The U.S. Energy Department on April 2 announced a solicitation to make 30 million barrels of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s storage capacity available to oil producers amid an unprecedented drop in demand caused by the COVID-19 economic impacts, as well as the intentional disruption of oil markets by foreign actors. The agency said that a…...
Since the beginning of this year, crude oil prices fell significantly in response to the economic contraction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden crude oil glut after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and partner countries suspended agreed production cuts. Daily price changes for the U.S. benchmark crude oil West Texas Intermediate…...
U.S. biofuel production is projected to grow by 18 percent in 2050, relative to 2019 levels, under the reference case, which reflects current laws and regulations in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook. The growth is driven largely by economic and policy factors, according to the agency’s March 9 report. In a scenario…...
The U.S. Energy Department on Feb. 28 issued a notice of sale of crude oil from three Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, sites – Bryan Mound and Big Hill in Texas, and West Hackberry in Louisiana. In fiscal year 2020, the Energy Secretary is authorized to sell up to $450 million worth of oil from…...
The U.S. Agriculture Department on Feb. 20 announced a goal to boost biofuel production efficiency and competitiveness to achieve market-driven blend rates of 30 percent of transportation fuels by 2050. The goal is part of a department-wide initiative, which aims to increase farm production by 40 percent, while cutting the sector’s environmental footprint by 50…
The North Dakota Public Service Commission on Feb. 19 granted a permit allowing Energy Transfer Partners to add a pump station designed to increase the capacity of its Dakota Access Pipeline from 600,000 barrels per day to up to 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day. The 1,172-mile pipeline, which has been operating since…
The U.S. is projected to export more crude oil and petroleum combined than it imports until 2050, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2020. In two scenarios, one with more oil and gas supply and the other with higher oil prices, the agency expects the nation to become a net exporter…
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Feb. 3 determined that a court-ordered revised environmental review of Enbridge Inc.’s Line 3 pipeline project is adequate. The agency also approved and re-issued the certificate of need and route permit for the project, which has been delayed for a year due to opposition from environmental groups and permitting…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on Jan. 24 vacated three orders issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2017 granting extensions of small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS, program. The court ruled that the agency cannot allow extensions of exemptions that had lapsed, noting that none of…
The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management will offer 25 parcels of land, totaling about 32,700 acres located on Uintah County, at the March quarterly oil and gas lease sale, according to a Jan. 23 news release. The bureau will hold the lease sale online on March 10. The agency will conduct an additional…
The U.S. Interior Department issued a decision allowing the Bureau of Land Management to offer a right-of-way grant for TC Energy to construct the Keystone XL pipeline across 44 miles of federal lands in Montana, according to a Jan. 22 news release. The decision brings the $8 billion project a step closer to construction despite pending…
U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products exceeded imports by 89,000 barrels a day in September, a turning point from only a decade ago, when imports surpassed exports by 10 million barrels a day, according to a Dec. 31 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency attributed the trend to changes in…