News

President Obama figured out how to drive down the price of gasoline by lowering demand. The downside? His policies have wiped out an entire year of wealth creation Fuel Fix (8/5/11) reports: Oil prices extended sharp losses, falling to near $85 a barrel today in Asia amid expectations a slowing global economy will weaken demand for crude…Benchmark oil for September delivery was down $1.31 to $85.32 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude tumbled $5.30 to settle at $86.63 on Thursday…In London, Brent crude was down $1.56 at $105.69 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange…Oil and other commodities were dragged down by a plunge in global stock markets as traders lost confidence in U.S. economic growth. The Dow Jones industrial average sank 4.3 percent Thursday and stock markets in Asia opened sharply lower Friday…Investors fled to lower-risk assets, such as the U.S. dollar, which exacerbated oil’s decline. Crude usually falls when the dollar gains since a stronger U.S. currency makes commodities more expensive for investors with other currencies…All eyes will be on Friday’s July jobs report for evidence about the strength of the U.S. economy. Economists expect that 90,000 jobs were created in the U.S. last month, which is not enough to lower the unemployment rate, currently at 9.2 percent.

‘Interior OKs Shell Arctic Drilling Plan’ — E&E had you fooled with that headline didn’t they?  Don’t worry greenies, Shell is still waiting on the Chukchi Sea permits…E&E News (8/5/11) reports: The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement today gave conditional approval for Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s revised exploration plan to drill up to four wells in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea over two years starting in July 2012…Shell for years has been working to start drilling in the region and has invested billions of dollars there. But regulatory and legal setbacks have prevented the company from drilling any wells so far….Today’s long-awaited conditional approval is contingent on Shell securing other permits from U.S. EPA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. But a spokesman for the company called it “welcome news and adds to our cautious optimism that we will be drilling our Alaska leases by this time next year.”…Environmentalists are concerned that the project could harm the fragile Arctic ecosystem….”The biggest problem with this plan is that it doesn’t contain any realistic oil spill-response plan,” said Rebecca Noblin, Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity…She said Shell’s proposed plan to mechanically recover 95 percent of the oil would be impossible. She also noted the lack of spill-response infrastructure in the Arctic and unpredictable icy waters.

Wind tax credits are “not spending programs”.  Got it?  They just take money from taxpayers and give them to a favored few companies to produce very expensive, very unreliable electricity. This is his how politicians launder money E&E News (8/5/11) reports: The wind industry continued to boost capacity during the second quarter of this year, but its main trade group warned today that strong policy signals are needed to keep the industry on a strong growth pattern…In its latest market report, the American Wind Energy Association today said the United States wind industry installed 2,151 megawatts of electrical generating capacity in the first half of this year, up 72 percent from the 1,250 megawatts installed in the first half of 2010…But that growth could stall out soon because of uncertainty over federal incentives, the trade group said…”Clearly Congress cannot take for granted all the wind energy manufacturing and construction jobs that have been a bright spot through the recession,” said Denise Bode, CEO of AWEA, in a statement…The group would like to see Congress extend a production tax credit that is set to expire in 2012.

Are you sure?  Because I thought you could get rid of nuclear power and run the whole world on wind.  Turns out I was wrong New Scientist (8/5/11) reports: FOR decades, Germany has had some of the most enlightened energy policies in Europe. It has long been admired for setting world-leading growth in wind and solar. But its decision to ditch nuclear by 2022 will set back efforts to decarbonise the electricity supply by 10 crucial years, and could prove expensive for every household in Europe…Germany’s abrupt about-turn, like all decisions on nuclear, was highly political. Last year the government, headed by Angela Merkel, made the sensible but unpopular decision to extend the life of Germany’s nuclear plants to 2036 as a “bridge technology” towards “the age of renewable energy”. But after the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, public hostility intensified and Merkel retreated. The U-turn may help her in the 2013 federal elections but it is a major reversal for the climate…Around 23 per cent of Germany’s electricity comes from nuclear and 17 per cent from renewables. That’s a 40 per cent share for zero-carbon in total – one of the highest in the European Union…The German government has admirable plans to raise renewable electricity to 35 per cent of consumption by 2020. But even this planned increase falls 5 per cent short of filling the hole in zero-carbon electricity left by abandoning nuclear…How will Germany fill that hole? With coal and other fossil fuels. It has plans to build 20 gigawatts of fossil-fuel power stations by 2020, including 9 gigawatts of coal by 2013. The government now describes fossil-fuel power stations – apparently without irony – as “the new bridging technology”. Some of this may never be fitted with carbon capture and storage because German environmental campaigners don’t like this technology either.

Everybody’s Out To Get Me!  IHS/CERA’s Wrong!  Everybody’s Wrong!  All the people in the Gulf are wrong!  I’m a lawyer!  Oil and gas engineers don’t know anything!  Those jobless people are just faking it! Fuel Fix (8/2/11) reports: The United States’ top offshore drilling regulator is calling out one of the nation’s top energy research firms, accusing IHS CERA of issuing a biased and “fundamentally flawed” report that suggested Gulf drilling projects were caught in a government permitting logjam…The industry-funded analysis, released July 21, concluded that there was a backlog of offshore drilling permits awaiting government approval, with the delays costing coastal states jobs and tax revenues…But Michael Bromwich, the head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, says the IHS CERA report presents “misleading conclusions about the current state of offshore oil and gas drilling.”..In a letter to IHS CERA Chairman Daniel Yergin, Bromwich today said the report overlooks the sweeping changes in drilling safety and environmental reviews that the government implemented after last year’s spill. That includes a mandate that oil and gas companies be prepared to contain crude from a blown-out underwater well — a requirement that industry was unable to satisfy until early this year…Bromwich said:“Even though all of these developments are absolutely central to understanding the pace of plan and permit approval in the period covered by your report, they are barely mentioned. The six-month period covered by your report cannot be properly understood without context, and yet your report is altogether incomplete and superficial in describing the context.”

Seriously, what could go wrong? SMH (8/2/11) reports: FARMERS fear a new rush of environmental plantings for biodiversity and carbon offsets will accelerate the loss of land for food production…In an emerging trend, carbon traders are starting to buy farms to generate carbon credits for sale under voluntary schemes or – assuming legislation clears the Senate – the federal government’s Carbon Farming Initiative…Storing carbon dioxide through reforestation and other techniques such as soil carbon opens up a potentially vast new market opportunity for rural Australia. The president of the NSW Farmers Federation, Fiona Simson, said while farmers supported the CFI, ”carbon farming with a focus on forestry plantations is just another land-use conflict that’s going to take land away from food production”…The first acquisition linked to the CFI occurred last week. The federal government and R.M. Williams Agricultural Holdings combined to pay $13 million for Henbury Station in the Northern Territory outback, to be transformed into the world’s largest carbon farm…In NSW the value of land bought by carbon traders for carbon offsets in 2010-11 was tiny: the Herald has confirmed one sale last year, of a 1700-hectare sheep and grain farm, Lorraine at Tullamore, in the state’s far west, to the stock exchange-listed CO2 Group and utility ACTEW Corporation…The chief executive of CO2 Group, Andrew Grant, said the property was marginal farming land and had been planted with blue leaf mallee eucalypt, a species endemic to the region. Reforestation was a priority for combating dry land salinity and restoring catchment health.

Next time someone blathers on about how federal bureaucrats really want to help people, send them this link WUSA (8/2/11) reports: Eleven-year-old aspiring veterinarian, Skylar Capo, sprang into action the second she learned that a baby woodpecker in her Dad’s backyard was about to be eaten by the family cat…”I’ve just always loved animals,” said Skylar Capo. “I couldn’t stand to watch it be eaten.”…Skylar couldn’t find the woodpecker’s mother, so she brought it to her own mother, Alison Capo, who agreed to take it home…”She was just going to take care of it for a day or two, make sure it was safe and uninjured, and then she was going to let it go,” said Capo…But on the drive home, the Capo family stopped at a Lowes in Fredericksburg and they brought the bird inside because of the heat. That’s when they were confronted by a fellow shopper who said she worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service…”She was really nervous. She was shaking. Then she pulled out a badge,” said Capo…The problem was that the woodpecker is a protected species under the Federal Migratory Bird Act.  Therefore, it is illegal to take or transport a baby woodpecker.  The Capo family says they had no idea.

Employment Prevention Agency is about to miss the gravy train thanks to the House Wall Street Journal (8/3/11) reports: The White House lookback on “excessive” regulation has concluded and—breaking news—there’s more work left to do. So let’s commend those in Congress trying to force the Administration to conduct a credible cost-benefit test…Last month the House Energy Committee passed a bill that reforms the Environmental Protection Agency’s process for creating new rules and mandates, which it has been doing with a special fervor under administrator Lisa Jackson. Known by the acronym the Train Act, the bill would help expose some of the true costs that the agency is trying to hide…One major improvement is that the Train Act broadens the definition of costs. Under the status quo, the EPA can define almost anything as a benefit, and does. But the EPA rarely considers more tangible economic consequences, like its effects on employment, the price and reliability of energy, or the competitiveness of U.S. companies…The Train Act would also require the EPA at least to gesture at the costs of its larger agenda. The agency is now tightening nearly every eco-regulation in existence, abusing in particular traditional air pollutant laws to shut down coal-fired power plants. This cluster of overlapping rules will cause far more cumulative damage than merely one or another rule would by itself…A utility, for instance, might be able to comply with a single new rule, but under the EPA firehose it might be forced to retire some of its operations. Beyond the direct costs to the utility, plant closures would lead to job losses and higher prices for consumers and business, with their own knock-on effects…This cost-benefit bias may explain why Ms. Jackson could claim at a “green jobs” conference in February that under the Clean Air Act, “For every $1 we have spent, we have gotten $40 of benefits in return. So you can say what you want about EPA’s business sense. We know how to get a return on our investment.”

Now with some extra money to spend with the debt limit increase, lawmakers are turning to renewable energy projects New York Times (8/3/11) reports? Congress’ debt deal leaves climate advocates grappling with a decade of potentially declining environmental budgets and narrowing hopes of attaching a tax on greenhouse gas emissions to pay down the deficit…The deadline measure, passed with bipartisan support in the House last night, promises $917 billion in discretionary cuts over the next 10 years, with decreases of up to $1.5 trillion more ushered in later this year. Huge chunks of funding would be eliminated from the Pentagon and government agencies, prompting concerns that programs related to renewable energy, climate science and technology research could come under the knife for years to come…It’s unclear where the deepest craters will occur, but clean energy supporters urged lawmakers to avoid painful reductions at the Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which searches for breakthrough technologies to radically alter the nation’s energy use. Other vulnerable programs include energy grants, loan guarantees, and tax credits for wind, solar and other clean energies…Specific cuts aren’t known, but Joshua Freed, vice president of clean energy at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank, described a vivid choice that the Republican-led House will soon be faced with: Cut agency budgets with modern medical precision or hack away with practices used on Civil War battlefields.

Drill, Wyoming, Drill Fuel Fix (8/3/11) reports: Three companies expect within weeks to submit a plan to vastly increase the number of gas wells in central Wyoming…The targeted area now has about 500 producing gas wells…Encana Oil and Gas, Noble Energy and ConocoPhillips are talking about adding some 4,200 deep gas wells in the remote sagebrush country about 30 miles east of Riverton…Encana spokesman Randy Teeuwen says his company is taking the lead on the project and will turn in a plan of development to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management within a few weeks…The project would cover 400 square miles of mostly BLM land. The companies would tap deep, tight sand formations over 15 years of drilling…The gas field would be among Wyoming’s largest if fully developed.

Environmental groups, eager to increase the price of energy for Americans, urge NJ Governor Christie to ban fracking New Jersey News (8/1/11) reports: Twenty-four environmental organizations submitted a letter to Gov. Chris Christie on Monday asking him to sign legislation prohibiting the use of hydraulic fracturing for the purpose of natural gas exploration or production in New Jersey…The Legislature approved the proposal (S-2576/A-3313) by a large majority on June 29 and sent it to Christie for consideration…Natural gas drilling is proceeding in Pennsylvania in the Marcellus Shale, a deep geologic formation that underlies much of Pennsylvania and a portion of New York, including areas located within the Delaware River Basin. Utica Shale, now also being explored by energy companies, is located beneath the Marcellus and can be found in northwestern New Jersey…While no drilling in underway, environmentalists fear it could begin in the Utica Shale in the future…Drillers must use hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” to force the gas out of the tight shale formations. Fracking can cause water and air pollution, and water depletion due to the million of gallons of water required to frack. It also can lead to the degradation of streams, landscapes and habitat due to large scale of natural gas development.

Marcellus Shale is an unstoppable force for job creation and energy production Wall Street Journal (8/2/11) reports: On the edge of the Mahoning River, where once stood dozens of blast furnaces, more than 400 workers are constructing what long has been considered unthinkable: a new $650 million steel plant…When complete, it will stand 10 stories tall, occupy one million square feet and make a half million tons of seamless steel tubes used in “fracking” or drilling for natural gas in shale basins…France’s Vallourec & Mannesmann Holdings Inc., one of the world’s largest makers of steel tubes for the energy market, has decided to build the plant here next to an existing facility for two main reasons. Youngstown has an experienced steelmaking work force and the city is at the door of the Marcellus Shale, a natural-gas basin beneath New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio…”We’re confident we can get this built and running quickly and when we do, there will be a growing marketplace,” says Joel Mastervich, who runs the company’s existing Youngstown plant, the V&M Star. The company, a unit of Vallourec SA, also has operations in Houston and other North American cities…The shale market is partly responsible for expansion at other steelmakers, as well. U.S. Steel Corp. is investing $95 million to expand and upgrade its plant in Lorain, Ohio, which makes tubular steel. Timken Co. is spending about $50 million to upgrade its plants in Canton, Ohio…The steel and shale-gas industries are symbiotic to some degree. Shale drilling, with its network of horizontal pipes, consumes huge amounts of steel tubes and pipe. Steel also is needed to build rigs and excavators for extracting gas.

Simple English translation of Rep. Honda’s energy  efficiency mandate bill, “Electronics makers and electronics users are too stupid to make good choices about energy efficiency and that’s why I’m here to tell them what to do.” The Hill (8/2/11) reports: Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) will introduce a bill on Monday to make electronic devices more energy efficient…Honda’s bill is attempting to take aim at the explosion of iPods, iPads, smartphones, gaming consoles and other electronic devices that are fast becoming a new dilemma for groups trying to save energy and control greenhouse gasses…“This proliferation of electronic devices, if not made more energy efficient, will undermine efforts to increase energy security and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming,” Honda said…The Smart Electronics Act would require the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency to assess the potential for adding electronics such as cellphones, gaming consoles and MP3 players to the Energy Star program, which designates energy efficient devices…The Energy Department and the EPA would also have to issue a report on the global growth of electronics usage and energy consumption…The bill would create a new “smart” designation for devices that are designed to limit their energy consumption and impact on the electricity grid.

And he doesn’t even mention that moving biofuels through a war zone can be dangerous, too, since the real Taliban is different than the green Taliban Wall Street Journal (8/2/11) reports: Although few realize it, the military is just as susceptible to fads and political correctness as any other government agency. Thus, in response to prodding from the executive branch, both the Air Force and Navy have announced plans to get half their fuel from “renewable resources” by 2020…”We have already tested the F-18 Hornet on biofuels, the Green Hornet,” Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus explained in a speech last year. “The biofuel it used was made from camelina, a member of the mustard family. . . . [T]he Marines, who are not known as leaders of the environmental movement, have embraced this wholeheartedly.”…There are good reasons to consider powering forward bases and combat vehicles with something other than gasoline. Studies have shown that while the army can purchase gasoline for $1 a gallon, it costs $400 to deliver that gallon to the front in Afghanistan. In Iraq and Afghanistan, one soldier or civilian was killed for every 24 fuel convoys. But are biofuels the answer?…The military’s flirtation with green energy began a decade ago when the Department of Defense started taking advice from environmental guru Amory Lovins. In his 1976 book, “Soft Energy Path,” Mr. Lovins proposed getting one-third of our fuel oil from domestic crops. We could do this, he said, by building a distillery complex only 10 times the size of the combined beer and wine industries’ complexes.

IER’s Dank Kish schools Center for American Progress on energy policy and also provides a psychological diagnosis of their behavior Washington Examiner (8/1/11) reports: Reading the latest ravings of the Center for American Progress (CAP, but increasingly recognized as the Center for Reversing American Progress) is akin to a family being forced at holiday to listen to the crazy old Uncle George repeat the same old complaints about some injustice he suffered when everyone knows what he suffered was of his own making…CAP’s latest screed is no different, screaming as they do about the profits of oil companies. What they never mention is that their policies – and the policies of other anti-energy groups including the Obama Administration – are what are making and keeping gas prices high. In psychology, it’s called projectionism; in politics, hypocrisy…We’ve all heard it before: “Big Oil Pumps Up Profits With Americans’ Cash” – the Left says the same thing with a different title every quarter when earnings reports are released…It’s been happening a lot under President Obama, since gas prices have doubled under his presidency. The subtitle of the piece is the real key to their objection, however: “Higher Gas Prices Lead to Healthy Balance Sheets in the Second Quarter.”…The Obama administration and CAP don’t seem to understand or like “Healthy Balance Sheets.” Just look at the federal budget. And it’s no wonder that the White House and CAP are simpatico on this feeling: CAP’s president, John Podesta, was the head of the transition team for Obama and together, they designed the policies and picked the personnel who have overseen the doubling of gasoline prices.

Someone get Rep. Issa a drink! He put auto makers on notice that he is investigating the CAFÉ negotiations and new regulations The Hill (8/1/11) reports: House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) launched an investigation Friday into a series of closed-door meetings between Obama administration officials and major automakers that resulted in beefed-up vehicle fuel economy standards…Issa sent out letters to executives of the country’s major automakers Friday alerting them to the investigation and requesting that they keep all documents related to meetings with administration officials on the standards… In the letters, which were obtained by The Hill, Issa says the administration’s efforts to negotiate the fuel economy standards “raise serious concerns.” The new rules, which were announced Friday by President Obama, will also limit consumer choice, Issa says…“I am concerned about the agreements lack of transparency, the failure to conduct an open rulemaking process, as well as the potential for vehicle cost increases on consumers, and negative impact on American jobs,” the letters say…Obama outlined a plan earlier Friday to ratchet up fuel efficiency and cut harmful carbon pollution for model year 2017-2025 cars and light-duty trucks. The plan sets a fleet-wide average standard of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025…The plan, Obama said, is “the single most important step we’ve ever taken as a nation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”Along with patio heaters, SUVs and incandescent lightbulbs, flat-screen TVs became one of the products most loathed by environmentalists over the past decade. But improving energy efficiency means they have become greener than the hulking cathrode ray tubes they replaced, and cut their average electricity consumption by more than half, new figures show.

Do you know what is the best part about this article? Technology, unimpeded by government mandates, made flat screens cheaper and more energy efficient The Guardian (8/1/11) reports: Technology advances have driven down the energy use of all new TVs by 60% since 2006, leaving a 42-inch LED TV today costing just £14 a year to run compared with around £80 for a plasma screen in 2006, in present day prices. Over 9.5m flat-screens were sold in the UK last year..Globally TVs account for about 6-8% of electricity consumption in homes…Ross Lammas, the founder of energy efficiency site Sust-it, who compiled the data by looking at 1,800 models, said new lighting developments were largely responsible: “The main thing that’s driving it is the LED technology to backlight the TV.” “..So-called ‘LED TVs’, which use light-emitting diodes only began to appear in significant numbers around 2009, despite the technology debuting in a Sony TV five years earlier. As well as using less energy, the sets are thinner and are becoming increasingly popular with buyers, accounting for as much of a fifth of LCD TV sales according to some reports…The research also shows that modern flat-screens now use less energy than the boxy TVs they were initially criticised for replacing. A new 32-inch LED TV uses about 75% less energy than a 32-inch cathode ray tube, costing £8 a year to run rather than £32.

It’s simple, really — when you can’t drill for oil, we all have less to go around Wall Street Journal (8/1/11) reports: Most European major oil companies posted a surge in quarterly profits last week, but their results were overshadowed by a trend that continues to trouble Wall Street and corporate boardrooms: Nearly every major oil company reported year-to-year oil-and-gas output declines, often in the double-digits…Big Oil is throwing huge resources at the problem with more open embrace of unconventional petroleum developments, high-risk exploration in frontier areas and corporate restructuring. But even if these strategies work in some cases, there is little doubt that anemic petroleum output signals a long-term challenge confronting the sector…The particulars varied across the sector. BP PLC’s 11% output drop was fueled in part by the continued hit from its reduced activity in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico after last year’s disastrous spill. Italian giant Eni SpA’s production fell 15% due to its disproportionate exposure to war-ravaged Libya. Spain’s Repsol YPF SA, whose output fell 17%, was affected by both Libya and the U.S. Gulf, as well as by labor unrest in Argentina. Norway’s Statoil ASA saw a 16% output decline largely on production outages and maintenance in its home market in the North Sea. French oil major Total SA’s output slipped 2% from a year earlier, mostly due the loss of Libyan crude…Oil giants are more vulnerable to operational problems in part because of their declining dominance over key resources. Whereas in 1973, independent oil firms controlled three quarters of the world’s reserves, they hold as little as 10% today, according to some estimates. That has forced oil majors to rely to a greater extent on costly unconventional plays such as shale gas, deepwater exploration, and Arctic exploration.

Why not?  Once you become an adjunct of the federal government, who cares how ridiculous you look? Detroit Free Press (8/1/11) reports: General Motors’ venture capital arm said today it has invested $7.5 million in Sunlogics, a Rochester Hills-based solar energy system provider, which will lead to the creation of 310 jobs….Sunlogics plans to use some of the funding to establish its corporate headquarters and open a manufacturing facility in Rochester Hills, and to set up a manufacturing plant in Ontario. The headquarters is to eventually employ 200 and the Canadian facility will support 110 jobs…Michael Matvieshen, CEO of Sunlogics, said the company moved into the 190,000 building in Rochester Hills about two weeks ago. Matvieshen spoke at an event today attended by about 75 officials and local community leaders…He said Sunlogics expects to begin hiring structural engineers,

Step One — write an article the explains how solar energy is cost competitive in the marketplace with subsidies Huffington Post (8/1/11) reports:This past weekend, I attended the Aspen Institute’s Clean Energy Roundtable, an annual gathering of business, political and policy leaders working in clean energy. Inspired by the many insights and ideas presented, here are my thoughts on the state of clean energy today and what lies ahead…First the good news. Prices of key clean energy technologies are plummeting, bringing many technologies such as distributed solar and energy storage closer and closer to mass deployment. The cost of solar panels today is about 20% below that of a year ago. And it should continue dropping for the forseeable future. In other words, the performance/price ratio is improving exponentially, like computer chips if not quite as fast and for different reasons, cost economies for the most part as opposed to breakthrough technologies. The main driver of the plummeting costs is volume and successful efforts by the Chinese government to vertically integrate the Chinese solar industry — that now supplies over half of the world’s solar panels. (In advanced thin films, costs per watt are also coming down.) Even more dramatic price drops are occurring in battery storage across a range of chemistries with prices halving in the the last year. Plummeting prices that translate to rising performance are good news for developers, electric car-makers and the global industry at large…The story is more complicated, however, in the United States, where we are in what might be described as the best and worst of times. This past year saw torrid growth in solar deployment in the US with solar capacity doubling; wind installations also grew and wind is now a very competitive source of power. Solar — already competitive with subsidies — will be competitive without them in several years. That is the good news. The bad news is that solar generation still supplies only .2 percent of US electricity and, what’s more, growth has been driven by the 1603 provision in the tax law that allows tax credits to be redeemed for cash.

Step Two — argue that by removing those subsidies, renewable energy will be doomed forever Huffington Post (8/1/11) reports: Clean energy could be among the hardest-hit sectors if the U.S. government does not raise the debt ceiling and then defaults on the national debt…If there is a default, it could hurt in direct ways, by stopping payments for cash grants and loan guarantees that support many renewables projects. It could also hit innovation, by putting the Department of Energy program for cutting-edge energy technologies, ARPA-E, at risk…A default could also hit indirectly, by pushing down the value of the U.S. dollar, as well as pushing up interest rates, which would affect financing for renewables projects that require large up-front investment…Leaving Energy Subsidies, Credits Behind..Any kind of budget deal will have to include large spending cuts. According to a survey of experts by the National Journal, most energy subsidies and tax breaks could be cut back. Subsidies for wind and solar may fly under the radar and survive cuts–at least for a little while.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times — the tale of two states and their use of natural gas Wall Street Journal (7/26/11) reports: Politicians wringing their hands over how to create more jobs might study the shale boom along the New York and Pennsylvania border. It’s a case study in one state embracing economic opportunity, while the other has let environmental politics trump development…The Marcellus shale formation—65 million acres running through Ohio, West Virginia, western Pennsylvania and southern New York—offers one of the biggest natural gas opportunities. Former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat, recognized that potential and set up a regulatory framework to encourage and monitor natural gas drilling, a strategy continued by Republican Tom Corbett…More than 2,000 wells have been drilled in the Keystone State since 2008, and gas production surged to 81 billion cubic feet in 2009 from five billion in 2007. A new Manhattan Institute report by University of Wyoming professor Timothy Considine estimates that a typical Marcellus well generates some $2.8 million in direct economic benefits from natural gas company purchases; $1.2 million in indirect benefits from companies engaged along the supply chain; another $1.5 million from workers spending their wages, or landowners spending their royalty payments; plus $2 million in federal, state and local taxes. Oh, and 62 jobs…Statistics from Pennsylvania bear this out. The state Department of Labor and Industry reports that Marcellus drilling has created 72,000 jobs between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2011. The average wage for jobs in core Marcellus shale industries is about $73,000, or some $27,000 more than the average for all industries.

Do you think it is possible that Bill Daley took a look at a map and figured out that all the voters he wants in 2012 would hate this idea? E&E News (7/27/11) reports: Controversial new U.S. EPA standards for smog won’t be ready this week, the agency said today, as business groups and other critics on Capitol Hill pushed the White House to declaw the rules that were submitted for final review earlier this month…Administrator Lisa Jackson is getting ready to finalize new air quality standards for ozone, the main ingredient in the smog that can blanket big cities on hot summer days. She told a federal court that EPA would be done with the national standards by July 29, but they won’t be ready by then, said Brendan Gilfillan, the agency’s press secretary, in an email…It is the latest delay for the standards, which were proposed in January 2010. A final decision will be made “shortly,” after the rule clears the interagency review process led by the Office of Management and Budget, Gilfillan said…The process has prompted intense lobbying from industry groups and environmentalists. John Engler, a former Republican Michigan governor who is now president of the Business Roundtable, wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed today that a crackdown on ozone would cost $20 billion to $90 billion annually, making it “the single most expensive environmental regulation in U.S. history.”…Those concerns were echoed in a letter yesterday from 34 senators, most of them Republicans.

Flow, baby, flow — House passes bill that forces the State Department’s hand on the Keystone XL Pipeline Wall Street Journal (7/27/11) reports: The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to speed up the decision-making process for a controversial oil pipeline that TransCanada Corp. wants to build from Canada to Texas…In a vote of 279-147 Tuesday, the House approved a bill that forces the Obama administration to either approve or deny the Keystone XL pipeline proposal by Nov. 1. The pipeline, if constructed, would stretch nearly 1,700 miles and cross six U.S. states. Among them are Montana, Nebraska and Oklahoma…The U.S. government has been reviewing the Canadian company’s pipeline since the end of 2008. The Obama administration has vowed to make a decision on its construction by the end of this year…The White House said in a statement Monday that the imposition of a Nov. 1 deadline is “unnecessary” and “could prevent the thorough consideration of complex issues.” The Democrat-controlled Senate is also unlikely to approve the bill…Environmental groups oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, in large part because it would transport a type of oil known as tar sands oil. The groups contend the process of producing this type of oil causes more damage to the environment than traditional oil. The groups also say tar sands oil is more corrosive to pipelines and present a greater risks of leaks.

Friend of the cause, Nick Loris explains that Americans are energy dependent…on the government for subsidies Heritage (7/27/11) reports: Americans are becoming too energy dependent. But it is not dependence on foreign sources of energy that is the problem; it is growing dependence on the federal government. According to the Energy Information Administration, the United States spent $8.2 billion on energy subsidies in 1999. That spending more than doubled to $16.6 billion in 2007, and with the stimulus funding and other provisions, it promises to have a much higher price tag in the years ahead. With direct expenditures, targeted tax breaks, mandates, loan guarantees, and other preferential treatment, Washington is deciding how Americans produce and consume energy. Increasing America’s access to energy resources creates competition, lowers prices, drives innovation, and creates economic opportunity. Subsidies do the opposite. Congress should make it a priority to ensure that no new subsidies are put in place and remove the ones already in place…What Are Subsidies and Why Are They Harmful?…In public policy, subsidies come in many shapes and sizes and are thus often difficult to define comprehensively. The definition “direct transfer of money to a group or industry” is too narrow, so for the purpose of this paper, a better definition is “Using the political process to support the production or consumption of one good over another.”

See, this is the sort of ‘transformative change’ Barry kept talking about.  These poor people, like everyone else, thought he was kidding Baltimore Sun (7/26/11) reports: Baltimore Gas and Electric stood by its PeakRewards program Saturday, even as participating customers’ tempers continued to flare after thousands of air conditioning units were turned off for hours as part of the energy-saving program during the intense heat of the day before…The extreme heat triggered the first “emergency event” in the four-year history of the program, and the effects were different from what customers had come to expect — many wondered why they couldn’t override the shutdown. Without air conditioning for up to 10 hours, many customers’ homes reached 90 degrees and higher. In the past, air conditioning has only been turned off for a few hours at a time…Customers had trouble getting through to BGE’s customer service line and were confused when online records said that the air conditioning had been turned back on, even though it had not.

Governor Moonbeam almost sounds like a man here.  Makes you wonder if Linda Ronstadt made a mistake.  But it really makes you wonder what could be accomplished if his focus was better E&E News (7/26/11) reports: California Gov. Jerry Brown yesterday promised to overcome those working to block widespread renewable energy…”When local communities try to block installation of solar like they did in San Luis Obispo, we act to overcome the opposition,” Brown (D) said, referring to the city where environmental groups have been protesting two large-scale solar plants over environmental and endangered species concerns…”In Oakland I learned that some kind of opposition you have to crush,” the former Oakland mayor said. “You can talk, but you have to move forward.”…Brown’s goal, being fleshed out this week at an invitation-only conference at the University of California, Los Angeles, is to build 12,000 megawatts of distributed renewable energy, building on and extending former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s target of 5,000 MW by 2020…Local, small-scale solar, biomass and other renewables avoid the need for expensive transmission lines, Brown said, and, at least in theory, don’t take as long to build as traditional utility-scale projects…The two-day conference at UCLA is a far cry from Republican Schwarzenegger’s star-studded events that focused on brokering “subnational” agreements.

“as a result, all may not survive.”  Are you sure?  Because the really smart guys from Harvard – you know, the Administration appointees who are destroying the Nation – keep telling us that these guys are money Boston (7/26/11) reports: In Massachusetts – one of the leaders in alternative energy policy – it is far from monolithic. The state counts at least 1,200 companies spread across several industries, from new-age batteries, to fuel made from plant waste, to technologies that help business and households use electricity more efficiently…That diversity has been promoted by state and federal leaders offering subsidies to alternative technologies of all kinds, and pushing mandates to encourage their adoption. But the sector, which has depended heavily on government support, could be reaching a crossroads as Washington moves to slash multitrillion-dollar deficits, and states deal with their own tight budgets…Just over a week ago, executives from several local alternative energy firms traveled to Washington to meet other industry leaders and discuss challenges to the sector, including competition for financing. Among the concerns: the future of ARPA-E, a federal agency that has doled out hundreds of millions of dollars to advanced energy projects across the country since 2009, and tens of millions in Massachusetts…“One of the big challenges with the federal budget is whether ARPA-E is going to be funded,’’ said Peter Rothstein, president of New England Clean Energy Council, a trade group in Boston…Ultimately, both government and venture capitalists may need to abandon scattershot approaches that seed an array of firms and begin to target investments – analyzing which companies, industries, and activities may have competitive advantages to succeed. As a result, all may not survive.

Billionaire Bloomberg fights against affordable coal as Bill Gates admits only rich can afford the alternative energy Wall Street Journal (7/22/11) reports: [Chris] Anderson: When you look at the big picture [for the future of energy], where should we be focusing besides nuclear? On massive solar plants in the desert? On middle-size stuff for office roofs? Or is there a reinvention that could be done right in the home?…Gates: If you’re going for cuteness, the stuff in the home is the place to go. It’s really kind of cool to have solar panels on your roof. But if you’re really interested in the energy problem, it’s those big things in the desert…I think people deeply underestimate what a huge problem this day-night issue is if you’re trying to design an energy system involving solar technology that’s more than just a hobby. You know, the sun shines during the day, and people turn their air conditioners on during the day, so you can catch some of that peaking load, particularly if you get enough subsidies. It’s cute, you know, it’s nice. But the economics are so, so far from making sense. And yet that’s where subsidies are going now. We’re putting 90 percent of the subsidies in deployment—this is true in Europe and the United States—not in R&D. And so unfortunately you get technologies that, no matter how much of them you buy, there’s no path to being economical. You need fundamental breakthroughs, which come more out of basic research…Anderson: So suffice to say we will find no solar cells on the roof of the Gates residence?…Gates: Oh, we like to be cute like everyone. For rich people, this is OK. Rich people can do whatever they want.

As Bloomberg announces his campaign to shut down coal electricity Manhattan suffers rolling blackouts and the vulnerable die of heat stroke — sounds like his plan is working already New York Times (7/22/11) reports: Expressing frustration with the paralysis at the national and international levels on setting policies to combat climate change, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced on Thursday that he would donate $50 million to the Sierra Club’s campaign to shut down coal-fired power plants across the United States… Mr. Bloomberg appeared with the Sierra Club’s executive director, Michael Brune, near a coal plant in Alexandria, Va., to announce the gift from his chief charitable organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies. Mr. Bloomberg said he hoped it would help the environmental group shut down as many as a third of the nation’s coal-burning power plants — the oldest and dirtiest ones — by 2020…Coal provides nearly half of the nation’s electricity and accounts for roughly a third of its output of carbon dioxide and other gases responsible for warming the planet. Burning coal also produces millions of tons of other pollutants that are harmful to human health and the environment…The gift is a small fraction of Mr. Bloomberg’s wealth, but it represents a national political statement as well as an environmental commitment. With it, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent is taking on powerful coal and electric utility lobbies that have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to protect their interests and to oppose politicians who defy them.

We’ve sowed our own destruction with the success that capitalism creates — we can fix this country if we can only remember how National Review Online (7/20/11) reports: Our politicians love soaring platitudes followed by little, if any, action. The more Americans are promised shovel-ready stimulus projects, new sources of power, and other fantasies, the more we accept that bureaucracy, regulations, lawsuits, and impact statements will prevent much from ever being done…The president himself, after demanding nearly a trillion dollars in borrowed money for his budget, confessed that his “shovel-ready” projects had proved not so shovel-ready after all. Much of the vast sum of borrowed money instead went to subsidize nearly insolvent pension funds, entitlements, and bloated state budgets. Unemployment is still at 9.2 percent, with nearly 50 million people on government-subsidized food stamps — even as American infrastructure is crumbling, the private sector is moribund, and national timidity prevents any new large, visionary construction. Prior generations gave us space projects; ours ends them. Boeing once ruled the skies; now the government sues to stop Boeing from opening a new plant…Huntington’s dream project — eventually expanded, and today managed by the Southern California Edison power company — would eventually encompass six major lakes, 27 dams, and 24 powerhouses that capture the descending High Sierra water to generate over 1,000 megawatts of clean electricity.

What happens to the price of oil when it’s stranded underground by government policies? Reuters (7/21/11) reports: Oil is a quintessential global commodity. But the price of the black stuff has got harder to grasp thanks to the gap between the two main benchmarks — Brent and WTI. Contrary to market expectations, this gap could widen over the coming year as ever more U.S. crude is stranded at home. This will delight U.S refiners. Questioning about the true price of oil, however, could get louder…Market benchmarks for oil were never perfect measures of world crude prices. Crude oil comes in different qualities, and costs of transport impacts buying decisions. Dominant producers like Saudi Arabia –- seeking absolute control of pricing – pretend their oil is not even traded, but bought at the price it decides is right. The Brent benchmark, based on shipments of North Sea oil, emerged in the 1980s partly as a way of skirting this problem…But in recent years both Brent and WTI — West Texas Intermediate, a U.S. oil similar in nature to the North Sea crude –- have faced challenges. Does either reflect the global price of oil? Flagging oil production from the North Sea led to upward pressure on the price of Brent. Some wonder if trades are deep enough to constitute effective price discovery. True, Platts, custodian of the Brent benchmark, has worked hard to keep the price relevant by bringing new fields into the calculation and looking at prices over a longer time frame. The decline in North Sea output –- down 40 percent since 1999 according to Citi -– still makes its life difficult…As for WTI, inadequate pipeline infrastructure makes it difficult to get the stuff out of North America — and that depresses its price, especially when demand is also weak. Its problems could also get worse before they get better. Output from North America is growing faster than expected. Canadian producers, for example, recently said output will grow from 2.7 million barrels a day to 3.4 million by 2014 and North Dakota production is surging. Meanwhile efforts to build new pipelines are mired in political controversy.

Ahem, what about Virginia oil and gas production? Senator Webb would also like to know why the state he represents cannot get to work producing energy Washington Post (7/22/11) reports: Sen. Jim Webb is calling on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to consider legislation opening waters off Virginia to oil and gas exploration…An aide said the Virginia Democrat’s appeal has been heeded and will be offered as an amendment to a Senate bill on Thursday…Webb and fellow Democrat Mark Warner have proposed legislation that would lift a moratorium the Obama administration placed on East Coast exploration following the Gulf oil spill. The Virginia senators also want to ensure leasing revenues flow to the state and an expansion of the leasing area. They say the change is needed to better reflect oil and gas reserves off the state’s coast…Webb maintains the proposal has strong support among state residents and Virginia’s political leaders.

Let’s not forget about the jobs…and the money Houston Chronicle reports: Faster permitting of offshore oil and gas projects could create nearly 230,000 new jobs in 2012 and boost the economy by $44 billion, including a surge in tax revenue, according to an industry-funded study released Thursday…The report by IHS CERA said job growth would extend beyond the Gulf Coast states, boosting employment indirectly as far away as California, New York, Florida, Illinois and Georgia…The study, funded by the Gulf Economic Survival Team, a group of largely Louisiana-based energy and business interests, looks at data on the pace of permitting by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement through April 30…That’s six months after the end of a federal moratorium on offshore drilling, which the government imposed after last year’s Deepwater Horizon accident killed 11 workers and triggered a 5 million-barrel oil spill…Permit approvals take 95 percent longer now than before the spill, the study says…The delays are leading to lost opportunities for investments in the Gulf, which would create jobs and boost federal and state tax revenues, IHS CERA said…Permitting delays also hurt future U.S. oil production as the slowdown in drilling postpones new discoveries, the study says, and faster permitting could lead to an additional 400,000 barrels per day in production by 2012…”There is a need to better align the new regulatory environment with industry capacity, as the current pace of plan and permit approval is congested,” said Jim Burkhard, IHS CERA’s managing director for global oil, who co-authored the report.

What else do you want us to do for you Mr. President on the Keystone XL oil pipeline? Read your horoscope? The Hill (7/20/11) reports: The House in the coming weeks is expected to consider legislation that would require the Obama administration to decide by Nov. 1 whether to approve the expansion of a TransCanada oil pipeline to the U.S…H.R. 1938, the North American-Made Energy Security Act, was just listed on the House Rules Committee website as an “active” bill, although no action is scheduled so far this week…Republicans who support the bill argue that the State Department has had enough time to examine TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline. TransCanada applied for a permit for the project with the State Department in September 2008, but no decision has been rendered in the 33 months since…The pipeline would carry crude oil from Canada’s oil sands from Alberta to refineries in Texas, and would cut through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska and Oklahoma…The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.), argues that approving the pipeline would bring hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil per day to U.S. refineries, and help lower gas prices.

Let me translate this article — we need more oil Wall Street Journal (7/21/11) reports: Oil futures ended higher after a U.S. government report showed a steep drop in crude inventories, but the rally was blunted by an increase in refined-product stockpiles…Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose 64 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $98.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract expired at the close of trading, and the more actively traded September contract settled up 54 cents, or 0.6%, at $98.40 a barrel…Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange gained $1.09, or 0.9%, to settle at $118.15 a barrel…Futures ended higher after the Department of Energy said U.S. oil inventories showed a bigger-than-expected decline. The stockpiles of crude fell 3.7 million barrels last week, signaling strong demand from refiners…In fact, refinery utilization rose 2.3 percentage points to 90.3% of capacity, their highest rate of utilization in almost a year. Analysts had expected utilization to rise just 0.2 percentage point.

Tech executive uses your tax dollars to install solar panels on his mansion and feels real good about himself Los Angeles Times (7/21/11) reports: Just ask 51-year-old Karl Hutter. The Silicon Valley tech executive refuses to drive a hybrid car but signed up with solar panel outfit SolarCity…”You’re doing good by the planet, and you’re doing good by your pocket book,” says Hutter of Menlo Park, Calif. “Fundamentally, when you have both it makes perfect sense.”…Hutter has joined the ranks of people enticed as much by price as the feel-good element of saving the Earth. He’s hardly alone…In the first quarter of 2011, U.S. solar panel installations shot up 66%, or the equivalent of powering roughly 20,000 average houses, compared with a year ago, says a report from the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research….In the past year, falling prices for systems that capture the sun’s energy and turn it into electricity have helped spur growth as well. Prices of solar panel components dipped 15% in the quarter from a year ago, according to the SEIA…”We’ve seen a dramatic decrease in the price of solar power over the past year,” said the SEIA’s Tom Kimbis. “That has helped residential and commercial use of solar.”

The lesson here is, it is better to be a replacement for a crazy enviro (like Nancy Stoner), than it is to be a crazy enviro yourself… E&E News (7/20/11) reports: President Obama’s pick to become the top conservationist at the Interior Department yesterday faced a raft of sharp questions about her past from Senate Republicans, signaling a bruising confirmation fight ahead…Under questioning from GOP members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Rebecca Wodder, the nominee to become assistant secretary of the Interior for fish and wildlife, tried to distance herself on several occasions from statements made and positions taken during her 16-year tenure as president and CEO of the conservation group American Rivers…”I had a job to do,” Wodder told Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, the committee’s top Republican. “I recognize very clearly the job I’ve been nominated for is an entirely different job.”..Wodder will likely win enough support from the Democrat-controlled committee before the August recess, although her confirmation by the full Senate is less certain, aides say…Yesterday’s hearing showed that Wodder made powerful enemies during her previous career. Inhofe’s question centered on a statement Wodder made that was sharply critical of hydraulic fracturing, a controversial method of natural gas extraction that involves blasting water and chemicals deep underground to free gas trapped in rock formations…”Unless we stop the threat of rampant shale fracking, the drinking water for 17 million people across the Northeast will be threatened by toxic pollution,” Wodder had said. “We can’t let natural gas companies fatten their profits by putting our precious clean water at risk.

You see?  When PSEG puts its mind to it, it can be a pretty good utilily NJ (7/20/11) reports: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this morning approved a 20-year license extension for the Hope Creek nuclear reactor here…The action means the plant can now operate through April 11, 2046…On June 30, the NRC granted 20-year license extensions to the Salem 1 and 2 reactors which are located here along with Hope Creek at the Artificial Island generating complex operated by PSEG Nuclear.  Salem 1 and 2 are now licensed through 2036 and 2040, respectively…“The license renewal of Hope Creek, as well as Salem last month, ensures clean nuclear energy is available for New Jersey and the region for years to come,” said Tom Joyce, president and chief nuclear officer of PSEG Nuclear… “With the support of our employees, we will build upon our strong operating history of providing safe, reliable energy and continue to play a major role in supporting our local community who has supported us all these years,” said Joyce who is in charge of operations at the Artificial Island complex.

My math is always a little shaky, but it you carry the one . . . you still wind up about a million short of the President’s “goal” of 1 million electric vehicles by whenever Los Angeles Times (7/19/11) reports: When it comes to sales of electric vehicles, Nissan’s Leaf is charging ahead…Nissan Motor Co. has sold 4,134 of the battery-powered electric cars this year. General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet, by comparison, has sold 2,745 of its Volt car, which is technically a plug-in hybrid because it runs on electricity for about 40 miles before a gasoline-fueled generator kicks in to extend the vehicle’s range…Fans of the pure electric vehicles, rather than plug-in hybrid models such as the Volt, should be pleased, said Mike Omotoso, an auto industry analyst at J.D. Power & Associates…”The Leaf outselling the Volt helps the EV movement. The more Nissan sells, the more Leafs people will see on the road, and that might encourage others to take the plunge and buy an electric vehicle,” he said…Indeed, the electric car market is about to grow. Nissan and Chevrolet are ramping up production. In addition, other automakers have battery electric and plug-in offerings set to hit dealerships over the next 18 months, including the Mitsubishi iMiEV, the Ford Focus Electric, the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid, the Honda Fit EV and a plug-in hybrid version of the Honda Fit, according to market analysis firm Automotive Lease Group…Leaf sales are helped by a lower cost — a sticker price starting at $33,630 compared with the Volt’s $41,000. And the Leaf has an added benefit for California buyers. It qualifies for a carpool-lane sticker, whereas the Volt is not expected to get that certification until midway through the 2012 model year. Both vehicles qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit.

Winning the Future: China dives three miles down into the Pacific to catalogue their under water treasures — natural resources Wall Street Journal (7/20/11) reports: China plans an ultradeep dive by a manned submersible beneath the Pacific that would propel it past the U.S. in a race to explore potentially vast mineral resources in the deepest parts of the world’s oceans…The Jiaolong—named after a mythical sea-dragon—left China on board an oceanographic research ship on July 1. It arrived on Saturday at its destination in the northeastern Pacific, between Hawaii and North America, where it is to attempt a dive to 5,000 meters, or about 16,400 feet, according to state media reports…The state-run Xinhua news agency on Saturday quoted Liu Feng, the director of the diving trials, as saying the sea was too rough to attempt the first of its planned four dives before Wednesday. “We’ll use this time to do our preparatory work down to the last detail, and as soon as sea conditions improve, we’ll start sea trials,” he was quoted as saying…Xinhua quoted Liu Cigui, director of the State Oceanic Administration, on Saturday that a “marvel” of Chinese manned submergence would occur in the next 15 days. The administration, which is overseeing the mission, didn’t respond to a request to comment.

Continued: Chinese company buys Canadian oil-sands developer for $2.1 billion Wall Street Journal (7/20/11) reports: Cnooc Ltd., China’s biggest offshore oil and gas producer, said Wednesday that it agreed to acquire Canadian oil-sands developer OPTI Canada Inc. at a cost of about US$2.1 billion…The deal is the latest of a string of Chinese energy acquisitions in Canada, although it comes just weeks after the collapse of a planned $5.5 billion shale gas deal after Encana Corp. and PetroChina Co. failed to agree on terms…Cnooc said in a statement it will make the purchase through its wholly owned unit Cnooc Luxembourg SA. The deal, under which Cnooc will buy OPTI’s outstanding shares for $34 million and acquire its debt of a little over $2 billion, will be completed in the fourth quarter, but is subject to regulatory approval in Canada and China…On July 14, OPTI filed for Canada’s version of bankruptcy protection after its senior bondholders agreed to a debt-for-equity swap…”The transaction strengthens our Canadian presence in the oil sands business. We believe that upside potential of the assets will facilitate local energy supply and our production growth in the long term,” said Cnooc Chief Executive Yang Hua…The principal assets of OPTI Canada are a 35% working interest in the Long Lake oil sands reserve and three other project areas located in the Athabasca region of Alberta…The Athabasca region holds an estimated 170 billion barrels of a type of heavy crude oil that requires heat, steam or chemicals to extract it from sandy deposits…OPTI Canada’s working interest share, before royalties, of raw bitumen reserves and resources on its oil sands leases is estimated to be 195 million barrels of proved reserves, the statement said. These reserves and resources are estimated to be sufficient to support about 430,000 barrels per day of bitumen production.

As if having an oversupply of attractive women is not enough, it was announced that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves of OPEC nations…CNBC (7/20/11) reports: OPEC’s proven crude oil reserves rose 12.1 percent in 2010 to 1.19 trillion barrels led by Venezuela, which has surpassed Saudi Arabia as the group’s largest reserves holder, OPEC said in its Annual Statistical Bulletin…The latest figures are unlikely to quell scepticism about reserves estimates from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, some of which analysts say may be exaggerated although the producers deny doing so…OPEC’s growth in oil reserves was mainly due to Venezuela, whose holdings climbed to 296.5 billion barrels from 211.2 billion in 2009, the report said. Top OPEC exporter Saudi Arabia’s reserves were steady at 264.5 billion barrels…Iran and Iraq also boosted their reserves last year. In October, Iran increased its reserves to 150 billion barrels within a week of an upward revision by Iraq, ensuring that Tehran continued to rank above Baghdad…”OPEC has a fantastic history of competitive reserves upgrades,” said Bill Farren-Price, analyst at Petroleum Policy Intelligence…Reserves are one of the criteria OPEC has used in setting output targets. Iran and Iraq were rivals in the past over OPEC quotas, and OPEC in the next few years is expected to tackle the issue of bringing Iraq back into the quota system. Iraq is exempt at present…Iraq boosted its reserves to 143 billion barrels last year, up 24 percent, the report said. Iraq has said its reserves increased as work by international oil companies started to yield results.

Sure, because the real problem here is position limits.  How in the world do Commissioners O’Malia and Sommers tolerate Gensler? E&E News (7/19/11) reports: Lawmakers who point to oil futures trading as a key culprit behind this spring’s uptick in gas costs will get a chance to delve more deeply into the politics of pump prices at a Thursday hearing on the Obama administration’s new nominee to join the Commodity Futures Trading Commission…Appearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee on the first anniversary of the financial reform law that he helped steer through Congress, CFTC nominee Mark Wetjen is expected to face questions from both sides of the aisle on the implementation of that statute’s futures trading limits. As gas prices climbed toward an average of $4 per gallon earlier this year, Democrats clamored for CFTC action to curb oil speculation, charging Wall Street hedgers with driving up costs for everyday consumers as a response to frequent GOP attacks on U.S. EPA pollution regulations…Amid that political back-and-forth, Wetjen was nominated to take the place of Michael Dunn, who is seen as a swing vote on oil futures regulation (E&E Daily, May 13). A former top adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Wetjen would appear to represent a more reliable pro-Democratic vote for CFTC chief Gary Gensler but could face pressure to moderate his views on speculative trading to avoid putting his confirmation at risk…Gensler sought to assure the Agriculture panel last month that CFTC would act “as soon as we humanly can” on a mandate in the financial reform law to set limits on oil and other commodities trading. But committee Democrats were not pleased by the commission’s plans to delay regulation that was initially set to take effect this summer, telling Gensler — and likely Wetjen — as much.

Hey, if you’re going to get paid to lie, you might as well be good at it. EDP (7/19/11) reports: Neil Wallis, managing director of consumer agency the Outside Organisation and former News of the World executive editor, became the ninth person to be arrested in connection with the scandal on Thursday…The 60-year-old, who was deputy editor under Andy Coulson’s editorship, was detained in a dawn raid on his west London home and questioned for several hours at Hammersmith police station…The EDP has discovered that Wallis, who joined Outside Organisation in October 2009 as a senior consultant, was used by the UEA following the Climategate scandal which broke out in 2009 following the leak of thousands of emails which climate change sceptics claimed showed data had been manipulated in favour of man-made climate change…A UEA spokesman confirmed Wallis did give them advice following the scandal which last year saw Phil Jones, director of the Climatic Research Unit cleared by a committee of MPs of hiding or manipulating data to back up his own science…The revelation came on another extraordinary day in the phone hacking scandal as Rebekah Brooks finally resigned as chief executive of News International amid growing political and commercial pressure on the company and owner Rupert Murdoch prepared to use adverts in national newspapers today to apologise for the NoW’s “serious wrongdoing”.

Remember the biased NYT hit piece on Nat Gas? Well, even the NYT’s public editor agrees that the article was an unfounded hit piece New York Times (7/18/11) reports: A New York Times article last month, “Insiders Sound an Alarm Amid a Natural Gas Rush,” warned across two columns at the top of the front page that high expectations for companies drilling shale gas might be headed for a fall. It was the kind of story you wish The Times had written about Enron before it collapsed. Or about Bernard Madoff…The June 26 article, written by Ian Urbina, was clearly intended to offer that kind of signal and specifically invoked “Enron,” “Ponzi schemes” and “dot-coms” in the early paragraphs…Raising the prospect of a fall, though, is a journalistic gamble. Adding to the risk, the story painted its subject with an overly broad brush and didn’t include dissenting views from experts who aren’t entrenched on one side or another of the subject. After publication, critics jumped in with both feet…A UBS investment analyst, William A. Featherston, and colleagues issued a report saying that the article, part of The Times’s continuing “Drilling Down” series on shale gas, was “unduly harsh,” failed to recognize the “enormous” growth of shale gas in recent years and offered no “credible source and context.”…An M.I.T. natural gas study group released a statement taking issue with The Times’s analysis of shale gas economics, well productivity and other matters. Other commentators assailed the sourcing used to support the article’s premise: only two people named in the text, plus a large trove of e-mail from people whose names were redacted by The Times.

Our friends over at GMU provide some context and analysis of the NYT Nat Gas hit piece Stats (7/19/11) reports: The New York Times’ public editor, Arthur Brisbane, finally weighed in on the much-criticized reporting on natural gas by DC-based Ian Urbina—and it came as a sharp and almost unprecedented rebuke of the reporting techniques and ethics of its national editor and staff…The Times has raised eyebrows across the ideological spectrum for its “Drilling Down” series—what has appeared to many to be a year long un-nuanced attack on natural gas and the shale gas extraction technique known as hydraulic fracturing. A slew of commentators, from liberal Joe Nocera (of the very same Times) to Scott Anderson of the Environmental Defense Fund to almost every energy expert, from MIT to Wall Street, have made hash of claims by a faction of environmentalists, previously hyped in a series of articles by Urbina, that fracking poses extraordinary environmental dangers…But the Urbina ‘the sky-is-falling’ express went off the rails completely on June 25 and 26 with two front page stories asserting that shale gas reserves are being hyped by the natural gas industry. Urbina and the sources he selectively quoted suggested parallels to Ponzi schemes, Enron and the housing bubble…Scientists at MIT and elsewhere, who have confirmed massive shale gas reserves but whose research was not even referenced in the piece, immediately issued sharp rebukes of the Urbina narrative. As I noted in a critique for RealClearPolitics, the Times’ article left out key editorial framing details, such as the dubious credibility of the only two identified sources. And as Michael Levi of the Council of Foreign Relations pointed out in his blog, this latest critique of shale gas consisted almost entirely of cherry picked comments from anonymous sources.

Even the cars in East Berlin worked, but then again there was only one type to buy…perhaps that’s the next step for the Obama Administration KSBW (7/18/11) reports: Wave of the A Salinas car manufacturing company that was expected to build environmentally friendly electric cars and create new jobs folded before almost any vehicles could run off the assembly line…The city of Salinas had invested more than half a million dollars in Green Vehicles, an electric car start-up company…All of that money is now gone, according to Green Vehicles President and Co-Founder Mike Ryan…The start-up company set up shop in Salinas in the summer of 2009, after the city gave Ryan a $300,000 community development grant…When the company still ran into financial trouble last year, the city of Salinas handed Ryan an additional $240,000. Green Vehicles also received $187,000 from the California Energy Commission…Salinas Mayor Dennis Donohue said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the news. City officials were equally irked that Ryan notified them through an email that his company had crashed and burned…Salinas Economic Development Director Jeff Weir said Green Vehicles flopped because of a lack of investors.

Oil is Mother Nature’s gift to man and right now North Dakota is reaping the benefits Forbes (7/19/11) reports: North Dakota ended the decade with more than 430,000 workers, up more than 61,000 since 2000 and an increase equal to the population of Bismarck, the state’s second biggest city, a Job Service analysis showed…Thousands of jobs remain unfilled in a state that’s enjoying a robust economy thanks to its booming oil patch and healthy agriculture markets, the agency said… While North Dakota lost residents for decades, it has gained population and jobs as oil production has increased in the past few years…”Oil is not the only game in town, but they are important to us,” said Michael Ziesch, a Job Service North Dakota research analyst…The state added 17,755 jobs from 2008 to 2010, more than two-thirds of which were filled by workers from elsewhere. They came from every state in the nation, led by neighboring Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota, Job Service records showed…Large influxes of workers also have come from states with similar climates and geographies as North Dakota, such as Wisconsin, Idaho and Michigan, Ziesch said. Residents from states with strong energy sectors such as Texas, Wyoming and Colorado also have flocked to North Dakota to fill jobs, he said.

Duh or should they being saying, D’OH? Reuters (7/19/11) reports: The International Energy Agency has not yet decided whether to conduct a second release of emergency oil reserves by its member countries, executive director Nobuo Tanaka said at a seminar in Tokyo…The IEA in June announced a 60 million-barrel one-month release from emergency stockpiles in a temporary measure to fill a supply gap from missing Libyan output before extra Saudi Arabian production emerged, the third such move in its history…The IEA is expected to confer with its member countries by July 23 to decide whether to draw further on emergency oil stocks…Tanaka also said the IEA is checking how long top producer Saudi Arabia will continue to increase its oil output and how much of the released oil reached the markets.