6-8-15

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Committee on Natural Resources has scheduled a markup beginning on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at 4:00 PM in 1324 Longworth House Office Building. The Committee will consider the following bill, among others:

• H.R. 2295 (Rep. Thomas MacArthur), To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to identify and designate National Energy Security Corridors for the construction of natural gas pipelines on Federal land, and for other purposes. “National Energy Security Corridors Act”

​​TODAY'S RELEVANT ENERGY CLIPS FROM CONSUMER ENERGY ALLIANCE:

KZOR FM 94.1 – Hobbs, New Mexico: Media Interview. This week on Media Meeting, Dawn Morgan sits down with (1) the organizers of the upcoming Keep Kids Safe event. (2) Then, Andrew Browning (NGP Photo) of the Consumer Energy Alliance comes in to discuss the oil and gas industry.​

RealClearEducation: 
A record-breaking energy resurgence has catapulted the U.S. to No. 1 in the world in oil and natural gas production. But our workforce has not adapted to this new reality. Hundreds of thousands of jobs remain unfilled, and the pipeline of future workers isn’t nearly what we need to meet future energy needs.​  Improved U.S. Arctic Energy Development Starts in the Classroom
 
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Still not fully viable 
I was encouraged to see the Trib reporting beyond industry talking points in the Business story “Wind energy muscled out of state market”. While it's important to diversify the domestic energy portfolio, the fact is that wind and solar, while much-needed parts of our diverse energy future, are not yet fully viable replacements for fossil fuels.
 
New York Times: OPEC, Keeping Quotas Intact, Adjusts to Oil’s New Normal
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to keep the oil pumping, with no change in its production quotas, at the group’s meeting here on Friday. Even though oil prices are about 40 percent lower than a year ago, OPEC decided to keep its output target at 30 million barrels a day in an effort to maintain market share and respond to robust production in the United States.
 
Reuters: Oil slips after OPEC keeps output high, China slowdown
Oil prices slipped on Monday after China's fuel imports dropped sharply and as markets digested an OPEC decision to keep its production target unchanged, a move analysts said would keep the market oversupplied for the rest of the year.
 
Newsweek: Middle East Turmoil Favors U.S. Shale over OPEC Oil
Political instability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is discouraging capital investment in local oil and gas projects, and shifting interest to North American shale—despite MENA’s cheap, abundant and easy-to-extract hydrocarbon resources.
 
The National: High-cost production up for bit cuts as oil prices remain low
At the OPEC meeting on Friday in Vienna, the 12-member group announced that it would keep its oil output levels of 30 million barrels per day (bpd) despite the saturation driving market prices down. Brent crude stood around US$63 at close on Friday, still down from the highs experienced last June at $115 a barrel.
 
E&E News: OPEC's waning power puts economic influence out of its reach
There's widespread acknowledgement that OPEC's decision to leave its production target unchanged may underscore weaker cohesion and a waning of influence for the oil cartel on the global stage. Yet OPEC's influence may be waning in another important way: its ability to stimulate the global economy through lower oil prices.
 
Associated Press: Pipeline firm said California oil spill ‘extremely unlikely’
A Houston company whose ruptured pipeline created the largest coastal oil spill in California in 25 years had assured the government that a break in the line while possible was “extremely unlikely” and state-of-the-art monitoring could quickly detect possible leaks and alert operators, documents show.
 
Associated Press: Crews Say 44 Percent of California Coast Oil Spill Cleaned
Cleanup teams have determined that 44 percent of 96.5 miles of California coastline is clear of oil from the Refugio Oil Spill, a state official said Sunday. The 44 percent includes mostly sandy beaches, which only have trace amounts, or less than 1 percent of oil, said California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Alexia Retallack.
 
Associated Press: Jury finds former BP exec not guilty in oil spill case
A federal jury has acquitted former BP America Vice President of Gulf of Mexico Exploration David Rainey of making false statements about the volume of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill to government inspectors. Defense attorneys had argued that prosecutors lacked a basis for accusing Rainey of lying. U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt had also dismissed a charge of congressional inquiry obstruction against Rainey.
 
Associated Press: Judge merges suits contesting new federal drilling rules
A federal judge is merging two similar lawsuits that oppose upcoming new rules for oil and gas drilling on federal lands. Wyoming U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl on Thursdaygranted a consolidation request filed by both sides in one of the cases.
 
Reuters: HF licenses to be issued before eco impact assessment
The department of minerals is going ahead with plans to issue exploration licences before the release of results of a two-year strategic environmental assessment (SEA) into fracking‚ the Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG) said on Monday.
 
The Hill: HF divides red, blue states
Fracking is creating a new dividing line between the nation’s red and blue states. While liberal-leaning states such as New York and Maryland have opted to ban hydraulic fracturing, despite the potential revenue from natural gas, conservative strongholds such as Texas and Oklahoma have gone the opposite route, moving to ensure that local towns and cities cannot outlaw the practice in their communities.
 
Forbes: EPA HF Study: Drilling Wins
EPA’s new study, in conclusion, confirms that fracking is a technology that belongs among the ranks of computers and iPhones. It is changing the nation for the better without causing widespread harm to underground aquifers and drinking water. It is producing energy to make America stronger and safer. And nearly single-handedly, it pulled the United States out of the depths of the Great Recession by creating jobs and boosting the economy.
 
Shale Energy Insider: HF does not have a “widespread” effect on US drinking water
The Independent Petroleum Association of America reacted to the publication, stating: “With this new report, it couldn’t be clearer that shale development is occurring in conjunction with environmental protection and the claims by anti-fracking activists have been thoroughly debunked.”
 
Mining Weekly: Anti-HF group slams DMR for ‘inadequate’ regulations
Despite an ongoing two-year strategic environmental assessment (SEA) into domestic hydraulic fracturing (fracking) by the Department of Environmental Affairs and claims from the environmental community that the consultation process around the formulation of fracking legislation was indequate, the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has released the final Regulations for Petroleum Exploration and Production.
 
New York Daily News: N.Y. will still ban fracking despite federal report, spokesman says
A federal report that disproves the impact of hydraulic fracturing on water resources will not hamper New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's decision to ban the activity, said Tom Mailey, director of media relations at the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Compared with the federal report, the state review was broader as it focused on "impacts to air, water, public health, ecosystems, wildlife and community character," he said. Karen Moreau, executive director of the New York State Petroleum Council, said, "What is systemic and widespread is the suffering of thousands of families in New York's Southern Tier who had their hopes dashed by the governor's decision."
 
Forbes: Why New York's Fracking Ban For Natural Gas Is "Unsustainable"
A recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report that once again validated the safety of fracking (water pollution fears are completely overblown) has The Wall Street Journal claiming that Governor Cuomo’s ban has been “exposed as a fraud.
 
WTAJ News: Gov. Wolf reacts to Maryland HF ban
"I want to do it, I want to it right. I think modest, my goal is to have a modest severance tax that would be, certainly not the highest not the lowest, but somewhere in middle of the pack that would help us realize all of Pennsylvania is benefiting from a robust gas industry." Gov. Wolf said the gas industry can be a game-changer for the economy, if it's done the right way.
 
The Southern Illinoisan: Amid EPA verdict, HF is on the horizon
Fracking is, by and large, safe — at least on the drinking water front. That, in a nutshell, is the conclusion of the most exhaustive analysis of the controversial technique for natural gas extraction, released last week by the Environmental Protection Agency. It's a potential death blow for the region's anti-fracking movement that's been so loud in recent years in Southern Illinois, which must now pivot to a watchdog role.
 
Daily News: EPA report on HF is 'great news,' says NM Oil and Gas Assoc.
A spokesman for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association says a new study that found hydraulic fracturing has caused minimal harm to drinking water is vindication for the industry. “It's great news for New Mexico and great for our country," said Wally Drangmeister of the draft assessment released by the Environmental Protection Agency late last week.
 
Colorado Springs Gazette: EPA says fracking OK for H2O
It seemed like common sense to say fracking posed no substantial threat to lakes, rivers, streams and underground water. After all, no major water contamination catastrophes had occurred in more than four decades of the practice. Besides, fracking fluid is 99.5 percent water and sand. The remaining 0.5 percent consists of scary-sounding chemicals mostly found on food labels. The stuff is so nontoxic, Colorado's Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper drank a glass of it for show.
 
Orange County Register: Pollution warnings about HF don't hold water
But Gov. Brown hardly has sold his soul to the state’s oil and gas industry. He simply thinks it unwise to climb aboard an “ideological bandwagon” that views the industry as the destroyer of worlds and fracking as its chosen weapon.
 
Lompo Record: No evidence HF causes earthquakes
These days fracking gets blamed for almost anything that happens out of the ordinary. However, independent scientific studies have been unable to detect a connection between fracking and earthquakes. The evidence for a connection is generally limited to anecdotal assertions.
 
Washington Times: Foes poised to declare victory in 'war on coal' as investors, utilities flee energy source
After powering the Industrial Revolution and helping to turn the U.S. into the world’s top economic power, coal now seems to be drowning in what environmentalists call a “deadly cocktail” — a rabid, politically potent anti-fossil fuels movement, the rise of cheap, abundant, relatively clean domestic natural gas and an Obama administration that freely admits it wants to decrease coal use in America through a host of new rules.
 
FuelFix: Abundance and Affordability: Overlooked Characteristics
Although energy is just one input in the wealth production process, it is generally recognized as a critical one. Labor, capital equipment, technology, investment are combined with energy to produce goods and services, with energy being the catalyst.
 
Breaking Energy: Clean Air and Health to Co-benefit from More Stringent US Power Plant Carbon Standards, Study Suggests
A new study sheds light on looming key policy choices to be made by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in finalizing the Clean Power Plan this summer.
 
Petroleum News: Explorers 2015: Shell pressing ahead in Chukchi after setbacks
After a tiny step forward and many large leaps backward, Royal Dutch Shell plc is once again planning to explore its Burger prospect in the Chukchi Sea this summer.
 
Gas & Oil Magazine: Small turn-out for protest against drilling
About 25 people held signs, listened to protest music and otherwise voiced their opinions after visiting legislators and urging them to vote against House Bill 8.
 
E&E News: Companies dispute energy-quake link
An oil company Friday questioned the results of a study that linked its operations to earthquakes in Texas. State regulators, who will hold hearings starting this week to determine if they should take action against two oil companies that operate near the site of the earthquakes, remained skeptical of the connection between the energy industry and seismic activity, even while they asked what data could be collected to better understand the events.
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