OIL
On January 28, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing to receive testimony on S. 1600, the Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2013. This Act that would enable domestic production of critical minerals necessary in the manufacturing of many clean energy technologies. Overview Critical minerals play and important role in…...
A Nebraska District Court declared that a 2012 law which authorized Nebraska Governor Heineman to approve the proposed Keystone XL route is unconstitutional. On February 19, 2014, the Lancaster County District Court struck down Legislative Bill (LB) 1161, the 2012 legislation which authorized Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman to approve the proposed Keystone XL pipeline route…...
President Obama has directed EPA and DOT to develop fuel efficiency and emissions standards for medium- and heavy duty vehicles beyond model year 2018. On February 18, 2014, President Barack Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to develop the next phase of…...
The EPA has released revised underground injection control guidelines for diesel fuel use in oil and gas hydraulic fracturing activities. On February 11, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released revised guidelines to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program Class II requirements, as amended by the 2005 Energy Policy Act,…...
Drilling operations in Shell’s second Mars field platform are expected to push the Shell’s Mars field oil production levels to 100,000 barrels per day in 2016. On February 4, 2014, Royal Dutch Shell Plc announced it started oil production from the Mars B field through Olympus, the largest deep-water floating platform in the Gulf of…...
The State Department’s final Keystone XL assessment report indicates the pipeline is unlikely to have significant environmental impact. On January 31, 2014, the U.S. State Department released the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, finding that the pipeline is unlikely to have significant effect on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions…....
The recent domestic oil and gas production boom and industry pressure has re-started U.S. crude oil export ban debate under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. Overview In 1973, the United States experienced a historic oil crisis in response to the Arab oil embargo and the subsequent 70 percent OPEC oil price increase…...
Shell has decided to halt 2014 Arctic drilling operations following a court ruling that DOI’s Chukchi Sea lease sale was based on arbitrary production estimates. On January 30, 2014, Royal Dutch Shell Plc announced its decision to stop its offshore Alaska exploration program for the second consecutive year. The announcement comes after a January 22…...
The Whitehouse has released guidelines for federal departments and agencies to implement the 2013 Arctic National Strategy On January 30, 2014, the White House released an implementation plan to execute the National Strategy for the Arctic Region issued in May 2013. The plan details specific activities to implement the Arctic Strategy’s three lines of effort:…...
A federal appeals court ruled that DOE’s 2008 oil lease sale offshore Alaska was based on a flawed production estimate. On January 22, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Department of Interior’s (DOI) 2008 lease sale (Lease Sale 193) for oil and gas development in the Chukchi Sea…...
U.S. Commerce Chamber’s new energy advocacy platform proposes actionable recommendations to capitalize on the nation’s energy potential. On January 15, 2014, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy launched its new energy advocacy platform titled “Energy Works for US,” a comprehensive plan with recommendations for 2014 and beyond. The plan, an update…...
EIA estimates a two percent increase in 2013 energy-related emissions over 2012 due to increased coal-fired electricity generation. On January 13, 2014, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report estimating that U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2013 were approximately two percent above 2012 levels mainly due to a slight increase in the use…...