refiners United for Domestic Energy (CRUDE), wrote to Commerce Department…
US Bill Would Boost Ukraine's Energy Efficiency, Drilling
A bill introduced by U.S. Senator Edward Markey on Thursday aims to ease Ukraine's fuel dependence on Russia by modernizing its heating infrastructure and updating its Soviet-era natural gas drilling capabilities. Some U.S. lawmakers have called for a surge in U.S. fuel exports to help Ukraine wean itself from Russian energy…
Industry Urges Senate for Vessel Discharge Legislation
On March 13, a diverse coalition of 59 national and regional organizations representing a wide array of business, maritime and labor interests signed on to a letter to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee leadership, Chairman John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD), thanking them for cosponsoring S.
AWO Praises Vessel Discharge Legislation
The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association representing the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, praised yesterday’s Senate introduction of a bill calling for the enactment of a uniform national standard for the regulation of ballast water and other vessel discharges, legislation widely viewed as essential to ending the existing confusing…
Senator Introduces Bill to Go Slow on US LNG Exports
Reuters - U.S. Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, introduced a bill on Thursday opposing efforts to push the Obama administration to speed up liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approvals in light of Russia's threats to Ukraine. The American Natural Gas Security and Consumer Protection Act would require the Department of Energy to weigh the impacts of proposed exports on consumers…
