Republicans

The power shift in Congress will result in Republicans being named to chair committees that likely will be more friendly to the oil and natural gas industry, as well as other energy sectors.

An amendment to strike a key tax break for major oil and natural gas exploration and production companies fell four votes short last week as Senate Republicans along with a few Democrats shot down the cloture motion.

An amendment to strike a key tax break for major oil and natural gas exploration and production companies fell four votes short on Tuesday as Senate Republicans along with a few Democrats shot down the cloture motion.

Two House Republicans have called on the Interior Department’s Acting Inspector General Mary Kendall to open an investigation into allegations that the Obama administration altered peer-reviewed recommendations by experts in a report to justify the 60-day moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Two Republicans on a House panel have called on the Interior Department’s Acting Inspector General Mary Kendall to open an investigation into allegations that the Obama administration altered peer-reviewed recommendations by experts in a report to justify the 60-day moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives once again took up legislation to impose a tax on natural gas extraction, even though the governor and many state Republicans are opposed, officials said Wednesday.

Rejecting a final effort by state Republicans, Colorado Senate Democrats Tuesday affirmed the state’s revised natural gas and oil drilling regulations. The rules are scheduled to take effect beginning next week.

A coalition of five Senate Republicans and five Democrats — known as the “Gang of 10” — Thursday unveiled comprehensive, bipartisan legislation offering what appeared to be the first real compromise on offshore drilling, proposing to open additional Gulf of Mexico areas and allow the states of Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia to opt into leasing off their shores. The measure would not open coastal areas off states such as New Jersey and California, which have bitterly opposed offshore drilling.

Targeted by both Republicans and Democrats following record-high earnings by North American producers, royalty relief provisions for deepwater oil and natural gas exploration were cut from the fiscal 2008 budget President Bush submitted to Congress last week.