Oil and gas regulators across U.S. states are weighing measures to address the sudden oversupply of oil under the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in an unprecedented drop in demand for oil.
The U.S. Energy Department on May 14 released a request for proposals to buy up to one million barrels of sweet crude oil produced by domestic producers amid an unprecedented drop in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The oil will be delivered to Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites located in Bayou Choctaw, Big Hill, and…...
The U.S. Agriculture Department on May 5 issued a notice of funding of up to $100 million in competitive grants for projects designed to boost the sale and use of renewable fuels under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program, or HBIIP. The initiative will offer cost-share grants of up to 50 percent of project costs,…...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on May 8 issued a policy statement providing guidance on the agency’s response to the effects of the COVID-19 mitigation measures on oil pipelines. The commission said it will act expeditiously on requests for certain temporary waivers or extensions of time for compliance with certain regulations. The commission said it…...
Natural gas markets have a tendency to react to regional factors while crude oil markets respond swiftly and most times drastically to world events, according to a April 29 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The correlation of daily price movements across the West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, and Brent are typically above 0.90…....
U.S. petroleum consumption dropped to its lowest level in nearly three decades due to the travel restrictions in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, as well as the economic downturn resulting from the pandemic, according to an April 23 report from the Energy Information Administration. The U.S. demand averaged 14.1 million barrels per day…...
The New England grid operator has proposed a long-term, market-based solution to the region’s energy security problem as the power generation fleet moves towards a mix of energy-limited resources. With the retirement of resources with stored fuel, the system is increasingly reliant on facilities that run on just-in-time natural gas deliveries and weather-dependent wind and solar energy. To address the ensuing challenge, the grid operator proposes to improve the current market structure by creating incentives for the region’s fleet to invest in the energy supply arrangements and technologies on which the region depends.
The Michigan Public Service Commission deferred action on Enbridge Energy LP’s application seeking approval for the replacement of a pipeline segment under the Straits of Mackinac while it considers whether new siting authority is required to build the portion, according to an April 22 news release. Enbridge sought a declaratory ruling that it already has…...
The Bureau of Land Management on April 17 released a draft environmental assessment of the Wyoming Pipeline Corridor Initiative, which seeks to designate nearly 2,000 miles of pipeline corridor network for projects associated with carbon capture, utilization and storage, as well enhanced oil recovery. The initiative, proposed by the State of Wyoming, encompasses pipeline corridors…...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on April 16 issued a final rule concluding that it is not appropriate and necessary to regulate hazardous air pollutant emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants, rescinding a 2016 supplemental cost finding that formed the basis for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS. The agency said that…...
The U.S. Energy Department is negotiating contract awards with nine U.S. companies to store about 23 million barrels of crude oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, according to an April 16 news release. This act aims to relieve oil producer’s stress in dealing with excess production under the combined effects of COVID-19 pandemic…...
The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management announced a proposal to offer 45 parcels of land, totaling about 67,244 acres located on Jackson, Las Animas, Rio Blanco, and Weld Counties, at the September quarterly oil and gas lease sale, according to a Mar. 31 news release. The agency is seeking public input on issues…