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
Why Young “Conservatives” for Energy Reform Aren’t What They Seem
Earlier this year, the Young Conservatives for Energy Reform (YCER) co-hosted a “National Security and Energy Independence Reception” on Capitol Hill with the American Wind Energy Association. Four guest speakers, including two current senators, shared one thing: a desire to see continued government subsidization and favoritism in the energy markets. At last week’s annual Young…Joel Griffith -
- Opinion
Free Enterprise Returns to Mexican Oil
After 80 years of exclusive state control, Mexico is finally liberalizing its oil industry. On July 15, the Mexican government began auctioning several shallow water oil blocks on the Gulf coast to investors, both domestic and foreign. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has made economic structural reform one of his primary objectives and these first…James M. Roberts -
- Opinion
Supreme Court Decision a Loss for Unelected Bureaucrats Trying to Drive Up Energy Costs
The Supreme Court handed a victory to Americans concerned with unelected bureaucrats driving up energy costs by overturning a costly regulation that lacks any meaningful environmental benefit. With more regulations with similar high costs and meaningless direct benefits, now Congress and the states must step up to reject overzealous regulators—not rely on the courts. The…Nicolas Loris -
- Opinion
Oil Spill Was Bad, but It Is No Reason to Abandon Petroleum
No doubt, the recent oil pipeline spill in California is a real mess, but it isn’t the end of the world or a reason to end use of petroleum. In fact, oil spills are not even the worst source of water pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency notes: “In the 2000 National Water Quality Inventory, states…David Kreutzer -
- News
House GOP Leader: Gas Tax Hike Not ‘Viable’ to Fund Highways
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy tells The Daily Signal that a short-term extension of the Highway Trust Fund is the likely solution before the measure expires by the end of the month. “We’re trying to find a bipartisan ‘pay for,’” McCarthy, R-Calif., said in a sit-down interview. “We might have to do a short-term one…David Brody -
- Opinion
The Death of the Green Energy Movement
The green energy movement in America is dead. May it rest in peace. No, a majority of American energy over the next 20 years is not going to come from windmills and solar panels. One important lesson to be learned from the green energy fad's rapid and expensive demise is that central planning doesn’t work….Stephen Moore -
- Opinion
Oil Production Is Up 53% Since 2010, But It’s Declining on Federal Lands. Here’s Why.
Thanks to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling methods perfected at the end of last decade, production of crude oil in the United States has skyrocketed. This chart shows the swift takeoff in crude oil production. U.S. oil production is up 53 percent since 2010, but the increase has occurred almost entirely on non-federal lands. Production…Patrick Tyrrell -
- Opinion
New Report: Energy Department’s Loans, Loans Guarantees Costing Taxpayers $2.21 Billion
Despite many politicians hailing green energy programs as a success, taxpayers are likely to take a $2.21 billion hit for the Department of Energy’s loan and loan guarantee programs, according to a new government study. If that weren’t bad enough, though, these taxpayer-backed programs have far-reaching, unseen costs to the American economy. A recently published…Nicolas Loris -
- Opinion
Media, Environmentalists Were Wrong: How the Gulf Coast Roared Back After Oil Spill
Five years ago this week a blowout of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig 40 miles from the Gulf Coast tragically claimed 11 lives and spilled 3 million barrels of oil from the damaged wellhead into the Gulf. It’s hard to forget the video images of thick oil day after day gushing into the region’s waters….Stephen Moore -
- Opinion
Quadrennial Energy Review: A Plan to Buy Off the States
The Obama Administration has revealed “the nation’s first ever Quadrennial Energy Review” (QER)—a first ever merely because the energy plans of past Administrations were titled “National Energy Plans” or “National Energy Strategies.” Although the QER promises jobs and economic growth, the review is largely a series of recommendations to buy off states to go along…Katie Tubb -
- Opinion
Group That Inspired Charlie Hebdo, Fort Hood Attacks Stands to Benefit From Yemen Turmoil
Yemen has been engulfed in an intensifying civil war that has weakened U.S. counterterrorism efforts, created a vacuum of power in which al-Qaeda’s regional franchise can flourish and boosted Iranian influence in a strategic corner of the Arabian Peninsula. Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, an American ally, has fled the country. The Houthi rebel…James Phillips -
- News
Why This Economist Wants Government to Stop Wasting Money on Alternative Energy
On Tuesday, a House Science subcommittee held an oversight hearing on the Department of Energy. The Heritage Foundation’s Nick Loris was on hand to testify that the agency continues to waste taxpayer dollars funding alternative forms of energy. Loris, the Herbert and Joyce Morgan fellow, argues the government’s focus should be to fund basic research…Jamie Jackson -
- Opinion
How Removing Crude Oil Export Ban Would Promote Economic Freedom
Thursday’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on America’s crude oil export policies will focus largely on the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports enacted in response to the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries embargoes levied on the United States and other countries in the 1970s. But at the heart of the matter is…Nicolas Loris -
- Opinion
Lifting This Ban Could Reduce Gas Prices
Yet again, the push is on to lift the 40-year-old ban on exporting crude oil. Yet again, opponents claim this would be a disaster … that prices would climb, availability would be threatened and the strategic advantages of holding onto our oil would be discarded. But what Americans need to understand is that lifting the…Marshal Wilson -
- News
Why Republicans Are Calling for Higher Gas Taxes in This State
Georgia residents could soon see prices surge at the pump, as lawmakers consider a bill that would significantly raise taxes on gas so the state can afford $1 billion in transportation needs. Georgia’s Republican-led legislature generally agrees on two things: the need to raise a billion dollars to improve roads and bridges (which amounts to…Kelsey Bolar -
- Opinion
Republicans, Democrats Should Stop Asking for Energy Favoritism
An exchange Thursday in a House hearing illustrated what’s wrong with America’s energy policy. During the Department of Energy budget hearing Thursday, House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., had a few choice words for Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, saying that the Energy Department had not invested enough in carbon capture and sequestration technology (which has been…Katie Tubb -
- News
Study: Government’s Control of Land Is Hurting Oil Production, Job Growth
Current government regulations imposed by the Bureau of Land Management are harming energy production and holding back the U.S. economy, a new study reveals. “While federally owned lands are also full of energy potential, a bureaucratic regulatory regime has mismanaged land use for decades,” write The Heritage Foundation’s Katie Tubb and Nicolas Loris. The report…Ben Smith -
- Opinion
Why It’s Better That Markets, Not the Government, Guide Energy Policy
Almost every activity that improves our quality of life requires energy. We don’t question how the lights stay on, or how groceries get to the stores where we need them. But it happens. Without a doubt, the adage, “You don’t know what ya got ’til it’s gone” applies to energy. We get upset when our…Nicolas Loris -
- Opinion
Don’t Waste Energy on Fossil Fuel Divestment
Global Divestment Day(s) take place Feb. 13-14, and a movement is afoot to encourage entities to sell their portfolios of conventional fuel stocks. According to a new study, the strategy, known as fossil fuel divestment, would be a loser for those who participate. But more importantly, encouraging divestment ignores the massive benefits conventional fuels bring…Marshal Wilson -
- Opinion
The Role of the Military on U.S. Soil
The role of the military on U.S. soil is frequently misunderstood when it comes to the question: Who is in charge? This generally stems from confusion over the different homeland oriented missions: homeland security, homeland defense, and defense support of civil authorities. The lack of guidance in this area prompted Bert Tussing, professor of national…Rachel Zissimos