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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- News
The Scary Amount of Oil Money ISIS Makes Every Day
President Obama, laying out his strategy last night to defeat the Islamist jihadists known as ISIS, stressed that “it will take time to eradicate a cancer” such as the terrorist group represents in the Middle East. One hurdle in the way of Obama’s intention to work with allies to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS (also…Kelsey Bolar -
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Four Legs and a Life of Service: The Fight to Allow Military Working Dogs to ‘Retire’ on U.S. Soil
For Army Staff Sgt. James Harrington, it was a day he thought would never arrive. It had been two and a half years since he last saw his golden-haired, brown-eyed girl, and Harrington had made a point to keep track of the 7-year-old’s travels, even after their lives went separate ways. But standing at Armstrong…Melissa Quinn -
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State Gave $69 Million Loan to Green Energy Company on Verge of Bankruptcy
Biofuel manufacturer KiOR’s financial struggles might leave Mississippi holding the title to another failed green energy project. According to the company’s quarterly report, without additional financing KiOR won’t be able to meet its financial obligations past Sept. 30. One of its biggest creditors is the state of Mississippi. The company owes the state $69.275 million on a no-interest loan…Steve Wilson -
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Raw Footage: Tear Gas Blasted at TV Reporters in Ferguson
Police in Ferguson, Mo., fired tear gas at Al Jazeera America TV crews last night as they recorded footage of the violent protests over the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. According to KSDK.com, “police took down the crew’s light kit, and pointed their camera at the ground” minutes later. >>> Overmilitarization: Why Law Enforcement Needs to…Daily Signal Staff -
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Unlocking Energy Opportunity in Africa
Visiting America for the U.S.–Africa Leaders Summit last week, heads of African nations had plenty to say about the need to increase access to reliable, affordable energy. Yet some are trying to dissuade African investment in conventional energy sources such as coal and natural gas in an effort to stave off global warming. Roughly 550…Katie Tubb -
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We’d Have an Energy Boom … If the Government Got Out of the Way
There’s been something of an energy boom taking place in the U.S. over the past few years, and it’s given the American economy a real boost. Now we just need the federal government to get out of the way and open opportunities to freely trade energy, and those benefits will grow substantially. U.S. coal exports…Nicolas Loris -
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Ghana Woes a Warning to Other Oil-Rich African Countries
African leaders are in Washington this week for the White House–sponsored U.S.–African Leaders Summit, a meeting of nearly 50 African heads of state meant to promote trade and investment. But for Ghana, the optimism surrounding the conference and a second U.S. aid compact have been drowned out by economic troubles at home. One of West…Ryan Olson -
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Energy: U.S. Should Pay Attention to Mexico’s Reforms
In recent years, the United States has seen a huge oil and natural gas boom fueled by hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and horizontal drilling. Now, American energy companies may have the opportunity to put their expertise into practice in a new energy market: Mexico. Mexico recently passed a series of energy reforms that ended the 75-year-long…Andrea Rodriguez -
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Wind Farms Divide Environmentalists: Renewable Energy vs. Dead Birds
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Paul Domski is a falconer and a bird lover. And he seriously doesn’t like wind farms or the federal government’s recent decision to protect wind energy companies from punishment for 30 years for killing eagles. “If I was the country’s energy czar, I’d get rid of [wind farms],” said Domski, who also is the…Rob Nikolewski -
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Dallas Fed Makes Case for Crude Oil Exports
The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank made the case for why policymakers should lift the ban on crude oil exports: Removing the export ban would eliminate a variety of marketplace distortions by increasing the price of crude oil in the interior U.S. to better reflect global levels, leading to a more efficient economic outcome. While this…Nicolas Loris -
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One of the World’s Biggest Sources of Oil Is Right Here in America
SANTA FE, N.M.—Oil production in New Mexico keeps on booming, and it could continue to do so for some time. “I think the forecast is great,” said Parker Hallam, president and CEO of Crude Energy in Dallas. “I’m excited.” The Permian Basin, located in eastern New Mexico and West Texas, recently has become one of the world’s…Rob Nikolewski -
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Cartoon: How to ‘Grow’ Gas Prices
>>> This Standard Is One Reason the Price of Gas Will IncreaseGlenn Foden -
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$6 a Gallon? Where Gas Prices Might Be Without the U.S. Energy Boom
If you think the price of gas is high, imagine paying up to $6 a gallon. That’s what energy expert Dan Steffens thinks the price could be if not for the domestic oil boom. “With what’s going on the Middle East, I think it would five or six bucks [a gallon],” said Steffens, president of the…Rob Nikolewski -
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Gas Prices Will Climb, and You Can Blame Corn
JOHNSTON, Iowa — Most of what Tim Maher knew about the renewable fuel standard came from TV commercials. “They all talk about how it’s good for the environment and good for the country because we won’t have to import so much oil from the Middle East,” Maher said as he was filling up his car…Paul Brennan -
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This Standard Is One Reason the Price of Gas Will Increase
Not thinking things through is a chronic problem with policy-makers in Washington. Superficial and easily sound-bite-able policies dominate the thoughtful-but-complex ones. For instance mandates for biofuel use would seem to be driven by basic supply and demand—more domestic fuel would lead to lower fuel prices for consumers. But the reality is more complex. On June…David Kreutzer -
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In 32 Seconds, Mick Mulvaney Boils Down the Debate Over Ex-Im Bank
Who do you trust—a government agency justifying its existence or a private business trying to compete? That’s the question Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., posed at today’s Financial Service Committee hearing on the Export-Import Bank. In just 32 seconds, Mulvaney explains why he’s siding with the free market.Robert B. Bluey -
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New EIA Report Shows Government Interference in the Oil, Gas, and Coal Industries
Nowhere in the song “This Land Is Your Land” do the lyrics mention the federal government. Yet, a new report released on June 19 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) confirms the large role the government has taken in regulating federally owned land in the oil, gas, and coal industries. Crude oil production in…Hanna Hebert -
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House Energy Bills Work Toward ‘All of the Above’
The House is set to take up several energy bills this week. In the wake of an Energy Information Report (EIA) report released last Friday which again showed decreasing energy production on federal lands, the House bills offer significant opportunities to correct President Obama’s “all of the above” but “none of the below” energy policy….Katie Tubb -
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Hiking the Federal Gas Tax Is a Mistake. Here’s Why.
Much clamoring for more federal transportation spending, and fuel tax hikes to pay for it, has come out of Washington recently. The Highway Trust Fund faces a $15 billion gap in 2015 between projected spending and the money it will collect in fuel taxes and fees. Trouble is, our Washington-centric approach isn’t solving our traffic…Emily Goff -
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A Federal Gas Tax Hike for…What, Exactly?
Senators Chris Murphy (D–CT) and Bob Corker (R–TN) have proposed hiking federal fuels taxes by 12 cents per gallon. Car and truck drivers and bus operators would pay a gas tax of 30.4 cents a gallon and a diesel tax of 36.4 cents a gallon—up from 18.4 cents and 24.4 cents, respectively. That is on…Emily Goff