NEWS, HEADLINES & BLOGS Read news, articles and links to other resources concerning the industry and how it affects you and your area.MyTown MyJob MyVoice is not responsible for the content of outside news sites, organizations or entities. Opinions expressed by and for other news organizations do not necessarily represent the positions of this campaign or its members. News Archives
3/26/13 The Keystone Converts: Seventeen Senate Democrats vote for the pipeline. Mr. Obama?The Wall Street Journal
Last week 17 Senate Democrats voted with all 45 Republicans for a budget amendment supporting the
TransCanada
TRP.T -0.27%
pipeline, which would transport crude from the Alberta oil sands to
Gulf Coast refineries (oil from North Dakota's Bakken Shale would hop
along for a ride). A similar measure last year garnered support from 11
Democrats but fell short of the 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.
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here 1/22/13 Nebraska governor approves revised Keystone pipeline routeFox News
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman notified the Obama administration Tuesday
that he has approved the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline to traverse
his state, marking a significant step toward reviving the project after
President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sidelined it.
The Republican governor approved a revised route for the
Canada-to-Texas pipeline which his office said would avoid
environmentally sensitive areas.
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here 11/14/12 Who is subsidizing whom?ExxonMobil | Ken Cohen
In its lead editorial yesterday, The Wall Street Journal took a hard look into the Obama administration’s campaign to end so-called “subsidies for Big Oil.” The paper’s conclusion turns the administration’s claims on its head: “The truth is that this industry is subsidizing the government.”
This is the flip side of the coin that few realize – the oil and natural gas industry is an enormous source of revenue for the U.S. government. In fact, the industry pays the federal government approximately $86 million a day – or about $31 billion a year – in rents, royalties, bonuses and corporate taxes. That doesn’t even include the payments made at the local and state levels.
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here 11/14/12 Keystone XL pipeline deserves a second look
The Hill | Cindy Schild, American Petroleum Institute
It’s been four long years in the making. There was media praise and scrutiny. There were meetings upon meetings to explain how the next four years could be better. And in the end, we supported what we thought was in our national interest.
If only the Keystone XL pipeline could have enjoyed the same fate as President Obama. There are plenty of parallels that could be drawn between this past presidential campaign and the long road the Keystone XL pipeline has been forced down. Fortunately for Mr. Obama, he knew he would have an answer on November 6. But TransCanada and the 20,000 Americans who could be benefiting from new jobs going into 2013 haven’t been so lucky.
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10/10/12 The Golden State’s “self-inflicted crisis”Exxon Mobil | Ken Cohen
When higher energy costs impact everyday lives, it can be a painful reminder that energy policies have real-world consequences.
California is facing just such a moment. Motorists in the Golden State recently paid record high prices for gasoline – prices that were more than 80 cents higher than the national average.
What’s behind this costly surge for consumers?
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here
8/27/12 Rich ‘mad as hell’ about state businessThe Daily News | Cathy Gillentine
Jim Rich has a version of the “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more” movie message. Sort of.
Rich, president of the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, also is executive director of the Southeast Texas Economic Development Foundation.
What he is “mad as hell” about are the media representatives and the politicians constantly battling the petrochemical industry and creating a bad climate for what he considers good business.
He spoke to members of the Texas City-La Marque Community Advisory Committee at a recent meeting, drumming up business for a push toward backing the petrochemical industry.
His grass-roots campaign and his talk are titled “My Town. My Job. My Voice.”
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here 7/25/12 OVERNIGHT ENERGY: GOP, US Chamber seek energy traction
The Hill | Ben Geman and Zack Colman
STATE OF PLAY: Senate Republicans and a powerful business group will push a pro-drilling agenda with separate events on Thursday.
Sen.
John Hoeven (R-N.D.) will roll out energy legislation that’s backed by
Senate GOP leaders. The plan will require increased onshore oil-and-gas
leasing and authorize the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, among other
provisions.
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7/24/12 House sets up Wednesday vote to replace Obama's oil and gas lease plansThe Hill |
Pete KasperowiczMembers of the House debated legislation on Tuesday that would replace
President Obama's five-year plan for offshore oil and gas lease sale
plan with a Republican plan that would expand lease sales in an effort
to increase domestic oil and gas production.
The GOP bill, H.R.
6082, would replace the Obama administration's plan to keep some
offshore areas off limits for lease sales, and also require additional
lease sales off Alaska's coast. Obama's five-year plan was put forward
in late June, and Republicans said they are compelled to try to replace
it with a more aggressive plan for developing domestic energy.
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here 7/11/12 GOP puts biofuels on the chopping block
The Hill | Zack Colman
The biofuels industry is at loggerheads with House Republicans, who are eyeing its funding for elimination in the farm bill.
Biomass and biofuels groups warn that the loss of $800 million in guaranteed federal support would stall progress in developing the fuel source and cause job losses in rural communities that can least afford it.
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7/10/12 AFPM Says Obama Administration Biorefinery Decision Will Cost Millions, Hamper American Energy Security
Energy Digital | Press Release
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President Charles T. Drevna responded today to reports that the Pentagon is moving forward with a plan to spend nearly half a billion dollars to help build biorefineries. Drevna notes such policies are another example of the government picking winners and losers in the marketplace instead of taking steps to enhance America's energy security:
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6/25/12 America's bright spot: Oil and gas
The Hill | Robert L. Bradley Jr., CEO, Institute for Energy ResearchIn this so-called “jobless” recovery, aptly labeled the Great Recession,
an estimated 20 million American workers are unemployed or
underemployed. One out of every two college students cannot find work in
their chosen fields. Competition for well-paying jobs is likely to
become even tougher when thousands of men and women in uniform return
home from Afghanistan and look for ways to support their families.
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here 6/25/12 Top Obama energy aide: 'Fracking' rules coming by year's endThe Hill | Ben Geman
A senior White House official said Monday that regulations to toughen
oversight of oil-and-gas “fracking” on federal lands are on track
despite a two-month extension of the public comment period announced
last week.
Heather Zichal, the top White House energy aide, told
reporters that she expects the Interior Department rules regulating
hydraulic fracturing, dubbed fracking, to be completed by year’s end.
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here 6/19/12 House spending panel unveils deep cuts to EPAThe Hill | Erik Wasson
House Republican appropriators on Tuesday unveiled a 2013 spending bill with deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The bill cuts the EPA by $1.4 billion, about 17 percent, compared to current funding. The GOP points out that this brings the EPA below fiscal 1998 levels.
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here 5/30/12 Sierra Clubs Natural GasThe Wall Street JournalThe media are finally catching up to America's shale natural gas boom, with even Fortune magazine waddling in with a cover story. But the bigger recent news is that one of the most powerful environmental lobbies, the Sierra Club, is mounting a major campaign to kill the industry.
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here 6/4/12 Industry groups: Administration overestimating emissions at ‘fracking’ sitesThe Hill | Joe Picard
The amount of methane released from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking,
is half what the Obama administration estimates, according to a study
released Monday by the American Petroleum Institute and the America's
Natural Gas Alliance.
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here 4/21/12 EPA sets natural gas pollution standards The Advocate | Dina Cappiello (
Associate Press)
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on
Wednesday set the first national standards to control air pollution from
gas wells that are drilled using a method called hydraulic fracturing,
or fracking — but not without making concessions to the oil and gas
industry.
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here 5/16/12 ND becomes nation's second-leading oil producer
Associated Press | James MacPherson
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota has passed Alaska to become the second-leading oil-producing state in the nation, trailing only Texas, state officials said Tuesday.
North Dakota oil drillers pumped 17.8 million barrels in March, with a daily average of 575,490 barrels, Assistant State Mineral Resources Director Bruce Hicks said. That compares with 17.5 million barrels in Alaska, though still far behind Texas.
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here 5/16/12 Energy independence isn't just a pipe dream
USA Today | Tim Mullaney
Now this once-sleepy chunk of north-central Pennsylvania is a star on the map of an emerging national energy rush. Six hotels are new or being built, and about 100 companies have moved to town, sometimes so fast that the head of the local Chamber of Commerce has told executives wanting guided tours to wait.
"I've said, 'Look sir, get in line,'" says Vince Matteo, chief executive of the Williamsport/Lycoming chamber. "Now I know people in their 20s with high school (diplomas) making $120,000 a year."
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here 5/10/12 Mica: ‘Great progress’ on including Keystone pipeline in highway bill
The Hill | Ben Geman
A top member of the House-Senate team forging a compromise transportation bill sounded optimistic notes Thursday about including construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline in the measure.
“I think the Keystone pipeline is making great progress from what I have heard ... as far as its acceptance into what we may do as a final bill,” said Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
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here 5/10/12 Sen. DeMint knocks Obama as 'hypocritical' on energy tax breaks
The Hill | Andrew Restuccia
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) hit back at President Obama Thursday for suggesting that Republicans are violating Grover Norquist’s tax pledge by opposing the extension of tax credits for the renewable energy industry.
“What the president is doing is wrong, and again, it is hypocritical,” DeMint said during a conference call with reporters. “He doesn’t go after the green companies that he’s given these big energy subsidies to that end up with credits for years to come.”
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here 5/10/12 Sanchez criticizes regulations that affect the oil and gas industry Chicago Tribune | Chuck Slothower
Lt. Gov. John Sanchez on Wednesday criticized regulations he said impede the oil and gas industry's ability to create jobs.
"I will continue to fight to see the oil and gas industry is treated the way it should be, as a valuable and responsible partner in the state of New Mexico," he said.
Sanchez was the keynote speaker on the opening day of the 11th Four Corners Oil and Gas Conference at McGee Park. About 2,400 oil and gas industry workers are attending the two-day conference.
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here 5/10/12 Official defends drilling policy
The Advocate, Washington Bureau | Jordan Blum
WASHINGTON — The director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said Wednesday that the Obama administration’s five-year plan for offshore drilling should be finished by the end of June and that it leans heavily on expanding oil production from the central Gulf of Mexico.
In speaking before the Republican-controlled House Natural Resources Committee, Tommy Beaudreau, who accepted the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management job in September, took criticism Wednesday from some Republicans for alleged drilling delay tactics and for not moving forward with oil-drilling proposals along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
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here 5/10/12 Report: Texas shale boom creates 48,000 jobs
The Advocate, The Associated Press | Paul J. Weber
SAN ANTONIO — An oil and gas bonanza in south Texas supported nearly 48,000 jobs last year while creating overnight boom towns cashing in on a $25 billion economic windfall from the liquid-rich Eagle Ford shale, according to a university study released Wednesday.
An energy rush that began with the first drilling in 2008 mushroomed into nearly 1,700 wells last year. Oil production is up more than six-fold since 2010 to more than 28 million barrels, while gas production has doubled.
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here 5/6/12 Trumka says labor wants Keystone built, believes green issues can be resolved
The Hill | Ben Geman
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is backing construction of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in comments that downplay divisions among unions in the labor federation over the controversial project.
“They are not divided on the pipeline itself,” Trumka said in a C-SPAN interview when asked about differences among unions over Keystone. “They are divided on how the pipeline is done.”
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here 5/4/12 State of Play: Two of the biggest energy challenges facing President Obama are expected to come careening into the spotlight in the coming days.
The Hill
Keystone XL pipeline developer TransCanada Corp. is preparing to reapply for a permit to carry Canadian oil sands into the United States. And the Interior Department is slated to unveil proposed “fracking” regulations.
The Washington Post broke the news earlier Thursday that TransCanada will reapply for the cross-border permit as soon as Friday. Terry Cunha, a TransCanada spokesman, would not give specific details on timing, but said the company planned to submit its application “shortly.”
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