A recent proposal by a well-known energy economist has drawn some buzz in the market. In this week's Regulation & The Environment column from Platts Oilgram News, Meghan Gordon looks at the issue.
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In this US election year, nearly every politician campaigning at the federal level, no matter the party, wants to improve "energy independence" and "energy security." The catchphrases invoke American can-do-ism and let candidates inject the slightest economic and foreign policy knowledge into their pitches without having to get bogged down in the details.
It's almost as if these politicians want to sew red, white and blue "Made in USA" tags onto hydrocarbons.
Europe couldn't be more different. Consider BP's recent prediction that EU countries will import 80% of the natural gas they consume by 2030, despite having significant shale gas potential.
It's almost as if these politicians want to sew red, white and blue "Made in USA" tags onto hydrocarbons.
Europe couldn't be more different. Consider BP's recent prediction that EU countries will import 80% of the natural gas they consume by 2030, despite having significant shale gas potential.
Continue reading The US obsession with energy imports and why Europe doesn't sweat it
In his much-hyped State of the Union address this past week, President Barack Obama gave a rhetorical bearhug to US energy development, even stealing a line from Republicans and pronouncing the need for an "all-out, all-of-the-above strategy" on increasing energy production.
Continue reading Obama's energy plans in the SOTU sound awful familiar
Since President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law in July 2010, few of the law's rules have raised more questions, consternation and downright befuddlement than the Volcker rule.
So, in an attempt to clear up at least some of the confusion about a rule expected to have a sweeping impact on both physical and financial energy markets, we present what you need to know about a rule few seem to know anything about.
So, in an attempt to clear up at least some of the confusion about a rule expected to have a sweeping impact on both physical and financial energy markets, we present what you need to know about a rule few seem to know anything about.
The National Petrochemical & Refiners Association officially changed its name today, to American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers. In its presentation to a group of the Washington energy community, and the press, the "manufacturing" aspect of this was uppermost.
That makes a great deal of sense. With so much national policy aimed at boosting the manufacturing sector, why not look to be part of it? Especially when your product, as has been widely reported, was the largest export for the US, by dollar value, in 2011.
Continue reading As an oil refining group changes its name, some views on its future
The brief protest at a Washington, DC, energy conference served as an unintentional but appropriate metaphor last week for Dave McCurdy, president and CEO of the American Gas Association.
Continue reading Protest a metaphor for Washington oil and gas political environment
After a more than three-week delay, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Scott O'Malia on Wednesday got the present that has been at the top of his Christmas wish list for months.
But, like the kid who asked for a brand new ipod, but instead found an off brand, bargain bin mp3 player under the Christmas tree, O'Malia seemed a little disappointed that he didn't get exactly what he wanted.
Continue reading CFTC Commissioner gets a knock-off version of the gift he wanted
Republican presidential candidates are trying to outdo each other to show how pro-drilling they would be if they occupied the White House. But as Platts' Gary Gentile explains in this week's Regulation & the Environment column in Platts Oilgram News, the president's power is not all that it's cracked up to be.
The law Congress passed just before Christmas to force a quicker decision on the Keystone XL pipeline gives the Obama administration two choices: approve or deny TransCanada's application by February 21. Or does it?
This project has been looked at from every angle, and yet we still don't know if those are the only two possible outcomes.
Take the latest comments from the State Department: "That law gives the Secretary of State 60 days from December 23 to either grant a permit for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline or to justify why a permit is not being granted," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said during the department's daily briefing today.
This project has been looked at from every angle, and yet we still don't know if those are the only two possible outcomes.
Take the latest comments from the State Department: "That law gives the Secretary of State 60 days from December 23 to either grant a permit for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline or to justify why a permit is not being granted," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said during the department's daily briefing today.
Continue reading Counting down Washington's Keystone XL clock
It's hard to say with a straight face that 2011 for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was truly historic.
The idea of historians a century from now breathlessly discussing the debate over the federal commodity position limits regime or a new market manipulation standard may seem downright absurd.
Continue reading It may not have been historic, but 2011 was big for CFTC
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