Calgary Herald by Stephen Ewart.  Record oil production, increasingly complex energy transportation issues and unprecedented public engagement aren’t enough to prevent a nearly 25 per cent cut to the budget and large reduction in staff at the National Energy Board over the next two years.

News of the “operational realities” confronting the NEB — which will mean 73 fewer employees — emerged late last week with release of its 2015-16 Report on Plans and Priorities.

The reason for the drop-off in funding is easily explained.(More)

KTOO.  The Senate Finance Committee plans confirmation hearings for Gov. Bill Walker’s appointees to the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. board.

The hearings for Rick Halford, Joe Paskvan and Hugh Short are scheduled for Tuesday (Today).

They would replace three members removed by Walker earlier this year, including former pipeline and oil company executives.

Some lawmakers have raised questions …. (More)


Today's RELEVANT Consumer Energy Alliance energy links: 

Bill Martinez Live: Bill Martinez Show April 7, 2015 Michael Whatley (NGP Photo) Interview 
 
Michael Whatley, Consumer Energy Alliance, Bill Martinez Interview, Photo by Dave HarbourAssociated Press: Greenpeace activists board drill rig retained by Shell for Arctic offshore drilling
Six Greenpeace activists protesting Arctic offshore drilling on Monday boarded a drill rig as it was transported across the Pacific Ocean toward Seattle, where it will be staged for drilling on Shell leases in Alaska waters. The 400-foot Polar Pioneer, owned by Transocean Ltd., was on board a heavy-lift vessel about 750 miles northwest of Hawaii when the activists approached in inflatable boats and used climbing gear to get on board, Greenpeace spokesman Travis Nichols said.
 
Real Clear Energy: Keystone XL Traded For Arctic Drilling Rights?
Few debates in energy have been more contentious than Keystone XL (KXL). Environmental groups opposed the pipeline and turned out a grass roots movement that astonished even battle weary Enviros. It also caused serious problems for the industry as their assets became stranded and they were forced to ship crude by rail and barge. It is estimated that this amounted to approximately $17B over the past few years in lost revenue due to public accountability campaigns. But it looks as though the Obama Administration and Big Oil merely traded KXL for Arctic drilling rights.
 
National Journal: Life After Keystone: The Future of the Climate Movement When the Pipeline Battle Ends
President Obama could reject or approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline any day, week or month now. And as a decision looms, environmentalists face a daunting question: Can they recreate the kind of mass appeal that Keystone inspires when the pipeline battle ends?
 
The New York Times: Laurence Tribe Fights Climate Case Against Star Pupil From Harvard, President Obama
Laurence H. Tribe, the highly regarded liberal scholar of constitutional law, still speaks of President Obama as a proud teacher would of a star student. “He was one of the most amazing research assistants I’ve ever had,” Mr. Tribe said in a recent interview. Mr. Obama worked for him at Harvard Law School, where Mr. Tribe has taught for four decades.
 
CBS News: Is oil and gas to blame for Okla. earthquakes?
Kim Hatfield, with the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, says the science to prove a definitive link simply isn't there. "Coincidence is not correlation," said Hatfield. "This area has been seismically active over eons and the fact that this is unprecedented in our experience doesn't necessarily mean it hasn't happened before."
 
The Independent: A disaster waiting to happen in Oklahoma?
Until very recently earthquakes were a rare occurrence in Oklahoma. Not any more. In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey recorded just two earthquakes above 3.0 on the Richter Scale in Oklahoma. In 2014 it recorded 585, including 15 that measured over 4.0. The state is on target to break through 800 in 2015, taking California’s crown as the most active seismic state in the country.
 
Wall Street Journal: Fewer oil trains ply America’s rails
The growth in oil-train shipments fueled by the U.S. energy boom has stalled in recent months, dampened by safety problems and low crude prices.
 
Associated Press: Oil train cars need urgent upgrades
A spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute said the organization supports a "science-based" approach to safety that includes track maintenance and repairs in addition to any tank car upgrades.
 
Bloomberg: Safety Board Urges Aggressive Timetable to Replace Oil Tank Cars
U.S. railroad cars used to haul oil should be upgraded or replaced within five years with sturdier models better able to prevent explosions after derailments, federal safety investigators said in a proposal made public Monday.
 
Houston Chronicle: Oil's jolt means jingle for summer travelers
The global crude collapse that has jolted the oil industry will usher in the least expensive driving season in years, with pump prices expected to hover near $2 per gallon at some stations. Peak-season gasoline hasn’t been that low since 2009 during the economic downturn.
 
Statesman Journal: Oregon debates HF moratorium
A legislative committee will hear testimony Tuesday on a bill that would put a 10-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas exploration and production in the state. Proponents tout the economic benefits brought to communities with wells and the energy independence they afford.
 
The Motley Fool: The Biggest Threat Facing Offshore Drillers Keeps Getting Worse
Few industries have been so negatively affected by the oil crash as offshore drillers. In the past I've attempted to find drillers whose contract backlogs were relatively insulated from the downturn. To this effect I recommended SeaDrill Partners, because just 20% of its rigs had contracts expiring through 2016. Now however, news of contract cancellations from BP mean that the risk of contract cancellations — which I believe to be the biggest risk to the industry — is rising and in a most alarming way. Find out why and what it might mean for your portfolio.
 
The Hill: Hope for bipartisan action on energy
Hold onto your hats, there just may be bipartisan legislation on the horizon. And who would have guessed that after the hyper-partisan Keystone XL showdown, the topic to come together on would be of all things, energy? First, in the wee hours of March 27, after the contentious budget resolution was passed at 3 a.m., Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) appeared on a nearly empty Senate floor and quietly passed a stripped down version of their energy efficiency bill with a unanimous vote of two.
 
Fuel Fix: U.S. refiners can bulk up to consume more domestic oil
The United States can boost its consumption of the light oil increasingly flowing out of domestic wells today, a new government report finds, even as it warns that potential changes to the nation’s longstanding ban on raw crude exports risk undermining those investments.
 
Fuel Fix: Tensions ignite on East Coast as White House weighs Atlantic drilling
The prospect of a new generation of Atlantic drilling is stirring a heated debate up and down the East Coast, as fierce opponents warn that offshore oil development could jeopardize marine life and tourism-based economies. Oil industry leaders, meanwhile, are touting the potential jobs and economic gains that could flow along with crude from wells drilled at least 50 miles off the shores of Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas. They envision a new frontier of Atlantic production that could emerge as a profitable replacement to shale oil extraction or continued pumping from the heavily tapped Gulf of Mexico.
 
Huffington Post: Illinois poll shows strong opposition to HF
Nearly half of Illinois voters oppose fracking, according to a new poll by the Simon Institute. The statewide poll reveals 48.6 percent oppose fracking while only 31.8 percent believe it should be encouraged, even if there are economic benefits. Opponents outnumber supporters in all regions of the state, including downstate where fracking is promoted as a jobs plan.
 
Philadelphia Inquirer: Gas tax can’t ignore prices
It's Wolf's misfortune to be attempting to address this failure in the midst of a gas glut. Given that the regional natural-gas price has plummeted by more than half over the past year, legislators and others have rightly questioned whether the governor's projected $1 billion a year in revenue from the levy is realistic.
 
Lancaster Online: Restoring aging county-owned bridges tied to impact fee
The Lancaster County commissioners are addressing the problem by turning to impact fee revenue from natural gas drillers. As of February, the county had $2.2 million available, said county engineer Scott Russell of Rettew Associates. The commissioners are counting on continuing impact fee revenue to help fund the replacement or repair of nearly all 44 county-owned concrete or steel bridges over the next five years.
 
Power Source: EPA analysis details water usage in HF
The EPA’s report shows that many drillers in Pennsylvania and Ohio are reusing water more often than their counterparts in the West. More than 70 percent of disclosures that identified water sources in Ohio and Pennsylvania identified some amount of reused and associated types of water in base fluids.
 
The Post and Courier: Seismic testing permits go to public hearing
Nine companies so far want to use seismic guns to search for oil and natural gas off the South Carolina coast. The federal permits for them are up for public hearingWednesday. The hearing comes amid a swell of opposition that has been mounting since federal regulators last year gave a preliminary nod to the permits, opening an evaluation period by federal and state agencies.
 
Baltimore Sun: HF moratorium passes senate
By a 45-2 vote, senators sent the measure to the House, which has passed a version of the bill that environmental advocates believe is stronger. The House bill calls for a three-year moratorium and further study of the health and economic development impact of the practice. The Senate bill does not require a study.
 
Associated Press: ‘Fight Club’ actor speaks out against HF
In films, he’s played poker with Matt Damon and fought with Brad Pitt. Now actor Edward Norton is lending his voice to the anti-fracking campaign in Maryland.
 
San Antonio Business Journal: Series of earthquakes shakes Permian Basin in recent weeks
A series of three earthquakes hit the Permian Basin along the oil and natural gas-rich lands along the Pecos and Reeves county lines over the past two weeks, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
 
Santa Fe New Mexican: NM oil production holds steady
Newly released numbers indicate that the pace of oil production in New Mexico did not slow in January. According to figures from the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, oil-and-gas companies doing business in the state in January reported a production level of almost 13.6 million barrels of oil.
 
CBC News: HF criticism spreads, even in Alberta and Texas
The Alberta Energy Regulator, which is responsible for enforcing industry policies, rejects claims that fracking affects human or animal health. The AER says hydraulic fracturing, in use in Alberta since the 1950s, is one of several well-established methods of recovering oil and gas.