Policies

U.S. production and consumption of natural gas is expected to increase and gas imports will decline in the coming years, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2009 (AEO2009) reference case, an early summary of which was released last Wednesday. It presents updated projections through 2030.

The Florida Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, which has long opposed offshore drilling, conditionally endorsed federal and state policies allowing the production of oil and natural gas from existing leases within the Gulf of Mexico at least 30 miles from the Florida coastline. The conditions include: Florida offshore drilling must be a component of a comprehensive energy policy; production facilities must incorporate the most advanced zero-discharge systems; Congress must allow for sharing of royalties between states and the federal government; a five-year moratorium on new leases in the eastern Gulf must be established so state officials can evaluate production safety and evaluate any impact on Florida’s natural resources; and the military mission of the Defense Department shall have the first priority in the Gulf offshore.

Reps. Tim Bishop (D-NY) and Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) introduced legislation last Thursday to create a commission that would examine policies governing the siting of natural gas infrastructure.

The Interior Department’s Inspector General’s (IG) Office is moving to establish a royalty oversight unit to ensure the adequate collection of revenues from oil and natural gas production on federal and Indian lands, IG Earl Devaney said Tuesday.

ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva called on fellow energy executives last week to embrace climate change policies because federal legislation “may be just a year or two away.” And the United States, he said, has to take a more active role worldwide to build a consensus.

ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva Tuesday called on fellow energy executives to embrace climate change policies because federal legislation “may be just a year or two away.” The United States, he added, also has to take a more active role in global climate change to build a consensus.

Natural gas use has to be part of any climate-friendly policy, but the industry so far has done a poor job of convincing a skeptical public that it can find, develop and deliver gas at a reasonable price without harming the environment, Questar Corp. CEO Keith O. Rattie said Tuesday.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) current level of research and development (R&D) funding and the nation’s energy policies are not sufficient to deploy advanced energy technologies over the next 25 years, an official with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) told a House Appropriations subcommittee last Wednesday.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) current level of research and development (R&D) funding and the nation’s energy policies are not sufficient to deploy advanced energy technologies over the next 25 years, an official with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) told a House Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday.