by Evan Halper, Maxine Joselow, Maegan Vazquez and Josh Dawsey (Washington Post) The executive has taken a defiant approach to fighting climate change by attacking policies that call for a shift from fossil fuels. -- President-elect Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he has
fracking
Back TO HOMEFossil Fuels Aren’t Going Anywhere
by David Gelles (New York Times) Exxon’s $60 billion acquisition doubles down on oil and gas. -- ... On Wednesday, Exxon Mobil signed a $60 billion deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources, a company that made its fortune through fracking. The acquisition —
October 13, 2023 Read Full Article
‘Cow Power’ Goes Dark as Manure-to-Electricity Fizzles
by Marc Heller (E&E News/Climatewire) After almost two decades making power from manure, Jon Patterson is done. The electric generator he installed on his dairy farm in upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region in the late 2000s sits idle while he
August 31, 2022 Read Full Article
Bonta Announces Federal Halt to Oil and Gas Drilling in Central California
by Madison Hirneisen (The Center Square) New oil and gas leasing in central California will be prohibited until the U.S. Bureau of Land Management conducts a more thorough review of the impact of drilling in the region under a settlement agreement
August 02, 2022 Read Full Article
EXCLUSIVE New York Pension Fund to Divest Half Its Shale Companies
by Ross Kerber (Reuters) ... "To protect the state pension fund, we are restricting investments in companies that we believe are unprepared to adapt to a low-carbon future," (New York Comptroller Thomas) DiNapoli said in a statement sent by a
February 11, 2022 Read Full Article
Traders Bet That Oil at $100 Is a Question of When, Not If
by Andrew Janes and Serene Cheong (Bloomberg/Yahoo!) ... Global benchmark Brent crude has jumped 25% to around $88 a barrel since the end of November. Some in the market now think it’s now a question of when -- not if --
January 19, 2022 Read Full Article
Oil and Gas Industry Jockeys to Protect Its Jobs against Biden's Energy Transition
by Jeremy Beaman (Washington Examiner) Leaders on the front lines of the oil and gas industry are pushing back against Democrats' attempts to kick the country's reliance on fossil fuels. They argue they will be integral to the global economy for
January 03, 2022 Read Full Article
A California County, Despite the State’s Climate Goals, further Embraces Fossil Fuels
by Miranda Green (Washington Post) The long shadows cast here in the San Joaquin Valley come from oil derricks, not palm trees. Two hours inland from the Pacific Ocean, the arid terrain is peppered with petroleum and gas wells. The
April 18, 2021 Read Full Article
Can This Unlikely Duo Revive Rural America and Help the Planet? Joe Biden and Tom Vilsack Plan to Take Swift Action on Climate Change Proposals.
by Art Cullen (Storm Lake Times/New York Times) ... Few took carbon sequestration seriously during his previous tenure, a time when “resilient agriculture” had not yet entered the vernacular. But the fundamental conversation in the corridors of power and along
January 28, 2021 Read Full Article
U.S. Oil Industry Group Pledges to Fight Possible Biden Fracking Limits
By Laura Sanicola (Reuters) If U.S. President-elect Joe Biden tries to restrict development of oil and gas drilling on federal lands, the American Petroleum Institute (API) will use “every tool at its disposal” including legal action, chief executive Mike Sommers said
November 25, 2020 Read Full Article
Biden Energy Plan May Be More Similar to Trump Policy than Expected
by Patti Domm (CNBC) • Former Vice President Joe Biden may have greener goals for U.S. energy, but he will not end or sharply curtail oil and gas fracking, energy experts concur. • His $2 trillion plan would encourage investment
November 03, 2020 Read Full Article
Biden's Energy Future
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) Joe Biden put some space between his clean energy plan and that of the Green New Deal during last night's town hall, while also pitching renewables and carbon capture. ... Former Vice President Joe
October 16, 2020 Read Full Article
Biden Would Be Good for Oil Sector, Goldman Sachs Says
by James Osborne (Houston Chronicle) With his $2 trillion plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions, Joe Biden might seem a far from ideal president for the Texas oil and gas industry. But new analysis by Goldman Sachs says that compared with a
October 13, 2020 Read Full Article
The Pandemic Could End Texas’s Oil Boom—and Start Something Better: Profits from the Permian Basin Are Falling and Renewable Energy Is Surging. Here’s What That Means for the Lonestar State’s Future.
by Justin Miller (Texas Observer/Popular Science) ... Thousands flocked to the region to get a piece of the boom. “You could be someone with no college degree, no high school diploma … and get out here and make $50,000
October 06, 2020 Read Full Article
Climate Crosstalk: Joe Biden Said He Didn't Back Progressives' Green New Deal
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) Joe Biden said he didn't back progressives' Green New Deal during the volatile debate on Tuesday amid charges from Trump that the former vice president supported an environmental plan that would cost $100 trillion, Pro's Zack
September 30, 2020 Read Full Article
California to Ban Sales of Gas Cars by 2035
(Our Daily Planet) Yesterday, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state will phase out sales of all gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. As Governor Newsom said in a separate event with Democratic governors yesterday, people have climate “goal fatigue” and are ready
September 24, 2020 Read Full Article
California Issues 190% More New Oil and Gas Drilling Permits
(Our Daily Planet) While California Governor Gavin Newsom has called his state “a leader in the fight to transition away from fossil fuels,” watchdog groups have been calling out the fact that California is continuing to issue oil and gas extraction permits.
September 03, 2020 Read Full Article
Parsing the Climate Message
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) Night 3 of the Democratic National Convention featured a lengthy 11-minute take on Joe Biden's climate and clean energy strategy that hammered home some of his big themes rather than the wonky details (which you
August 20, 2020 Read Full Article
Enviros Aren’t Happy with Democratic Party Policy
(OK Energy Today/Politico) Environmental activists are complaining that the Democratic Party’s policy platform sent to delegates ahead of a final vote this week omits a call to end tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel companies — despite being approved by
August 19, 2020 Read Full Article
Inside the DNC's Draft Climate Platform
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) The drafting of the Democratic Party's platform was "the latest front in a tug-of-war between moderates and progressives over the direction and breadth of the party's agenda," POLITICO's Holly Otterbein reports. A draft of the 80-page platform obtained
July 23, 2020 Read Full Article
District of Columbia Sues 4 Oil Majors for Misleading Consumers on Climate Change
by Valerie Volcovici (Insurance Journal/Reuters) The attorney general for the District of Columbia on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp, BP Plc, Chevron Corp, and Royal Dutch Shell Plc for “systematically and intentionally misleading” consumers about the role their products
June 26, 2020 Read Full Article
The DNC's Climate Push
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) The new 12-person DNC panel stacked with progressive climate activists is calling on Biden to back a plan to spend up to $16 trillion to speed the country away from fossil fuels, Zack reports for Pros. The plan from
June 04, 2020 Read Full Article
Running for Office on Climate Change?
by Peter Brown (Euro Marketing Tools/Biofuels Digest) This election cycle has confirmed that the United States’ political hopefuls have abdicated any participation, influence and presence in the climate change debate as it is being set out in the various ecosystems around
May 14, 2020 Read Full Article
Oil Prices Have Fallen below $0 a Barrel. What Does It Mean for the Climate? This Could Be an Opportunity to Reshape Our Energy System. But It Could Also Simply Lead to a Bailout of Oil Companies.
by Adele Peters (Fast Company) ... Fracking companies have lost billions over the past decade. Some investors may be even more reluctant to invest in the sector now. “I think on the financial side, I would think twice as a
April 24, 2020 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK -- Bethany McLean
"It's worth remembering that Wall Street can make money even when the businesses that they are funding don't make money," explained Saudi America author Bethany McLean in this Strand Book Store discussion talking about financing of the shale oil and
April 20, 2020 Read Full Article
Deal in Congress Axes Funding to Fill SPR with US Crudes
by Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid (S&P Global Platts) Trump administration sought $3 billion to buy US crudes; Analyst sees market hit from US failing to take 'no-brainer policy' -- The Trump administration's plan to fill the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve with
March 25, 2020 Read Full Article
Democrats Debate Climate Change Issues in Las Vegas — Finally
(Our Daily Planet) At the Democratic Debate in Las Vegas last night, the moderators asked a series of questions on climate change and environmental issues, and the candidates had a chance to both explain their plans and to talk about their
February 20, 2020 Read Full Article
Fracking Ban Hits House
by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico's Morning Energy) Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Darren Soto led the introduction of a nationwide fracking ban, H.R. 5867, in the House on Wednesday. The measure is a companion to a bill, S. 3247 (116) , introduced
February 13, 2020 Read Full Article
E&C Leaders Release Draft Clean Future Act Legislative Text to Achieve a 100 Percent Clean Economy
(U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce) Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Chairman Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Energy Subcommittee Chairman Bobby L. Rush (D-IL) today released legislative text of the draft Climate Leadership and
January 29, 2020 Read Full Article
The New Carbon Economy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Waste Carbon Utilization and Management
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Electrification and batteries can’t remove the need for carbon,and a more sustainable economy is not a low-carbon economy as much as it will be a renewable carbon based economy, according to Ian Rowe, Technology Manager at
January 27, 2020 Read Full Article
QUOTE OF THE WEEK -- Charlotte Morton
“If the investment currently put into shale gas extraction was redirected to biogas production, we could make a major leap forward in achieving net zero emissions targets whilst helping meet the UK’s energy needs and developing an invaluable asset for
November 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Biogas Is a ‘Viable, Renewable’ Alternative to Shale Gas, says ADBA
(Bioenergy Insight) The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) is urging the UK Government to consider biogas as a viable alternative to shale gas following the ‘indefinite suspension’ of fracking across England, Scotland and Wales. Fracking - the process of injecting
November 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Flood of Oil Is Coming, Complicating Efforts to Fight Global Warming
by Clifford Krauss (New York Times) A surge of oil production is coming, whether the world needs it or not. The flood of crude will arrive even as concerns about climate change are growing and worldwide oil demand is slowing. And it
November 04, 2019 Read Full Article
In Wake of Saudi Attacks, Ethanol Can Help Provide Real Energy Security
(Renewable Fuels Association) Drone attacks Saturday in Saudi Arabia destroyed oil fields and caused a record spike in oil prices overnight, again calling into question claims that increased U.S. oil production has made America energy independent. The following is a statement
September 16, 2019 Read Full Article
Study: Fracking Responsible for Rising Methane Levels in Atmosphere
by Sergio Chapa (Houston Chronicle) Rising levels of the potent greenhouse gas methane in the atmosphere have been linked to emissions produced by the shale oil and natural gas industry, a new study from Cornell University reveals. -- In a study
August 15, 2019 Read Full Article
U.S. Oil Companies Find Energy Independence Isn’t So Profitable
by Clifford Krauss (New York Times) ... In the last four years, roughly 175 oil and gas companies in the United States and Canada with debts totaling about $100 billion have filed for bankruptcy protection. Many borrowed heavily when oil and
July 01, 2019 Read Full Article
Fuel Standards to Prevent Overdependence on Foreign Oil Are Out of Date
by Merrill Matthews (The Hill/Institute for Policy Innovation) ... President Trump wants to roll back unattainable Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards imposed by President Obama. And he wants those revised fuel efficiency ratings to apply nationwide, including California, according to The Hill. But
March 28, 2019 Read Full Article
We Can't Tackle Fossil Fuels without Addressing Freight, Flying, Plastics and Chemicals
by Mike Carr (The Hill/New Energy America) ... In fact, he (oil tycoon Harold Hamm) significantly undercounted the depth of the U.S. Government support for the breakthrough technologies of directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing. In addition to the incentives for private sector risk taking,
March 14, 2019 Read Full Article
Peak Oil: Is History Repeating Itself, Again?
(Energy Today/OilPrice.com) In 2002, oil prices were hovering around $20 per barrel and then rose almost continuously until mid-2008 when the price of a barrel of oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit an intraday high of $147.27, its highest
August 13, 2018 Read Full Article
An FAQ on 45Q: What Federal Carbon Storage Tax Credit Means for Midwest
by Frank Jossi (Energy News) A federal tax credit passed earlier this year could increase the amount of carbon being stored underground. The revamped “45Q” tax credit boosts the amount of money available to companies willing to capture and store carbon
July 11, 2018 Read Full Article
Pressure Builds for Trump to Change Federal Ethanol Mandate
by Debra J. Saunders (Tampa Bay Newspapers) ... But now free-market conservative groups and oil-state Republicans are pushing the administration to cut the corn cord. For Ken Cuccinelli of the conservative group FreedomWorks, it’s a moral issue. As the former GOP Virginia
January 20, 2018 Read Full Article
A New Study Offers Further Proof That North Texas Earthquakes Are Drilling- and Fracking-Related
by Dan Solomon (Texas Monthly) In January 2015, there were a dozen little earthquakes in the Dallas–Fort Worth area in less than 48 hours. They weren’t the first, or the last, that would strike the region, either. Prior to 2008, there had
December 01, 2017 Read Full Article
New Report: California Oil Among World's Dirtiest -- Rampant Oil Production Undermines State's Climate Leadership
(Center for Biological Diversity) Three-quarters of California’s oil is as climate-damaging as Canadian tar sands crude, according to a Center for Biological Diversity report released today at the United Nations climate change conference in Bonn, Germany. Oil Stain: How Dirty Crude Undercuts California’s Climate
November 10, 2017 Read Full Article
Court Tells EPA to Enforce Obama Methane Pollution Rule
by Timothy Cama (The Hill) A federal court told the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Monday that it has to enforce an Obama administration methane pollution rule. The order from Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came after the judges
August 07, 2017 Read Full Article
The Energy 202: Trump Administration Has New Energy Buzzword
by Dino Grandoni (The Washington Post) In the Trump administration, “energy dominance” has replaced “energy independence” as the go-to phrase for describing the federal government’s broad energy goals -- in President Trump’s case, to promote as much oil, gas and coal
May 26, 2017 Read Full Article
Remove the Ethanol Albatross from around the Necks of U.S. Consumers: Robert W. Chase (Opinion)
by Rob W. Chase (Cleveland.com) ... Less than 5 percent of all service stations in the United States offer ethanol-free gasoline. Almost all the gasoline sold nationally is E10 (10 percent ethanol, 90 percent gasoline). And some of the biofuel being sold is 15
May 01, 2017 Read Full Article
Guest View: Corn Is for Food, Not Fuel
by Stanford L. Levin (The Southern) ... If corn were used for food instead of for ethanol, two beneficial things would happen. First, we would create more high-paying jobs in the oil and gas industry as demand increased and output
April 14, 2017 Read Full Article
FedEx CEO Backed by Generals Tries to Nudge Trump on Fuel Rules
by John Lippert (Bloomberg) Smith leads effort to position standards as security issue; Group calling for electric vehicles, U.S. oil production -- To get Donald Trump to come around to tougher fuel-economy standards, a corporate titan is calling in the troops
April 04, 2017 Read Full Article
Thousands of Spills at US Oil and Gas Fracking Sites
By Matt McGrath (BBC) Up to 16% of hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells spill liquids every year, according to new research from US scientists. They found that there had been 6,600 releases from these fracked wells over a ten-year period
February 22, 2017 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Provides Critical CO2 Supply
by Steffen Mueller (University of Illinois at Chicago/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Strategically located ethanol sources cannot be economically replaced. -- Carbon dioxide sourced from corn-ethanol plants is not a waste-recovery product but a coproduct that, in many regions, can only be
February 20, 2017 Read Full Article
The United States of Oil and Gas
by Tim Meko and Laris Karklis (The Washington Post) There are more than 900,000 active oil and gas wells in the United States, and more than 130,000 have been drilled since 2010, according to Drillinginfo, a company that provides data and
February 15, 2017 Read Full Article
Bay's Parting Words
by Anthony Adragna (Politico's Morning Energy) Although Norman Bay posted his humorous "Gone Fishin'" tweet at 5:41 p.m. on Friday, FERC was still posting orders the former chairman had signed before resigning more than two hours later. FERC issued an
February 06, 2017 Read Full Article
Competitive Enterprises Institute Wants RFS Frozen and Sunsetted
by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the Competitive Enterprises Institute has put forth proposals for the next session of Congress including freezing the Renewable Fuel Standard below the blend wall while setting a sunset period for 2022. The CEI
January 13, 2017 Read Full Article
Stay the Course
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/NewsOK) Regarding “Flaws in Renewable Fuel Standard aren't going away” (Our Views, Dec. 16): The Renewable Fuel Standard, which requires that refiners blend an increasing amount of ethanol and other biofuels into petroleum, has been
December 23, 2016 Read Full Article
EPA Releases Final Report on Impacts from Hydraulic Fracturing Activities on Drinking Water
(Environmental Protection Agency) EPA’s report concludes that hydraulic fracturing activities can impact drinking water resources under some circumstances and identifies factors that influence these impacts -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing its scientific report on the impacts
December 14, 2016 Read Full Article
Not Energy Independent, Yet
by Rick Uldricks and Hudson Councilman Casey Weinstein (Twinsburg Patch) In truth, when it comes to energy security, there is good news to be found, but not at the bottom of a well. -- Fossil fuel boosters love to say that energy
November 15, 2016 Read Full Article
Letter to Editor: Ethanol’s Got Right Stuff
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Boston Herald) ... But relying upon fracking for our energy future is dangerous on two fronts. For one, reasonable oil supplies are finite and expensive. And lower oil prices have already made some of
November 15, 2016 Read Full Article
5.0 Magnitude Quake Hits Cushing, Rumbles Central Oklahoma
by Matt Dinger, & Adam Wilmoth (The Oklahoman) Oklahoma bridges inspected following Cushing earthquake; Regulators working on new directive following Cushing earthquake; Buildings to be closed Monday in Cushing due to earthquake damage; What are some of the biggest earthquakes in
November 07, 2016 Read Full Article
America’s Most Prolific Gas Play Needs 50 Rigs to Keep Booming
by Ari Natter and James Rowley (Bloomberg) ... Fifty rigs need to be drilling for natural gas in America’s most prolific shale region to keep production of the fuel from falling — and by one explorer’s count, they’re already below
November 07, 2016 Read Full Article
Latest Earthquake Stories: Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake Shakes Oklahoma
(News9/Associated Press) A magnitude 4.5 magnitude earthquake shook north-central Oklahoma late Tuesday. This one occurred at 11:27 p.m. The U.S. Geological Survey reports the epicenter was near Pawnee, about 70 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. Pawnee Police say that preliminary
November 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Hillary Clinton Said America Is Energy Independent. It Is Not
by Tom DiChristopher (CNBC) Hillary Clinton said during the second presidential debate on Sunday that the United States has achieved energy independence, but the country still imports millions of barrels a day of oil and petroleum products — much of it
October 11, 2016 Read Full Article
Clinton's Plan to Reduce US Oil Consumption Likely Won't Work
by Tom DiChristopher (CNBC) ... Clinton says she would extend standards for vehicle fuel efficiency, methane emissions, building codes and appliance standards that President Barack Obama implemented or supported, according to a campaign spokesperson. Clinton supports Obama initiatives like the Clean
October 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Trump Backs off Plan to Eliminate EPA
by Kyle Feldscher (The Washington Examiner) Donald Trump appeared to back off his proposal to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency as president, instead promising to "refocus" the agency on a less regulatory-heavy mission. ... He promised to open up more drilling off
September 23, 2016 Read Full Article
Oil Bankruptcies Leave Lenders With ‘Catastrophic’ Recovery Rate
by Rebecca Penty (Bloomberg) Rate of 21% in 2015 compares to average of 59% previously; Bankruptcies so far this year are double last year’s total -- U.S. oil bankruptcies haven’t been this “catastrophic” for lenders in a long time, in what
September 14, 2016 Read Full Article
Biofuels Present Solution to Harmful Airborne Chemicals
by David Vandergriend (Sacramento Bee) ... But the day-to-day threat facing many communities doesn’t come from carbon. It comes from airborne chemicals with less attention-grabbing names like volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and ozone. As with carbon,
September 11, 2016 Read Full Article
Biofuels Not Contributing to Decline in Bee Habitat
(WNAX) A new study from the National Academy of Sciences says the expansion of corn and soybean acres to supply feed stock for biofuels is hampering habitat for bees. Renewable Fuels Association President Bob Dinneen says the study findings don’t make
September 09, 2016 Read Full Article
Oklahoma Quake Prompts Shutdown of Gas-Linked Wells
by Doug Stranglin (USA Today) One of the largest earthquakes in Oklahoma rattled the Midwest on Saturday all the way from Nebraska to North Texas. -- Oklahoma regulators on Saturday shut down 37 wastewater wells connected to oil and gas production
September 06, 2016 Read Full Article
Boom in Oil Production Causes Bust in Prairie Sod
by Geoff Cooper (Renewable Fuels Association) ... Mr. (Mark) Perry suggests (without any scientific support or a single citation) that ethanol expansion has somehow led to “destruction” of prairie in the Great Plains, but says not a word about the land
August 25, 2016 Read Full Article
Big Oil's Glass House
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/U.S. News and World Report) ... Indeed, it's fairly obvious that (Mark) Perry's yarn is simply intended to shift attention away from the real culprit behind destruction of prairie in the Great Plains – oil and natural
August 25, 2016 Read Full Article
Hillary Clinton Picks TPP and Fracking Advocate To Set Up Her White House
by Zaid Jilani and Naomi LaChance (The Intercept) Two big issues dogged Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary: the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement (TPP) and fracking. She had a long history of supporting both. Under fire from Bernie Sanders, she came out against
August 17, 2016 Read Full Article
In Pitting Biofuels against the Environment, Only Clear Winner Is Oil
by Jessie Stolark (The Hill/Environmental and Energy Study Institute) ... The total amount of U.S. land under production by American farmers is down-- not just over the last 50 or 100 years, but also over the last decade according to the U.S. Department of
August 11, 2016 Read Full Article
Oil and Natural Gas Production Jobs in May Were 26% Lower than in October 2014
(U.S. Energy Information Administration) Despite increases in crude oil prices since the start of the year, employment in oil and natural gas extraction and support activities continued declining from levels reached in the fall of 2014, just before the onset
August 05, 2016 Read Full Article
Sanders’s Next Challenge: Where Will He Take His Revolution?
by David Weigel and John Wagner (The Washington Post) ... Sanders’s role is under discussion, but he has said a more immediate priority is trying to find common ground on the issues he championed during the primaries. “It’s not just Bernie Sanders
June 27, 2016 Read Full Article
'Threat Map' Aims to Highlight the Worst of Oil and Gas Air Pollution
by Zahra Hirji (Inside Climate News) Two activist groups used government data to show 12.4 million people in the U.S. live within a half-mile of an oil and gas facility—and its pollution. -- Environmentalists have launched a new mapping tool
June 22, 2016 Read Full Article
Methane Emissions Are Extremely Harmful, and the Government Might Not Know How Much There Is.
by Darryl Fears (The Washington Post) Now, after the growth of a natural gas production operation commonly known as fracking, the United States is producing more methane emissions than any country in the world. And in a complaint submitted to
June 13, 2016 Read Full Article
In North Dakota's Oil Patch, a Humbling Comedown
by Ernest Scheyder (Reuters) The fracking party is over, and a quiet desperation has descended on the state's once-booming communities and the thousands of people who were drawn to them. -- ... But the price drop quickened, due in part
May 19, 2016 Read Full Article
The Truth About Tight Oil (2016)
(Union of Concerned Scientists) Tight oil is a major source of global warming emissions. Better regulations—and an industry held accountable for its actions—would help. ... Methane is trapped in the same rock deposits as tight oil and is also freed by fracking.
May 16, 2016 Read Full Article
Oil Market Manipulation Is Alive and Well
by Jim Talent (Americans for Energy Security and Innovation/The Hill) Opponents of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) claim that the free hand of an unrestricted marketplace will guide biofuels into our fuel supply, driving economic competition and giving consumers better
May 13, 2016 Read Full Article
This Mystery Was Solved: Scientists Say Chemicals from Fracking Wastewater Can Taint Fresh Water Nearby
by Darryl Fears (The Washington Post) But a study by the U.S. Geological Survey appears to have answered a critical question about the millions of gallons of chemical-laced water that are injected into the wells to fracture rocks and release trapped
May 12, 2016 Read Full Article
Hillary Clinton's Climate and Energy Policies, Explained
by David Roberts (Vox.com) Media coverage of the Democratic primary has not shed much light on Hillary Clinton's proposals for climate change and clean energy policy. But oh, she has proposals. Lots of them! I read the white papers. And
May 10, 2016 Read Full Article
New EPA Stats Confirm: Oil & Gas Methane Emissions Far Exceed Prior Estimates
(Environmental Defense Fund) Higher Baseline Plus Year-on-Year Increase Make Sector the Top Emitter over Ag -- The oil and natural gas industry has moved into first place as the highest sources of U.S. methane emissions, according to a long-awaited inventory
April 18, 2016 Read Full Article
The Most Important Mystery about U.S. Climate Change Policy
by Chris Mooney (The Washington Post) ... Environmentalists have charged for some time that the fracking boom — the rise in unconventional natural gas that is the key driver of all of this — has a dark underbelly. Natural gas’s principal
April 18, 2016 Read Full Article
U.S. Shale Oil Firms Feel Credit Squeeze as Banks Grow Cautious
by Swetha Gopinath and David Henry (Reuters) Nearly two years into an epic oil rout, U.S. shale drillers that have upended global energy markets are finally feeling a credit squeeze as banks make their biggest cuts yet to their loans. Every
April 12, 2016 Read Full Article
Oil and Gas Companies Stiff 29,000 Workers Out of $40 Million
by Alan Neuhauser (US News and World Report) America's fracking boom promised big paychecks, but thousands of workers were exploited, the Labor Department says. -- ... Despite booming industry profits and record oil and gas output – which together rejuvenated the
April 11, 2016 Read Full Article
Seismic Report Links Earthquakes to Fracking
by Adam Klasfeld (Courthouse News Service) Officially linking a controversial natural gas-drilling method to earthquakes for the first time, the U.S. Geological Survey released a groundbreaking report documenting links between fracking and skyrocketing seismic activity. Released on Monday, the agency's "2016
April 07, 2016 Read Full Article
After New Orleans, “Keep It In the Ground” Movement Gears Up for More Action
(350.org) “Break Free” protests this May will see actions at fossil fuel sites around the world -- Hundreds of people marched around the Superdome in New Orleans on Wednesday and then headed inside to disrupt a federal oil and gas
April 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Global Warming’s Terrifying New Chemistry
by Bill McKibben (The Nation) Our leaders thought fracking would save our climate. They were wrong. Very wrong. ... Meet methane, otherwise known as CH4. In February, Harvard researchers published an explosive paper in Geophysical Research Letters. Using satellite data
March 28, 2016 Read Full Article
How to Make Sure the US and Canada Get It Right on Methane
by David Babson (Union of Concerned Scientists) ... But recent science suggests that we don’t have a great handle on how large methane emissions really are, so we are going to need strong science to back up this commitment. Methane is a
March 14, 2016 Read Full Article
The Shale Reckoning Comes to Oklahoma
by Asjylyn Loder (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) ... The excitement made it easy to ignore one big problem: It was one of the most expensive booms in history. Devon, Chesapeake, SandRidge Energy, and Continental Resources were spending almost $2 drilling for every $1
March 11, 2016 Read Full Article
Octane Benefits Highlighted at National Ethanol Conference
by Susanne Retka Schill (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... Held Feb. 15 to 17 in New Orleans, the NEC painted a strong future for the ethanol industry in the speakers addressing the conference theme, “Fueling a High Octane Future.” Following the state
February 22, 2016 Read Full Article
6 Things Bernie Sanders Would Do to Crack Down on Fracking, Even if Congress Doesn’t Go Along
by Ben Adler (Grist) ... Instead of embracing gas as a supposedly cleaner “bridge fuel,” Sanders wants to go straight to renewables. Here are the six most significant executive actions that a President Sanders would likely take to put the squeeze on
February 22, 2016 Read Full Article
Bailout the US Shale Oil/Gas Industry or Fund Clean Sustainable Renewable Transportation? A New Way of Looking at the Options. Press Release
For Immediate Release February 12, 2016—Frederick, MD Advanced Biofuels USA correspondent Robert E. Kozak analyses the potential for a reinvigorated US shale oil/gas industry with and without government subsidies; and compares it to the potential for near-term growth of renewable sustainable clean,
February 16, 2016 Read Full Article
After the Fall: Rebuilding US Liquid Fuel Production - Invest in Our Land or the Shale Oil Fields? (Part 2 of 2)
Efforts to promote a sustainable use of natural resources are not a waste of money, but rather an investment capable of providing other economic benefits in the medium term. If we look at the larger picture, we can see that
February 12, 2016 Read Full Article
Ethanol Industry Reacts to API Criticism of RFS
by Erin Voegele (Ethanol Producer Magazine) ... Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen has spoken out to reject (American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack) Gerard’s claims. “I’m not sure what reality Jack is living in, but it is
January 11, 2016 Read Full Article
Garrett County Board Mulls Gas Drilling Restrictions near Deep Creek Lake
(Associated Press/Frederick News Post) The Garrett County Commissioners are considering a Deep Creek Lake watershed management plan that would restrict drilling for natural gas in the resort area. ... The plan was drafted in 2014. It would prohibit wellheads on 41,000
January 04, 2016 Read Full Article
Big Oil's Not So Smart Campaign
(Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association) ... If Big Oil truly believed its product (oil) was better than ethanol, why not launch a campaign on the greatness that is oil. Perhaps Big Oil could tell us how oil doesn't raise food prices. Nevermind that recent
October 28, 2015 Read Full Article
Analysis Shows Greenhouse Gas Emissions Similar for Shale, Crude Oil
by Tona Kunz (Argonne National Laboratory) The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory this week released a pair of studies on the efficiency of shale oil production excavation. The reports show that shale oil production generates greenhouse gas emissions
October 28, 2015 Read Full Article
Why Oil Is Cheap in October 2015 (Part 1 of 2)
by Robert E. Kozak* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Conventional wisdom about declining oil prices, mostly originating from US Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration (DOE/EIA), says the fall of oil prices over the past fifteen months is simply a result of an
October 27, 2015 Read Full Article
The Limits of Obama’s New Rules on Pollution
(The Washington Post) Editorial: THE OBAMA administration released new pollution rules on oil and natural gas production Tuesday to predictable howls from industry. The danger, though, is that the rules won’t do enough to achieve the United States’ climate goals. ... The agency
August 19, 2015 Read Full Article
Oil companies Can Be Sued by Earthquake Victim, Oklahoma Court Rules
(Thompson Reuters) An Oklahoma woman who was injured when an earthquake rocked her home in 2011 can sue oil companies for damages, the state's highest court ruled on Tuesday, opening the door to other potential lawsuits against the state's energy
July 01, 2015 Read Full Article
RIP Cobalt Technologies or…How Commercializing Butanol Technology is Like Riding the Tour de France
by Sam Nejame & James Evangelow (Biofuels Digest/Promotum and Chemical Strategies) Sad to say Cobalt Technologies is dead – no really they’re dead – it’s not just double secret probation anymore. Although you’d almost not even know it given how quiet the
June 25, 2015 Read Full Article
Drop in Oil Prices Means No Drilling in Canada’s Biggest Shale Reserves
by Robert Tuttle (Bloomberg News) The news was bittersweet for Canada’s Northwest Territories. While the region found out last week that its Canol and Bluefish formations hold Canada’s largest shale oil reserves, the slump in prices means no one’s drilling
June 11, 2015 Read Full Article
Amid Low Prices, US Oil Output May Be Nearing Peak
by Jay Fitzgerald (Boston Globe) Is America’s energy boom coming to an end? As companies shut down oil- and gas-drilling rigs and lay off thousands of workers who toiled in shale fields in North Dakota, Texas, and elsewhere, many analysts
June 08, 2015 Read Full Article
Big Oil Companies Want a Price on Carbon. Here’s Why.
by Ben Geman (National Journal) Natural-gas profits have Shell and BP, among others, calling for increased use of carbon-emissions fees ahead of a make-or-break climate summit in Paris. Six oil and gas giants based in Europe have delivered an unusual joint
June 02, 2015 Read Full Article
State Releases Final Fracking Statement
by Scott Waldman (Capital New York) ... The Department of Environmental Conservation released the 2,000-page final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement for fracking, which opponents and proponents around the country have been awaiting since Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a ban on fracking
May 14, 2015 Read Full Article
Saudi Arabia Continues To Turn Screws On U.S. Shale
by James Stafford (OilPrice.com) Saudi Arabia continues to ratchet up production, taking market share away from U.S. shale producers. According to OPEC’s latest monthly oil report, Saudi Arabia boosted its oil output to 10.31 million barrels per day in April, a
May 13, 2015 Read Full Article
US Taxpayers Subsidising World's Biggest Fossil Fuel Companies
by Damian Carrington and Harry Davies (The Guardian/MSN.com) The world’s biggest and most profitable fossil fuel companies are receiving huge and rising subsidies from US taxpayers, a practice slammed as absurd by a presidential candidate given the threat of climate change.
May 12, 2015 Read Full Article
Evaluating a Groundwater Supply Contamination Incident Attributed to Marcellus Shale Gas Development
by Garth T. Llewellyn, Frank Dorman, J. L. Westland, D. Yoxtheimer, Paul Grieve, Todd Sowers, E. Humston-Fulmer, and Susan L. Brantley (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) New techniques of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) are now used to unlock oil
May 05, 2015 Read Full Article
New Studies Link Earthquakes With Oil, Gas Drilling
by Miguel Bustillo adn Dan Molinski (The Wall Street Journal) Scientists say practice of wastewater injection has caused seismic activity in Oklahoma, Texas, other parts of the U.S. New scientific findings released Tuesday linked earthquakes to the practice of injecting wastewater
April 22, 2015 Read Full Article
U.S. Industrial Production Falters as Oil Sector Weighs
by Eric Morath (The Wall Street Journal) Quarterly decline is first since end of recession in 2009 -- U.S. industrial output fell in March and posted the first quarterly decline since the recession ended, signs that a retrenching domestic oil industry
April 16, 2015 Read Full Article
Report: PA Dishes out $3.2 Billion in Fossil Fuels Subsidies while State Faces $1.5 Billion Deficit
by Natasha Khan (PublicSource) A new report out Tuesday says Pennsylvania provided more than $3.2 billion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, much of which went to the state’s booming natural gas industry, at a time when the state
April 16, 2015 Read Full Article
New Study Raises Possible Link between Gas Drilling and Radon Levels
by Jon Hurdle and Susan Phillips (StateImpactNPR.org) Radon levels in buildings near unconventional natural gas development in Pennsylvania are higher than those in other areas of the state, suggesting that hydraulic fracturing has opened up new pathways for the carcinogenic
April 10, 2015 Read Full Article
Top 12 Media Myths On Oil Prices
by Dan Doyle (OilPrice.com) The upstream oil and gas industry is not a black hole. There’s no mystery wrapped in an enigma here. ... There is so much hyperbole and unsupported guesswork that investors don’t have a chance. So, in a
April 09, 2015 Read Full Article
The New Voices Debuts: The Advanced Bioeconomy Comes to Streamed Video
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Washington, the advanced bioeconomy takes to the airwaves as The New Voices debuts today as a digital streaming experience — the first three episodes of the program are online today as the regular cast and
March 23, 2015 Read Full Article
Here’s What Will Send Oil Prices Back Up Again
by Martin Tillier (OilPrice.com) ... The low price brigade cites another factor in making their predictions, the rise of alternative energy sources. There is no doubt that there have been significant advances in that area, particularly in wind and solar power, but,
March 04, 2015 Read Full Article
8 Ways Obama Sucks on Climate
by Ben Adler (Grist) ... But many of the administration’s moves, including a string of recent actions by federal agencies under Obama’s control, show this conventional wisdom to be false. Here are the president’s top eight climate failings, many of them
February 18, 2015 Read Full Article
Oklahoma Worries Over Swarm of Earthquakes and Connection to Oil Industry
by Lori Montgomery (The Washington Post) ... What to do about the plague of earthquakes is, however, very much an open question in Oklahoma. Last year, 567 quakes of at least 3.0 magnitude rocked a swath of counties from the state capital
February 06, 2015 Read Full Article
Welcome to the Twilight Zone
by Robert E. Kozak* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Imagine if you will a country with two natural resource industries. Both produce high demand products. One is the lowest priced producer on the planet and is able to sustain output from their
January 27, 2015 Read Full Article
Declaring “The Truth Matters”, Biodiesel Leaders Say Policy Makers Need to Consider the Facts to Get the Renewable Fuels Standard Back on Track
(National Biodiesel Board) The National Biodiesel Conference and Expo opens with a fiery speech by the industry’s chief spokesperson. Arguing that federal policy makers must see through the false attacks by renewable fuels opponents and provide certainty for their advanced biofuel
January 20, 2015 Read Full Article
New Research Links Scores of Earthquakes to Fracking Wells Near a Fault in Ohio
by Michael Wines (The New York Times) Not long after two mild earthquakes jolted the normally steady terrain outside Youngstown, Ohio, last March, geologists quickly decided that hydraulic fracturing operations at new oil-and-gas wells in the area had set off the
January 08, 2015 Read Full Article
Delaware-Size Gas Plume over West Illustrates the Cost of Leaking Methane
by Joby Warrick (The Washington Post) The methane that leaks from 40,000 gas wells near this desert trading post may be colorless and odorless, but it’s not invisible. It can be seen from space. Satellites that sweep over energy-rich
December 30, 2014 Read Full Article
Sorry, Mr. Matthews, Fossil Fuels Are Not the Way to Go: PennLive Letters
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/PennLive) In a recent diatribe on Pennlive, ("Don't subsidize renewable energy; fossil fuels are the way to go," Dec 15), Merrill Matthews wrongly states that corn ethanol is more expensive than gasoline and receives subsidies.
December 22, 2014 Read Full Article
Cuomo to Ban Fracking in New York
(North Country Public Radio) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration will move to prohibit fracking in the state, citing unresolved health issues and dubious economic benefits of the widely used gas-drilling technique. Acting Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said years of research
December 17, 2014 Read Full Article
Direct Measurements of Methane Emissions from Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells in Pennsylvania
by Mary Kanga, Cynthia M. Kannoa, Matthew C. Reida, Xin Zhangb, Denise L. Mauzeralla, Michael A. Celia, Yuheng Chen, and Tullis C. Onstott (PNAS) Abandoned oil and gas wells provide a potential pathway for subsurface migration and emissions of methane and other fluids to
December 10, 2014 Read Full Article
Plant Expansions Fueled by Shale Gas Boom to Boost Greenhouse Gas, Toxic Air Emissions
by Talla Buford (The Center for Public Integrity) ... By 2018, the land (Stacey) Ryan and other holdouts have fought to keep will be consumed by an $8.1 billion ethane cracker and a multibillion-dollar gas-to-liquids facility, a massive addition to
December 10, 2014 Read Full Article
Dead Babies Near Oil Drilling Sites Raise Questions for Researchers
by Nancy Lofholm (The Denver Post) ... For some reason, one that is not known and may never be, Beau (Murphy) and a dozen other infants died in this oil-booming basin last year. Was this spike a fluke? Bad luck?
October 31, 2014 Read Full Article
Study: Natural Gas Surge Won't Slow Global Warming
by Seth Borenstein (AP/SFGate.com) Cheap and plentiful natural gas isn't quite a bridge to a brighter energy future as claimed and won't slow global warming, a new study projects. Abundant natural gas in the United States has been displacing coal,
October 16, 2014 Read Full Article
People Near 'Fracking' Wells Report Health Woes
by Wendy Koch (USA Today) People living near natural-gas wells were more than twice as likely to report upper-respiratory and skin problems than those farther away, says a major study Wednesday on the potential health effects of fracking. Nearly two of
October 14, 2014 Read Full Article
To Save the Climate, We Need a Ban on Fracking
by Wenonah Hauter (Food and Water Watch) ... Over the next few years, scientific evidence mounted, showing not only that fracking won’t help moderate climate change, but that it has the potential to unleash massive amounts of methane that will worsen the
September 16, 2014 Read Full Article
Injection Wells Blamed in Oklahoma Earthquakes
by Eric Hand (Science Magazine) So far in 2014, Oklahoma has seen more earthquakes than California—and seismologists are increasingly blaming them on the injection of wastewater from oil and gas operations. A study published online this week in Science links four of Oklahoma's
July 07, 2014 Read Full Article
How Two Small New York Towns Have Shaken up the National Fight over Fracking
by Steven Mufson (The Washington Post) The multibillion-dollar Anschutz Exploration Corp., which helped make its founder, Philip Anschutz, one of the richest men in America, filed a lawsuit three years ago against Dryden, a small town in Upstate New York. The issue: Dryden
July 03, 2014 Read Full Article
Fracking Study Finds New Gas Wells Leak More
by Seth Borenstein (Associated Press) In Pennsylvania's gas drilling boom, newer and unconventional wells leak far more often than older and traditional ones, according to a study of state inspection reports for 41,000 wells. The results suggest that leaks of methane
July 01, 2014 Read Full Article
Obama Really Wishes He Could Put a Price on Carbon
(Grist) President Obama explained his thinking about climate change during a sit-down interview with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman; it will air Monday night during the final episode of Showtime’s climate series “Years of Living Dangerously.” Friedman also shared lots of
June 09, 2014 Read Full Article
Cheap, Abundant Shale Gas Won’t Significantly Cut U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions
by Janet Pelley (Chemical and Engineering News) Energy: New study looks at the contested effects of increased shale gas production on the release of greenhouse gases The rapid expansion of shale gas production in the U.S. has triggered a polarizing debate:
May 12, 2014 Read Full Article
Alternative Fuel Ethanol Hits a Wall
by Steve Baragona (Voice of America) ... Another benefit, according to Bob Dinneen, head of the ethanol trade group the Renewable Fuels Association, is that corn absorbs the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as it grows. “We are produced from agricultural crops and residues
May 12, 2014 Read Full Article
The Contradiction of Obama’s Climate Policy
by Dana Milbank (The Washington Post: Opinion) On the eve of the Obama administration’s release Tuesday of a report warning about grave consequences of climate change, presidential counselor John Podesta went into the White House briefing room and crowed about fossil-fuel production in
May 07, 2014 Read Full Article
Toxic Emission Spikes at Fracking Sites Are Rarely Monitored, Study Finds
by Lisa Song and Jim Morris (InsideClimateNews.org) Gas drilling facilities have sporadic emission spikes that spew toxins harmful to human health, but states rarely monitor these fleeting events. People in natural gas drilling areas who complain about nauseating odors, nosebleeds and
April 04, 2014 Read Full Article
Old Math Casts Doubt on Accuracy of Oil Reserve Estimates
by Asjylyn Loder (MSN Money/Bloomberg) Jan Arps is the most influential oilman you’ve never heard of. In 1945, Arps, then a 33-year-old petroleum engineer for British-American Oil Producing Co., published a formula to predict how much crude a well will produce
April 03, 2014 Read Full Article
Neighbors Bicker in Pa. over Forced Gas Drilling
by Kevin Begos and Marc Levy (Associated Press/Fuel Fix) An energy company is dusting off an old, unused state law that can force property owners to accept oil and gas drilling under their land, pitting neighbor against neighbor in a
April 01, 2014 Read Full Article
Ohio Officials Tight-Lipped on Fracking, Monday’s Earthquakes
by Will Drabold (Columbus Dispatch) While geologists raised questions yesterday about whether a northeastern Ohio fracking operation caused a series of earthquakes in Mahoning County on Monday, state officials refused to provide any answers. On Monday, Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials
March 14, 2014 Read Full Article
Why We Are Producing Biofuels
by Robert C. Brown and Tristan Brown (The Gazette) In the face of criticism about ethanol, delays in the commercialization of advanced biofuels and the recent development of domestic supplies of fracked gas and petroleum, some people are asking, “Why are
March 04, 2014 Read Full Article
'There Needs to Be a Market'
by Donnelle Eller and Christopher Doering (Des Moines Register) The future of the cellulosic ethanol industry depends on convincing investors that the market for its product will grow. The EPA has proposed cutting separate requirements for how much renewable fuel, mostly
February 24, 2014 Read Full Article
Give Me a Renewable Future
by Bob Dinneen (Renewable Fuels Association/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Ethanol enhances America's economy by creating jobs, raising the GDP, increasing incomes and contributing taxes. The positive economics are due to the hard work of community-based ethanol producers, hard-working employees and local
February 18, 2014 Read Full Article
Fracking: Study Warns of ‘High Risk’ to Maryland Air, Water and Quality of Life as General Assembly Weighs Action
(Chesapeake Climate Action Network) Independent study provides lawmakers and the public with first Maryland-specific risk assessment, coming on the heels of violent gas well explosion in PA Advocates call on the General Assembly to pass SB 745 to ensure that
February 13, 2014 Read Full Article
Brazil’s Ethanol Sector, Once Thriving, Is Being Buffeted by Forces Both Man-Made, Natural
by Juan Forero (The Washington Post) ... The allure for these giants is Brazil itself, where most cars are built to run on the biofuel. An even bigger, largely untapped market awaits in the United States, where environmental standards favor cane-based ethanol
January 02, 2014 Read Full Article
Park Service Withdraws Comments on Fracking Rule
by Matthew Daly (Associated Press/ABC News) The National Park Service has withdrawn "inappropriate" comments about a proposed rule regulating hydraulic fracturing operations on public lands. Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis says no one in management reviewed the staff comments, which he
November 27, 2013 Read Full Article
Colorado Governor Proposes Strict Limits on Greenhouse Gas Leaks From Drilling
by Michael Wines (The New York Times) Gov. John W. Hickenlooper of Colorado proposed on Monday tough new limits on leaks of methane and other gases from well sites and storage tanks. Supporters called the limits, which would exceed existing
November 25, 2013 Read Full Article
Meet Me at the World’s Flare; Methane Gas Flaring, and the Role of Biobased Tech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... The flares — Dakota fireflies — dot the landscape like pin-lights. They burn natural gas escaping from the unconnected Bakken oil field wells, which are coaxing energy out of 9,000 working sites in the area.
November 19, 2013 Read Full Article
Research: Fracking Uses and Loses More Water than Previously Believed
by Matthew McFeeley (The Energy Collective) Fracking’s water footprint is higher than previously thought, according to a new report that combined data from many sources to provide one of the most comprehensive looks at how water is used by the oil and
November 08, 2013 Read Full Article
Radioactive Materials and Contaminants Found at Fracking Wastewater Disposal Site
(American Chemical Society) A new study has found that liquid wastes from hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” that was treated and released into local streams in Pennsylvania still contained elevated levels of salts and other contaminants, which could be dangerous to