Thursday, September 19, 2024

Government Accountability Office News

US House Bill Seeks $8 Bln for Abandoned Oil and Gas Well Cleanup

© muratart / Adobe Stock

A U.S House of Representatives Democrat introduced a bill on Thursday authorizing $8 billion to plug and clean up abandoned oil wells nationwide, a measure aimed at creating jobs for oil and gas workers and reducing climate-warming emissions.More than a century of oil and gas drilling has left behind millions of abandoned wells…

BSEE Launches Risk-Based Inspection Program

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) this week announced the implementation of a new Risk-Based Inspection Program that employs a systematic framework to identify facilities and operations that exhibit a high-risk profile. The risk-based inspections supplement BSEE’s existing National Safety Inspection Program.

Trump Advisors Aim to Free Indian Land Resources

Native American reservations cover just 2 percent of the United States, but they may contain about a fifth of the nation's oil and gas, along with vast coal reserves. Now, a group of advisors to President-elect Donald Trump on Native American issues wants to free those resources from…

U.S. Halts New coal Leases on Federal Land

U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell on Friday ordered a pause on issuing new coal leases on federal land in another step by the Obama administration to control climate change in the first major review of the country's coal program in three decades. The pause could last three years…

More Democrats Needed to Repeal Crude Export Ban

Lawmakers who want to ditch the 40-year-old U.S. ban on exporting oil will likely enjoy a victory on Thursday in the Senate banking committee - but they are struggling to garner enough Democratic support to pass the bill in the full chamber. The legislation is expected to get only one vote in the committee from a Democrat…

US Well Control Regulations Proposed

BSEE Director Brian Salerno

U.S. In response to the findings of investigations into the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, and following a thorough evaluation of recommendations from industry groups, equipment manufacturers, federal agencies, academia and environmental organizations, Secretary of the Interior Sally…

India to Talk Sanctions, LNG Imports During Obama Visit

India will use an upcoming visit by Barack Obama to press the United States to remove Indian oil companies from a list naming firms doing business in Iran, and to seek priority access to U.S. LNG exports, sources in the Oil Ministry said. The U.S. president will arrive in New Delhi on Jan.

EIA Study Gives nod to Crude Exports: Kemp

Gasoline prices in all parts of the United States are tied to Brent rather than the domestic crude oil benchmark WTI, according to a detailed study published on Thursday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA study removes the last principled objection to lifting the ban on U.S.

Easing US Oil Export Ban Unlikey to Raise Gasoline Prices

A government study on Thursday essentially supported the notion that easing the decades-old restriction on exporting U.S. crude was more likely to lower than raise gasoline prices for American motorists, a conclusion that could ease concerns among lawmakers about changing the policy. U.S.

Congressional Study Questions Embargo-Era Oil Policies

Lifting restrictions on U.S. crude oil exports could actually lower fuel prices for U.S. motorists and other consumers by contributing to a drop in world oil prices, according to a report from an influential congressional watchdog released on Monday. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) also recommended that the U.S.

U.S. Drivers to Face Delays at Rail Crossings due to Oil Shipments

Runaway oil production could slow road traffic as drivers face longer delays to cross train tracks in many congested regions, a U.S. study released on Friday predicted. Oil, coal and grain shipments are taxing the national rail grid as the deliveries of those commodities are expected to climb along with commercial shipments in the coming years…

$250 bln to Monitor U.N. Goals Deemed Excessive

Figure is twice the amount of annual development spending; Study urges fewer U.N. development targets than draft 169. World Bank official says study over-estimates costs. The world risks having to spend about $250 billion just to monitor U.N. development targets for 2030, diverting…

Kemp: Pentagon Not Managing Fuel Market Fluctuations

The U.S. Department of Defense has been using the wrong oil price in its budget, leaving the largest single buyer of fuel in the world with liabilities potentially hitting billions of dollars. The Pentagon continues to rely on WTI prices even though Brent oil is more relevant to the cost of fuels it buys on behalf of the armed forces.

Pentagon Uses Wrong Oil Price, Fails to Hedge Fuel Bill

U.S. Dept. of Defense photo

The U.S. Department of Defense has been using the wrong oil price in its budget, leaving the largest single buyer of fuel in the world with liabilities potentially hitting billions of dollars. The Pentagon continues to rely on WTI prices even though Brent oil is more relevant to the cost of fuels it buys on behalf of the armed forces.

GAO: U.S. Can Do Better on Arctic Policy

The U.S. needs a better strategy to coordinate and prioritize its policies related to the Arctic region, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study out today that was released by Reps. Rick Larsen (WA-02), Tim Bishop (NY-01), John Garamendi (CA-03) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (AK). The GAO study focused on U.S.

Legislation Aimed at Reducing TWIC Red Tape

Bill Would Reform Enrollment Process in Flawed TWIC Program. U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) introduced legislation today that would reform the burdensome enrollment process of the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) program, which provides…