Fairbanks News Miner Editorial.  the head of the American Petroleum Institute says oil production on federal lands, where the president has authority, has actually fallen. Jack Gerard, the group’s president, says production in the Gulf Mexico is down 30 percent, though that may be because of fallout from the BP spill, and lease sales in the Rocky Mountains are down 70 percent. He says, pointing to federal Energy Information Administration material for support, the president is only making 3 percent of the lands and waters under his control available for development.  President Obama concluded his remarks in the North Carolina by saying people are tired of hearing “phony election-year promises that never come about.”  We’ll second that.  And we’ll ask that the president begin to vigorously advocate for greater oil production from federal lands and waters, including those in Alaska. If he won’t, perhaps another president will.

 

The Times Union: Marcellus Shale is where N.Y.’s hope lies **CEA mentioned in article**    New York relies heavily upon natural gas during the typically cold winters, as more than half of households in the state use it as their primary source of heating. With this winter’s above-average temperatures, most New Yorkers are now seeing stark reductions in their heating bills from last year. However, the unusually warm temperatures are not the only reason for the falling prices. Much is actually attributed to the tremendous supplies of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale.

CNN: Santorum, Gingrich to appear at Alabama candidates’ forum **CEA mentioned in article**   On the eve of the Alabama primary, Republican candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich will appear at a forum next Monday night sponsored by the state party. The event, to be sponsored by the Alabama Republican party, is expected to attract thousands of attendees and major national attention, party officials told CNN.

 
Associated Press: Natural gas drops to a 10-year low; oil rises – The price of natural gas dropped to the lowest level in a decade as a mild winter comes to a close with a huge surplus of the fuel on hand. Natural gas supplies typically shrink in the winter as homes and business crank up the heat. But relatively warm weather, combined with a boom in production, has left storage facilities bloated with more gas than normal. Natural gas futures fell by 5.4 cents Wednesday to $2.302 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York. That’s the lowest price since Feb. 15, 2002, and down 69 cents from the start of the year.
 
Huffington Post: Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline Won’t Ease Gas Prices; Senate Must Reject It – This week the Senate is likely to vote on an amendment that would force approval for the Keystone XL pipeline. President Obama already rejected the dirty tar sands pipeline because it needed a more thorough safety and environmental review. Yet instead of allowing engineers, public safety, and other experts to assess the pipeline’s sweeping impacts — on American communities, drinking water supplies, and the stability of our climate — this amendment would let the politicians in Congress decide what is safe.
 
FOX: Obama pushes for energy alternatives to tackle high gas prices – President Obama and Congress tackled the high price of gasoline Wednesday — and there were two entirely different views of the problem and its solutions.  The president toured a trucking firm that uses natural gas as a fuel, arguing that only alternatives can help us because we produce too little oil to affect the global price.
 
Bloomberg: House Republicans Say Obama Restrictions Spur Rising Gas Prices – U.S. House Republicans sought to link rising gasoline prices with President Barack Obama’s restrictions on offshore drilling and denial of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, an argument rejected by Democrats. The Obama administration lacks the power to stem the increase, Democratic lawmakers said, and an energy analyst said U.S. consumers should get accustomed to price swings at the pump driven by consumers outside the U.S.
 
The Houston Chronicle: Gasoline prices drop across the nation – Daily rises at the pump seem to be a thing of the past — at least, for now. Gasoline prices dropped a penny overnight to $3.56 in Houston today, and the local average is up only a penny since last week. Over the past month, gas prices are up 17 cents as crude oil prices rise. Texas saw prices edge down a third of a penny to $3.59, but the statewide average has risen 2 cents as spring break nears. Nationally, the price is hovering around $3.76, a rise of 2 cents over last week’s average, according to AAA gas gauge.