The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized regulatory changes allowing the sales of E15 gasoline, a fuel blend of gasoline and 15 percent ethanol, during summer months, according to a May 31 news release. The move expands the waivers for “Reid vapor pressure,” a measure of gasoline volatility, which currently applies to E10 blends to E15…
The United States produced a record amount of energy from various sources in 2018, reaching 96 quadrillion British thermal units, 8 percent higher than in the previous year, according to the Energy Information Administration’s latest Monthly Energy Review. While fossil fuels like crude oil and natural gas saw increases of 17 and 12 percent respectively…
U.S. exports of petroleum products hit a new high last year, reaching an annual average of 5.6 million barrels per day, an increase of 366,000 from 2017, according to an April 23 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Distillate, propane, and motor gasoline together had the largest share of exports. The large volumes were…
The U.S. Senate voted 56-41 on April 11 to confirm David Bernhardt as Secretary of the Interior. President Trump’s pick for the position has been acting secretary since Jan. 2, following Ryan Zinke’s resignation amid multiple ethics probes. He served as the department’s top lawyer under President George W. Bush and worked as a lobbyist for the…
U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on April 10 aimed to speed up the federal process for cross-border energy infrastructure projects and restrict the role of states in the permitting process for siting pipelines and other fossil fuel projects. One order directs the Environmental Protection Agency to review a section of the Clean…
U.S. President Donald Trump on March 29 issued a new presidential permit for the long-delayed Keystone Xl oil pipeline, replacing the one granted in March 2017. The move provoked a backlash from conservation groups, which called it an effort to bypass federal environmental laws. The action comes after a court blocked the project in November…
The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska on March 29 overturned President Donald Trump’s executive order issued in 2017 to undo a ban on oil and gas drilling in most of the Arctic Ocean. The court ruled that only Congress has the authority to revoke the ban imposed by former President Obama in…...
U.S. shale oil production, which became the more common form of oil extraction in 2015, will continue to grow through 2030, ultimately reaching more than 10 million barrels per day compared to 2018’s 6.5 million. Shale oil, also known as tight oil, accounted for 61 percent of total U.S. production in 2018, according to the Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on March 21 issued notices of inquiry to gather information on possible improvements to rules governing electric transmission incentives and the agency’s approach to determining the return on equity, or ROE, for setting jurisdictional rates charged by public utilities. Transmission incentives are crucial to spur investment, which can provide benefits,…
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management state offices generated more than $1.1 billion of revenue from oil and gas lease sales during 2018, nearly thrice the previous record of $408 million set a decade ago, according to a Feb. 6 press release. The agency’s New Mexico office held 2018’s biggest lease sale in September, earning…...
New York lawmakers approved a bill on Feb. 5 that would block oil and gas development off the state’s coastline. The legislation would put New York in line with California, New Jersey, and Oregon that have enacted similar measures following the Trump administration’s plan to open up vast amounts of coastal waters to drilling activities. The measure…...
Under current and planned policies, global energy demand is expected to grow by over 25 percent to 2040, requiring an annual investment of more than $2 trillion in new energy supply, according to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook published on Nov. 13. The agency said that over 70 percent of global energy investments…