The Michigan Public Service Commission on June 30 rejected Enbridge’s request for a declaratory ruling that it has authority to replace a pipeline segment under the Straits of Mackinac under a 1953 order approving the Line 5 pipeline. The commission found that the Line 5 project differs significantly from the pipeline approved in 1953. Different…...
The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management on June 26 released the final environmental review for a new integrated activity plan for the 23-million acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The preferred alternative would open as much as 18.7 million acres, or about 82 percent of the reserve, to oil and gas development, undoing Obama-era protections…...
Petroleum accounted for 37 percent of total energy consumed in the U.S. last year, with motor gasoline representing nearly half the petroleum products consumed, according to a June 22 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. consumes more petroleum than it produces, with the remainder supplied by imports and domestic stock inventories saved…...
Gasoline and jet fuel demand fell by near-record amounts because of the stay-at-home orders and travel limitation since the breakout of COVID-19, according to a June 9 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The gross inputs into refineries fell by 4 percent from February to March to an average of 15.8 million barrels per…...
U.S. summer electricity demand, from June through August, is expected to total 998 billion kilowatthours, a 5 percent drop compared to 2019 and the lowest value since 2009, according to a June 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retail electricity sales in the commercial and industrial sectors are expected to decline 12 percent…...
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on June 4 directing federal agencies to use emergency powers to expedite infrastructure projects to facilitate recovery from the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19. The order allows agencies to consult with the White House Council on Environmental Quality to identify “alternative arrangements” for complying with the requirements…...
Canada is the second-biggest destination for U.S. energy exports, next only to Mexico, and the main source of U.S. energy imports, according to a June 5 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In 2019, energy accounted for $85 billion, or 27 percent, of the trade value for U.S. imports from Canada; crude oil and…...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on June 1 issued a final rule specifying the timeframe for states to review water quality requirements for infrastructure projects under a section of the Clean Water Act. The rule requires states or authorized tribes to take final action within one year of a certification request. The agency also clarified…...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on June 5 announced it will convene a technical conference next month to consider the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on various segments on the U.S. energy industry. The agency will analyse the potential longer-term impacts on regulated entities to ensure efficient functioning of energy markets, power transmission, oil…...
U.S. biomass-based diesel imports increased by 26 percent in 2019 to more than 27,000 barrels per day after three consecutive years of decline, according to a June 2 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Production of biomass-based diesel, which refers to biodiesel and renewable diesel, is largely driven by federal and state policies as…...
U.S. active crude oil and natural gas rigs dropped to their lowest number in over three decades, according to a May 20 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The number of rigs declined sharply to 339 on May 12, a 56 percent decline since March 17, due to an unprecedented drop in petroleum demand…...
The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on May 14 issued a final rule to update regulations for oil and gas operations in the central and western Gulf of Mexico and the area off the North Slope Borough of Alaska. The changes do not relax any air pollution standards, but make technical and…...