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Lifting Oil Export Ban Left out of Bipartisan Senate Energy Bill

The leaders of the Senate energy panel released a bill Wednesday that includes measures to promote energy efficiency and protect the electric grid from cyber threats, but avoids the controversial issue of lifting a ban on exporting U.S. oil. The bill was drafted by both Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the Republican chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Maria Cantwell, the panel’s top Democrat. A similar bill is advancing in the Republican-led House. “This represents the universe of where there is bipartisan agreement,” Robert Dillon, a Republican spokesman for the Senate committee, said. Congress hasn’t passed major energy legislation since 2007, as the parties have clashed over renewable energy commitments and projects like the Keystone XL pipeline to link Canadian heavy crude with U.S. refineries. The bill, which the committee will begin debating on July 28 and may vote on later that week, is the common […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Murkowski breaks rank on oil tie to highway funding

Measure aimed at keeping highway trust fund afloat with oil sales draws criticism from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, vocal supporter of the industry. File photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) — Sen. Lisa Murkowski , a vocal supporter of the oil industry, said selling oil from strategic national reserves to fund highway projects was bad policy. Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairperson of the Senate Energy Committee, criticized the so-called bipartisan DRIVE Act, a measure aimed at generating $9 billion for the federal highway trust fund, by suggesting it puts national security interests at risk . "The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a vital national security asset that must be maintained in case of serious future supply disruptions," Murkowski said. "While I recognize that a long-term highway bill is a priority, a shortsighted sale that undermines our emergency preparedness could have real and lasting impacts on our security." Senate Majority Leader Mitch […]

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Congress Eyes Sales From Nation’s Oil Stockpile for Highway Funding

By Amy Harder And Nicole Friedman WASHINGTON–Lawmakers are eyeing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a piggy bank, but not without controversy. The Senate is considering legislation that would partly replenish the U.S. highway trust fund with $9 billion worth of sales from the reserve, which at 695.1 million barrels of oil is close to its 713.5-million-barrel capacity. This month, the House passed a bill to sell 80 million barrels from the reserve to raise $7 billion to help pay for legislation to boost government drug approvals and research funding. But proposals to tap the nation’s oil stockpile as a way to pay for unrelated government programs have drawn opposition. The Senate Energy Committee chairman, the U.S. energy secretary and oil industry analysts all criticize the move as shortsighted. The sale of crude from the reserve is one of about 15 new funding sources that Senate leaders want to use […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US Senate energy bill to speed LNG exports, clarify SPR sales limits

Key US senators have reached a deal on a broad package of energy sector reforms that if enacted would speed decision-making on liquefied natural gas exports, focus the intent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and require reviews of how federal rules impact electric system reliability. The agreement on the bipartisan legislative package follows a number of Senate hearings in recent months and lawmakers’ consideration of more than 100 bills offered for inclusion in the wider package. The bill unveiled Wednesday is also the result of negotiations between the two leaders of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee — Chairman Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell of Washington — and their staffs, and debate and voting — a markup — of the bill is scheduled to begin in the week starting July 27. A major provision in the bill will speed decision-making on LNG exports by […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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For G.O.P., Pope Francis’s Visit to Congress Comes With Tensions

Photo Speaker John A. Boehner at a news conference this month. The pope’s visit will fulfill a long-held dream of Mr. Boehner, who has extended offers to popes for the last 20 years. Credit Zach Gibson/The New York Times WASHINGTON — In the Reading, Ohio, neighborhood where Speaker John A. Boehner grew up, nearly every house had two things on the wall: a crucifix and a photo of the pope. “You never ever expected to meet the pope,” said Jerry Vanden Eynden, a lifelong friend of Mr. Boehner’s. “In all of our minds, the pope was the closest thing to meeting God in person here on earth.” When Pope Francis comes to Capitol Hill in September, he will be the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of Congress, where more than 30 percent of the members are Catholic. The visit will fulfill a long-held dream of Mr. Boehner, […]

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OPEC influence debated during House export hearing

Secretary General of OPEC Abdalla el Badri sits in on latest production policy meeting in Vienna. House leaders hear debate over OPEC’s market influence during hearing on U.S. crude oil export policies. File photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI WASHINGTON, July 9 (UPI) — U.S. House leaders heard testimony largely in support of lifting a ban on crude oil exports, though debate over OPEC’s market role emerged on the margins. The House Agriculture Committee heard testimony from industry leaders and experts largely in favor of lifting the 1970s-era ban on domestic crude oil exports. Chairman K. Michael Conway, R-Texas, said lifting the ban would have widespread benefits for the United States in the era of shale. "Lifting the oil export ban will grow our economy, it will also improve our geopolitical position and it will lower gas prices," he said in a statement. Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting […]

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Ending crude export ban would help rural US areas, House panel told

Rural US communities generally have benefited from the nation’s crude oil production renaissance, and potentially could be helped more if restrictions on exports of crude were eliminated, witnesses told a US House Agriculture Committee hearing on July 8. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David J. Porter called the crude export ban “a leftover relic from another period of time.” Allowing more US-produced oil to be sold overseas would spur domestic production, foster economic growth, and provide direct benefits to rural America and the nation as a whole, Porter said in his written testimony. “The export ban is more than just an outdated policy,” he maintained. “Keeping it in place is actually harming our economy.” When crude prices recently dropped, Texas felt harsh economic impacts as thousands of production workers were laid off and rigs were idled, he told the committee. The number of drilling permits the commission issued fell from […]

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House revisits push for Keystone XL

House committee issues subpoena to State Department seeking all documents related to the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned to cross the U.S.-Canadian border. Photo courtesy of TransCanada WASHINGTON, July 9 (UPI) — A committee from the Republican-led House of Representatives said it issued a subpoena to the State Department on the permit process for Keystone XL . The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said it wanted "all reports, recommendations, letters, and comments received by the State Department" about the Keystone XL oil pipeline planned to cross the U.S.-Canadian border. The Republican-led Congress that took its seat in January said passing legislation to approve construction of Keystone XL, offered for U.S. federal consideration more than six years ago, was job No. 1. The pipeline has become a scapegoat for U.S. energy policies, with backers touting its energy and economic benefits, while detractors say it’s too environmentally risky to support. […]

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Senate Democrats outline broad energy goals to nation’s governors

Forty-five US Senate Democrats outlined broad energy policy goals including more clean energy technology investments, infrastructure improvement, and carbon pollution reduction in a letter seeking support from the nation’s governors. “Your feedback will help us collectively craft a path forward on an energy policy that unleashes America’s limitless capacity for innovation, rewards middle-class families for making smart energy choices, and keeps our air and water clean for generations to come,” Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Minority Member Maria E. Cantwell (Wash.), and 43 other Senate Democrats said in their June 29 letter . Their call for more clean energy investments included low-carbon fossil fuels as well as renewable technology, storage, and advanced grid systems. The nation’s infrastructure should be modernized to make it more reliable and resilient with a safe structure from physical and cybersecurity threats, they recommended. Business and individual […]

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Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski ties Iran to U.S. oil export debate

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said crude oil prices would likely fall if more Iranian oil enters the market. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) — Iranian sanctions should stay in place as long as policymakers keep a ban on domestic crude oil exports in force, a report from U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowksi read. Debate is heating up ahead of a June 30 deadline to finalize a framework agreement that would give Iran sanctions relief in exchange for assurances against a nuclear weapon program. Iran, under the terms of a November 2013 agreement meant to curtail nuclear advancements, is limited to exports of around 1 million barrels per day, about half of the country’s full potential. The U.S. Treasury Department estimated Iran was out about $40 billion in revenue last year as a result of sanctions. Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee, said crude oil […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple