by Dan Froomkin (Huffington Post) A freshman Republican congressman from Wisconsin has broken rank with his GOP colleagues by calling on lawmakers to re-evaulate the multi-billion-dollar subsidies the federal government doles out to already highly-profitable oil and gas companies. Rep. Reid
Big Oil/Oil Majors
Back TO HOMEShift Fossil Fuel Subsidies to Back Clean Tech-IEA
by Nina Chestney (Reuters) Fossil fuel subsidies worth $312 billion should be realigned to ensure the growth of renewable energy and curb the world's reliance on carbon-intensive fuels, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report. Demand for fossil fuels
April 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Protecting Big Oil at the Expense of Consumers
by Daniel J. Weiss and Richard W. Caperton (GreenTechMedia) Paul Ryan’s budget proposal eviscerates green technology projects, but leaves massive subsidy loopholes for the oil industry. House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan’s(R-WI) proposed FY 2012 budget resolution is a backward-looking plan
April 11, 2011 Read Full Article
Senate Hearing Examines Oil Price Spikes, Role of Biofuels
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) During a U.S. Senate committee hearing on March 30, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said that focusing on advanced biofuels for homegrown energy is in the best interest of the United States. “I think that
March 31, 2011 Read Full Article
Combatting Today’s High Gas Prices
by Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Waterloo) (GlobeGazette) ...For too long, we’ve depended on foreign countries for our oil — and we’ve sacrificed our independence and our national security in the process. But there’s no one, easy solution to the problem. We need
March 28, 2011 Read Full Article
U.S. Sen. Grassley: Ethanol and Energy
(IowaPolitics.com) Floor Speech of Sen. Chuck Grassley Ethanol and Energy Independence Delivered Monday, March 07, 2011 ...We must look to alternative and renewable resources so we can improve our energy and national security. This includes supporting energy from wind, biomass, hydroelectric, solar,
March 16, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels Only Major Way to Decarbonise Road Fuel - BP
by Nigel Hunt (Reuters) Biofuels represent the only way to significantly reduce carbon emissions in road transport fuel and are likely to account for at least 12 percent of supply by 2030, an official with oil giant BP said on Wednesday. "There
March 15, 2011 Read Full Article
Amid Rising Gas Prices, President Obama Calls for Long-Term Energy Strategy
by Andrew Restuccia (The Hill/E2Wire) President Obama called Friday for a "comprehensive energy strategy" in which the administration continues to develop the country’s oil and gas resources in the short term, but begins to wean the country off oil in
March 14, 2011 Read Full Article
ACE says Ethanol Better Solution than Tapping into Oil Reserves
(American Coalition for Ethanol/Ethanol Producer Magazine) With oil prices now in triple digits and gas prices averaging 75 cents higher than last year, some are calling for oil to be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a way to
March 13, 2011 Read Full Article
Budget Hawks: Does US Need to Give Gas and Oil Companies $41 Billion a Year?
by Mark Clayton (Christian Science Monitor) As President Obama and Congress look for budget cuts, some experts say federal energy subsidies are ripe for trimming. Among oil companies, nuclear power, and coal, who gets what from US taxpayers? ...But the American
March 10, 2011 Read Full Article
Grassley Says Corn-Based Fuel Part of Overall Energy Picture
by Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa) At a political event in central Iowa last night, former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer promised to end ethanol subsidies if he’s elected president. Roemer’s comment didn’t wow the crowd in the heart of the nation’s
March 09, 2011 Read Full Article
Too Vulnerable to Reliance on Foreign Oil
by Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind (IndyStar) ...Washington over the years has failed to focus sufficient attention on our oil vulnerability and generate momentum behind substantive, concrete proposals with definable goals. In 1999, former CIA director James Woolsey and I published
March 07, 2011 Read Full Article
House Thwarts Dem Bid to Kill Oil Tax Breaks
by Ben Geman and Mike Lillis (The Hill/E2Wire) House Democrats on Tuesday used debate on a short-term spending package to force a largely symbolic vote on ending tax breaks for major oil companies like Exxon and Shell. The "motion to recommit"
March 02, 2011 Read Full Article
Schwarzenegger: Time to Change the Energy Debate
by Martin LaMonica (GreenTech) Green-technology proponents need a better way to make their case, according to Arnold Schwarzenegger...The former California governor and movie star gave a keynote talk at the ARPA-E Summit here, alternating between funny one-liners and serious discussion
March 02, 2011 Read Full Article
BP Biofuel Breakthrough Imminent
by Graham Cooper (OilPrice.com) BP is poised for a major advance in its biofuel operations, as it is completing commissioning of the world’s first biobutanol pilot plant and plans to begin full–scale production later this year at its Vivergo Fuels
February 28, 2011 Read Full Article
Mideast Turmoil Hits U.S. Wallets
by General Wesley Clark (Politico) ...How long chaos continues in that critical corner of that world remains unknown. But one thing is certain: As long as there is chaos and fears of access to Mid East oil upsets the market,
February 24, 2011 Read Full Article
Why We Still Don't Know How Much Money Goes to Fossil Energy
by Mike Casey (Renewable Energy World) The national conversation about wasteful welfare for highly profitable dirty energy corporations has gone from the dramatic statement by the Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency that fossil fuel subsidies are one of the
February 23, 2011 Read Full Article
CARB Tackling Crude Oil’s Carbon Intensity in LCFS
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel.com) ...(S)till under fire is CARB’s final ruling on the carbon intensity levels given for ethanol and biodiesel. When CARB determined the original levels of corn ethanol, it essentially barred the fuel from qualifying as a low
February 23, 2011 Read Full Article
National Security Leaders, CEOs Call for Action to Reduce California Oil Dependence
(CalSTEP) Former Sec Shultz and Panel Cite Skyrocketing State Oil Imports, Price Shocks, Federal Inaction in Report A diverse group of leaders, including President Reagan’s Secretary of State, released a report today that said California would benefit if it took a
February 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Obama Stands Behind Plan to End Tax Breaks for Industry
(Fuel Fix) President Barack Obama today defended his plan to raise tens of billions of dollars for the federal government by axing tax incentives long enjoyed by the oil and gas industry. Congress has already rejected two earlier calls by Obama to
February 23, 2011 Read Full Article
Brazilian Ethanol Is the Best Hope for Replacing Oil, Says BP's Bob Dudley
by Robin Yapp (The Telegraph) Ethanol derived from Brazilian sugar-cane offers the best hope of replacing oil as the world's main source of fuel when it runs out, according to Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive. He said Brazilian ethanol is the "best
February 22, 2011 Read Full Article
House Turns against Ethanol in E15 Votes
(Des Moines Register) The U.S. House has rebuffed key initiatives to expand the market for corn ethanol, a sign that the industry's once legendary political clout is weakening with the conservative gains in Congress. The Republican-controlled House voted 285-136 early
February 21, 2011 Read Full Article
Top Dems Call on House GOP to Eliminate Oil Industry Tax Breaks
by Andrew Restuccia (The Hill/E2Wire) Top Senate Democrats are calling on House Republicans to agree to a plan to eliminate oil industry tax breaks as a means of reducing the deficit. The proposal comes as House Republicans have pledged to cut
February 18, 2011 Read Full Article
Shell Future Energy Scenarios: 'Zone Of Uncertainty' Ahead
(Royal Dutch Shell) Shell, February 14, 2011, published Signals and Signposts - a report into future energy scenarios which offers a deeper understanding of global developments and the world's energy supply, use and needs. They help us to make crucial choices in
February 14, 2011 Read Full Article
Get the Energy Sector Off the Dole
by Jeffrey Leonard (Washington Monthly) Why ending all government subsidies for fuel production will lead to a cleaner energy future—and why Obama has a rare chance to make it happen. ...If President Obama wants to set us on a path to a sustainable
February 05, 2011 Read Full Article
Biofuels Play Increasing Role in Reduced U.S. Oil Imports & Reduced Vulnerability
by Jon H. Harsch (Agri-Pulse) ...Energy Committee Chair Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. pointed to the EIA forecast that after peaking in 2005-06, U.S. oil imports should continue to decline – showing that the U.S. has already reduced its dependence on imports.
February 04, 2011 Read Full Article
The Short View: Oil Industry Bracing for Cuts
by Eben Esterhuizen and Alicia Sellitti, Kapitall (Motley Fool) ...Up to now, the oil industry has been able to benefit from substantial tax breaks to the tune of $4 billion a year, which purportedly help keep prices in check and
February 03, 2011 Read Full Article
World Economy Gives America Chance to Control Energy Future
(Farm Futures) RFA says there are tradeoffs in any energy decisions. ...Renewable Fuels Association spokesman Matt Hartwig says it's also become a double-edged sword for ethanol. On the one hand he says the U.S. can say thanks but no thanks to
February 02, 2011 Read Full Article
State of the Union Talks Trade and Biofuels
(AgWired.com) President Obama made some folks in the ag industry happy with his State of the Union (SOTU) address Tuesday talking about the importance of both biofuels and free trade agreements. Corn farmers and representatives of the renewable fuels industry were especially pleased
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Egyptian Unrest, Rising Oil Prices Focus Attention on Biofuel
by David Louie (KGO) Last week, it was President Barack Obama renewing his call for U.S. energy independence. On Monday, crude oil hit a two-year high (a benchmark, Brent crude, closed today at $101.01 a barrel), reflecting fears that unrest in Egypt
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
Energy Industry Braces for Cuts
by Darren Samuelsohn (Politico) ... In his State of the Union speech last Tuesday, Obama cracked a smile as he repeated a call he’s made the past two years for the elimination of billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil companies.
February 01, 2011 Read Full Article
View from the Top: Federal Investments in Energy Infrastructure: What’s Worked before Can Work Again
by Mary Rosenthal (Algal Biomass Organization/Biofuels Digest) ...The federal government must follow its long history of investing in national energy initiatives. ...Recently, any call for increased government funding or involvement in this nascent industry has been met with criticism or
January 12, 2011 Read Full Article
How Oil Could Kill the Recovery
by Derek Thompson (The Atlantic) ...(E)xpensive oil is poisonous to an oil-driven economy. Every severe oil spike in the last 50 years has been followed by a deep recession. ...The United States imported $400 billion of oil in 2008, nearly 3
January 07, 2011 Read Full Article
The Big Price Build-Up: Are You Ready?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The US economy is just now showing signs of revival, and already we are seeing signs of runaway oil and grain prices that may bring unwanted inflation and dangerous instability hardly before the recovery has
January 07, 2011 Read Full Article
Oil Industry Tax Issues in the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Proposal
by Robert Pirog (Congressional Research Service) ...These proposals included repeal of the enhanced oil recovery and marginal well tax credits, repeal of the expensing of intangible drilling costs, repeal of the deduction for tertiary injectants, repeal of passive loss exceptions
January 04, 2011 Read Full Article
$5 Gas Prices On the Horizon
by Joanna Schroeder (DomesticFuel) According to former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, Americans will be paying $5 per gallon for gas by 2012 due to growing demand for oil, tighter supplies and inadequate responses by the U.S. government. His
December 29, 2010 Read Full Article
Both Sides: Ethanol Plants are Key to Rebuilding Rural Economies
by Mychal Wilmes (Agri News/Post-Bulletin) ...The conservative and liberal think-alikes want to kill the ethanol tax credit for different reasons. The liberals say that ethanol, at best, is environmentally neutral. The conservatives argue is that the tax credit is a
December 29, 2010 Read Full Article
Corporate U: Industry's Reach into Academia Renews Fears of Undue Influence
by Suzanne Bohan (Contra Costa Times/Center for Genetics and Society) Stanford University researcher Thomas Jaramillo is overseeing a million-dollar research project that explores ways to create liquid fuel from sunlight and carbon dioxide. A Stanford colleague, Yi Cui, has nearly $2 million
December 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Price of Ethanol and Price of Oil According to the New York Times
by Raymond J. Learsy (Huffington Post) In a classic example and contender for the Alfred E. Neuman "I Don't Get It" prize of the year the New York Times' editorial page of December 9th outdid itself. First we had a dissertation on
December 13, 2010 Read Full Article
U.S. Poised to Pump in More of Canada's Dirtiest Oil
By Renee Schoof (Star-Telegram/McClatchy) At the climate talks under way in Cancun, Mexico, the U.S. has assured the world it's not backing away from its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, however, the State Department looks likely
December 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Defending Ethanol Subsidies
by Bob Hague (Wisconsin Radio Network) ...Madison based environmental consultant Brett Hulsey said it’s important to realize that while corn-based ethanol is subsidized, it’s not as if petroleum based gasoline isn’t. “Depending on who you listen to, it’s subsidized anywhere from
November 22, 2010 Read Full Article
Letters: Stoking the Ethanol Debate
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Houston Chronicle) Letter to Editor ...The Chronicle says natural gas from shale deserves federal subsidies for production, but says ethanol doesn't because it requires too much water to produce. The water needs of fracking and
November 21, 2010 Read Full Article
OPEC Pans Biofuels Programmes in Industrialised Nations
by Tamsin Carlisle (The National) OPEC has sharply criticised the biofuels programmes of industrialised countries as it raised its forecast for global oil demand next year. In the US, a federal biomass programme introduced this month "pays farmers to experiment with energy" at
November 12, 2010 Read Full Article
Renewable Energy Subsidies Worldwide Reached $57 Billion in 2009, IEA Says
by Alex Morales (Bloomberg) Global subsidies for renewable energy totaled $57 billion in 2009, International Energy Agency Chief Economist Fatih Birol said today, providing the agency’s first estimate of assistance for the industry. The support compares with $312 billion for fossil
November 10, 2010 Read Full Article
Report Slams G-20 Nations on Fossil Fuel Subsidies
by Ben Geman (The Hill) Two environmental groups are trying to ratchet up pressure on G-20 nations meeting in South Korea this month to make good on pledges to slash fossil fuel subsidies. White House officials say they’re looking to the Nov.
November 10, 2010 Read Full Article
Exxon’s SVP Swiger Says Lower Carbon with Algae
(Algae Industry Magazine) In a keynote speech at this week’s Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Andy Swiger, senior vice president of Exxon Mobil Corporation, said that strong partnerships and innovation are crucial to meet rising global energy demand while
November 08, 2010 Read Full Article
Shell sees 2011 as "Year of Choices" on Biofuels
by Scott Malone (Reuters) Royal Dutch Shell, which is investigating about 10 second-generation biofuel technologies that would use nonfood raw materials, expects to narrow its research to about five options next year, its top scientist said. "I am putting a lot
October 14, 2010 Read Full Article
Shell Partners with MIT to Pursue New Energy Technology Solutions
(PRNewsWire) MIT Energy Initiative to receive $25 million to fund research and collaboration - Drives innovative technology solutions addressing the global energy challenge - Joins world-class industry and academic leader in the expansion of high value, sustainable technologies - Utilizes open innovation, leveraging
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
Will the Proposed Pipeline Hurt Nebraska’s Ethanol Industry?
by Robert (Aglines) The battle is raging over the public airwaves about the proposed oil tar sand pipeline from Canada that will cross Nebraska. As, the proponents rightly state, there are plenty of oil and gas pipelines crossing Nebraska and some of
October 13, 2010 Read Full Article
The Health Benefits of Ethanol
(Ethanol Across America) C. Boyden Gray, one of the architects of the historic 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments that established the nation's reformulated gasoline program, called for increased regulation of air toxics by the Environmental Protection Agency and in so
October 06, 2010 Read Full Article
Seaweed: A New Wave of Investment in Macro-Algae
by Will Thurmond (Biofuels Digest/Emerging Markets Online) Macro-algae attracts greater investment for sugar-based Advanced Biofuels, Drop-In Fuels and Chemicals An emerging rise in investment in from petrochemical majors and governments in Asia, Europe and the Americas aims at extracting sugars from
October 04, 2010 Read Full Article
Why Don’t Oil Majors Invest in Biofuels at Scale?
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...Blue Marble’s effervescent CEO Kelly Ogilvie, well known on the renewables circuit for his high-energy presentations over the years, took us through the math. “Over the past 18 months,” he said, “while we have been developing
August 27, 2010 Read Full Article
Shell’s Biofuel Deal in Brazil: Has the Big Time Finally Come for Startups?
by Michael Kanellos (GreenTechMedia) VCs and startups have complained that the biofuels industry has been stranded by indifference from the majors.That has changed. Shell and Cosan SA Industrio and Comercio, the world's largest sugar producer, finalized a multi-billion dollar joint venture today
August 25, 2010 Read Full Article
New York County Welcomes Sunoco's Foray into Biofuels
by Andrew Maykuth (Philadelphia Inquirer) Sunoco Inc. is producing a new brew at a former Miller Brewing Co. plant. Last month, the Philadelphia refiner began distilling corn ethanol at a massive converted brewery just outside the Fulton city limits in central New
August 16, 2010 Read Full Article
The Benefits of Ethanol
byGen. Wesley K. Clark (Ret.) (New York Times) Letter to Editor: ...The consequences include not only huge environmental risks, but a $300 billion-a-year drain from our economy to pay for imported petroleum. Growth Energy’s Fueling Freedom plan would redirect the ethanol
August 12, 2010 Read Full Article
ACE Speakers Answer Big Oil, Ethanol Critics
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) At this year’s American Coalition for Ethanol Conference & Trade Show, two speakers gave particularly strong arguments for chipping away at the power and monopoly of Big Oil. It just so happens that Anne
August 10, 2010 Read Full Article
The Ministry of Oil Defense
by Peter Maass (Foreign Policy) It's not polite to say so, but if Americans understood just how many trillions their military was really spending on protecting oil, they wouldn't stand for it. Shortly after the Marines rolled into Baghdad and tore
August 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol: Now is the Time — for Truth
by Darrin Ihnen (The Hill/National Corn Growers Association) ...Unfortunately, many of the articles we’re seeing don’t get the facts quite right. The New York Times, for example, asserts that the Renewable Fuel Standard mandates the U.S. production of up to
August 09, 2010 Read Full Article
Oil Spill Mars UC Berkeley's BP-Funded Research
(AP) BP's catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is fueling opposition to the University of California, Berkeley's research partnership with the British company, with activists on the famously liberal campus demanding a severing of ties. The oil giant gave UC
August 02, 2010 Read Full Article
Fossil Fuel Subsidies Are 12 Times Support for Renewables, Study Shows
by Alex Morales (Bloomberg) Global subsidies for fossil fuels dwarf support given to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power and biofuels, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said. Governments last year gave $43 billion to $46 billion of support to renewable
July 30, 2010 Read Full Article
Big Oil and Biofuels: BP Pays $98.3 Million for Verenium's Biofuels Branch
by Tiffany Hsu (Los Angeles Times) Big Oil: the patron saint of biofuels? Petroleum companies -- and their pocketbooks -- have been working their way into the biofuels industry in recent years. Wisconsin-based Virent Energy Systems Inc. said in June that it
July 30, 2010 Read Full Article
Ethanol Editorial Misses the Point
by Alvin L. Moser (St. Augustine Record) Editor: The editorial in the July 27 issue of The St. Auustine Record from The Chicago Tribune misses the whole point of adding ethanol to gasoline. Of course cost is important, but what
July 30, 2010 Read Full Article
BP Oil Spill Shows Need for Biofuels, Developers Say
By Carey Gillam (Reuters) The disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico illustrates a pressing need for the United States to pass legislative incentives to drive investment dollars into cellulosic and algae-based biofuel facilities, biofuel industry leaders said on Thursday. "This
June 02, 2010 Read Full Article
What’s Next for Oil Spill Affected Areas? Advanced Biofuels?
by Joanne Ivancic (Advanced Biofuels USA) Before Hurricane Katrina hit, Grand Isle State Park’s beaches on the tip of a Louisiana marsh sticking into the Gulf of Mexico hosted over 100,000 visitors per year. After Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav and Ike, the
May 24, 2010 Read Full Article
The View From Big Oil
by Alan Murray and Kimberley Strassel (Wall Street Journal) These days, giant oil companies find themselves trying to balance two big pressures on their business. Governments are trying to slash carbon emissions—but the world's thirst for oil is growing by leaps
March 22, 2010 Read Full Article
The Shell Game: What’s up with Biofuels’ “Quiet Company?”
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ...(T)hough the biofuels industry should, and generally does, reacts with excitement when oil industry majors invest in biofuels ventures — such as Shell’s investment in cellulosic ethanol pioneer Iogen and in algal fuels pioneer Cellana
March 19, 2010 Read Full Article
Has Big Oil Finally Gotten Serious About Biofuels?
by Joshua Kagan (GreenTechMedia) ...If we consider that the oil majors are not in the oil business, but rather, the infrastructure business --- and as long as they control the liquids that come out of the pumps, they won't care
February 15, 2010 Read Full Article
Big Oil Looks to Biofuels
by Guy Chazan (Wall Street Journal) The biofuels industry, hit hard by the global credit crunch, is getting a shot in the arm from a new source–the oil majors. Among the oil companies, BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC have
October 24, 2009 Read Full Article
Biofuels and Biobased Chemicals Race to the Starting Line
by Paul Winters (Biotech Industry Organization, Renewable Energy World) Both the United States and Canada have made considerable investments in founding a renewable biofuels and chemicals industry, setting standards for the production and use of biofuels and committing money for research,