Oil & Energy News
Reports on oil drilling, pipelines, and energy policy debates. Conservative analysis and commentary included from The Daily Signal.
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opinion
3 Takeaways From Trump’s Energy Budget Proposal
We can’t ignore the numbers when talking about the federal budget. Twenty-two trillion dollars in the hole is a scary place to be, and President Donald Trump’s budget proposes some good steps toward climbing up and out. But when we’re talking about the Department of Energy’s budget, there’s a lot more to be said. Congress… -
opinion
Parents Embroiled in College Scam Gave Democrats Twice as Much as Republicans
When the college admissions scandal first broke, we opined that this was most likely just the tip of the iceberg and that there was much more to come. We were right. In the little more than a week since the indictments, during which several civil lawsuits were filed against the universities by former applicants, we… -
news
Ocasio-Cortez Blames Pipeline That Hasn’t Been Built Yet for an Oil Spill
Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blamed the Keystone XL pipeline for leaking about 5,000 barrels of oil in rural South Dakota about two years ago. There’s just one problem: The Keystone XL pipeline has not been built yet. During a House hearing Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that “Keystone XL, in particular, had one leak that… -
opinion
Congress Should Keep Its Promise to End Energy Subsidies
As Americans work to file their taxes, Congress is setting to work on a package of expired tax credits this spring to enrich a few energy technologies at the expense of federal taxpayers. Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., of the Senate Finance Committee last week introduced a bill that would retroactively renew… -
news
‘Terrible Idea’: Michigan’s Democratic Governor Pushes an Enormous Gas Tax Increase
Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is proposing what some opponents are calling a draconian gas tax increase to fix the state’s crumbling road infrastructure. Whitmer’s budget proposal will include a 45-cent gas tax increase, which would be phased in over three separate intervals, the governor’s spokeswoman Tiffany Brown told reporters Monday. The rate would begin increasing in October,… -
news
New EPA Chief Implementing Trump’s Energy-Dominant, Environmentally Friendly Agenda
Andrew Wheeler was confirmed by the Senate last week as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Wheeler previously served as deputy administrator before stepping into the role of acting administrator in July 2018. He visited the Conservative Political Action Conference last week and spoke to The Daily Signal. A lightly edited transcript is below. Rob… -
opinion
America’s Christmas Gift to the World: More Energy Freedom
Over the past few months, Energy Secretary Rick Perry has been delivering an important message to our country’s allies: America’s energy renaissance is your gift, too. As Perry said at the beginning of the year, “The United States is not just exporting energy, we’re exporting freedom.” Now, he’s delivering that message in person. Perry has… -
opinion
Climate Change Alarmism Is the World’s Leading Cause of Hot Gas
Even as anti-gas tax riots raged in France this week, naturalist David Attenborough warned a crowd at a United Nations climate change summit in Poland that “the collapse of our civilizations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon.” U.N. General Assembly President Maria Espinosa told the media that “mankind”… -
opinion
In France and the US, a Tale of 2 Energy Policies
When it comes to the energy and climate policies of the United States and France, there’s a clear fork in the road. If the past few weeks were any indication, families would rather take the path that avoids expensive, ineffective climate policies. The Trump EPA is leading America down that path marked by energy abundance… -
opinion
Green Energy Mandates Could Double Your Electric Bills
Business and homeowner utility costs could double in many states if environmental groups succeed in enacting draconian solar and wind power mandates in states across the country. Yet these mandates will have almost no impact in cleaning the air or reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In Arizona and Nevada, voters will decide on Nov. 6 whether… -
news
Denmark Wants to Ban Gas-Powered Cars, Even Hybrids
Denmark is presenting a proposal to the country’s parliament later in October that would ban the sale of all gas-powered cars, including hybrids, by 2035, Reuters reports. Denmark’s government is presenting the plan as a way to curb vehicle pollution and combat climate change. The plan will be implemented incrementally, banning the sale of gas- and diesel-powered… -
news
Ratepayers Get Cold Shoulder as Green Energy Gets ‘Preferential Treatment’ in Delaware
Delaware residents are the victims of deceptive business practices associated with a green energy scheme resulting from elected officials’ sweetheart deal with a fuel cell company, policy analysts and academics argue. Bloom Energy had pledged to create 900 full-time jobs in Delaware by Sept. 30, 2016, and to continue employing these workers for at least… -
opinion
Iran’s Saber Rattling on Persian Gulf Likely to Rattle World Oil Markets
The commander of the navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Gen. Alireza Tangsiri, warned on Monday that Iran maintained control of the Persian Gulf and that the U.S. Navy did not belong there. Tangsiri said Iran had full control of the gulf, as well as of the Strait of Hormuz, which leads into it. “We can… -
opinion
How to Keep the US Natural Gas Boon Going
America is becoming a major liquefied natural gas exporter. According to the latest statistics, the U.S. liquefied natural gas exports quadrupled from 0.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day in 2016 to 1.94 billion in 2017. Of U.S. liquefied natural gas exports last year, 53 percent went to Mexico, South Korea, and China, with… -
news
Energy Conferees Shut Down Fuel Economy Mandates as Costly to Consumers
NEW ORLEANS—Sterling Burnett doesn’t always want to sit next to someone he doesn’t know on a train, plane, or bus. But he’s willing to fight for the freedom of those same strangers when it comes time for them to purchase a motor vehicle. “What I care about is … your freedom to choose the vehicle… -
opinion
Why a Nation in Turmoil Must Choose Civility
In 1961, I participated in what one newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, called “one of the most ambitious experiments in race-mixing the South had seen.” With the nation in turmoil, 25 other black students and I helped integrate an all-white junior high school. Outside the school, we faced angry crowds determined to prevent us from getting… -
opinion
How ‘Green’ Energy Subsidies Transfer Wealth to the Rich
When the Golden State Warriors, who won three of the last four NBA championships, signed All-Star Demarcus Cousins, sports pundits across the country offered the same opinion: The rich just got richer. In many respects, the same holds true for energy subsidies. Federal energy programs promise ambiguous policy goals such as abating climate change, spurring… -
news
Working With Green Groups, Local Governments Use This Kind of Lawsuit to Get Cash From Oil Giants
Cities and counties across the country are teaming up with environmental groups to drill for revenue by using public-nuisance lawsuits against some of the world’s largest energy companies. These local governments claim oil giants, such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and others, have caused global warming that they say is damaging their communities, and they want… -
news
Caretakers for George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate Oppose Plans for Natural Gas Plant, Say It Will Change View
A proposed natural-gas compressor station is pitting the caretakers of Mount Vernon against a major power company in a debate over the height of a pair of emissions stacks and the threat they could pose to “the iconic and historic view” from the estate of the nation’s first president. Dominion Energy, a major power company… -
opinion
More Power to the States Will Enhance US Energy Dominance
In the midst of a growing global economy, the world’s demand for energy is booming. In 2017, global demand for energy grew by 2.1 percent, more than double the previous year’s rate. Oil, gas, and coal accounted for about 80 percent of global energy consumption with oil alone accounting for 32 percent of global consumption….