The U.S. Interior Department on Jan.16 released final guidance on the procedure for states to apply for up to $40 million each in Regulatory Improvement Grant funding accessible under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or IIJA, to clean up unsafe and polluting orphaned wells and create jobs across the nation. Through the IIJA,…...
The U.S. Interior Department on Jan. 10 announced a $15.89 million investment to help three Tribal Nations and the State of Alabama clean up orphaned oil and gas wells. The funding is part of the Biden Administration’s Investing in America agenda and builds on previously announced funding of the $69 million in Tribal grants and…...
The U.S. Interior Department on Jan. 8 announced that the Bureau of Land Management received zero bids for the government authorized oil and gas lease sale for the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Arctic Refuge), following the bid submission deadline of Jan. 6. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act directed the…...
The Biden-Harris administration released memoranda on Jan. 6 withdrawing more than 625 million acres of the U.S. ocean from offshore drilling. The action prohibits future oil and natural gas leasing in three ocean and coastal regions: the eastern U.S. Atlantic coast and Eastern Gulf of Mexico; Pacific Coast along California, Oregon, and Washington; and the…...
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures prices averaged $80 per barrel (b) during 2024, down $2/b compared to 2023, according to an Jan. 6 report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Despite the geopolitical uncertainty and risks evident in the global energy market, Brent crude oil prices traded in their narrowest range since 2019, with…...
Increasing well productivity is assisting 34 publicly traded U.S. oil exploration and production companies lower production expenditures on a per barrel basis and making cash reserves available for uses such as share repurchases and dividends, according to a Dec. 11 report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. During the January to August 2024 period,…...
The U.S. Energy Information Administration issued a report on Dec. 9 discussing the ongoing challenges in California’s fuel market following the enactment of a new law granting regulators authority over petroleum inventory levels, along with the announced closure of Phillips 66’s Wilmington refinery. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Oct. 14…...
The Michigan Public Service Commission’s 2024-2025 Winter Energy Appraisal, released on Dec. 5, forecasts a rise in electricity demand among residential and commercial customers. While natural gas demand for residential heating is expected to remain steady, overall demand is projected to rise due to higher usage for electricity generation. Overall electricity demand is projected to…...
Average U.S. crude oil production hit a record high of 13.4 million barrels per day (b/d) during August 2024, according to a Nov. 26 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. U.S. crude oil production during August 2024 surpassed production during December 2023, when the previous monthly record of 13.3 million b/d was achieved. The…...
The retail price of regular gasoline, on the Monday before Thanksgiving averaged $3.04 per gallon (gal) across the U.S., down seven percent compared to the same time during 2024, according to a Nov. 27 report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Heading into the Thanksgiving weekend, retail gasoline prices are at their lowest level…...
U.S. petroleum coke, or petcoke, production on an annual basis remained relatively flat over the last decade (2014-2023) and averaged 46 million tons, according to an Nov. 14 report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The majority of the petroleum coke produced in the U.S. is exported. During 2023, the U.S. exported around 41…
The California Air Resources Board on Nov. 8 announced updates to its Low Carbon Fuel Standard, or LCFS, program that would speed up the decarbonization of the state’s transportation sector by increasing clean fuel and transportation options for consumers. The updated LCFS sets new targets to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuel by 30…...