Soaring gasoline prices are having their usual effect in Washington: a release of short-sighted legislation, Loren Steffy writes. Both parties have fired off bills they hope will capitalize on mounting anger at the pump, providing us with the latest example of how neither party wants to deal with real energy issues.  More »

Senate Democrats today unveiled a plan to slash a portfolio of tax deductions and credits claimed by the five biggest oil companies. The $21 billion in projected savings over the next 10 years would be dedicated to cutting the federal deficit.  More »

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn have joined forces with Tea Party activists to kill $6 billion a year in ethanol subsidies, taking on the corn lobby and anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist.  More »

U.S. oil companies’ profits have grown so fast that they’ve become the cheapest equities in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, just as the debate about taxing crude producers heats up.  More »

By EconMatters WTI (West Texas Intermediate) Crude Oil futures traded at its lowest in almost two months in New York on Thursday, May 5 in its biggest selloff in two years, plunging 8.6% on the day to below the $100 mark (Fig. 1).  Brent crude on ICE also dropped as much as $12.17, or 10%, which [...]  More »

The Department of Energy is creating a panel to look for ways to make sure hydraulic fracturing is done as safe as possible. Critics say it’s just a waste of taxpayer money since the EPA is already doing a study of fracking.  More »

Three Texas Republican lawakers will be among the 26 House members highlighting what GOP leaders have declared “High Gas Price Month.” Texas Reps. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, Bill Flores, R-Bryan, and Mike Conaway, R-Midland, have been named to a team of 26 House Republicans who will attempt to focus the public spotlight on the GOP’s energy agenda.  More »

Lawmakers backed away from a measure that would have given oil and gas regulators broad authority to conduct key deliberations in secret. They had approved the legislation without a single objection a day earlier, sparking outrage from consumer advocates who said it undermined government transparency.  More »

That was fast. Barely 24 hours after coastal governors announced they were forming a coalition to lobby for energy development in nearby waters, the nation’s top offshore drilling regulator, Michael Bromwich, invited them to Washington to chat about the outer continental shelf.  More »

With global energy demand expected to rise dramatically in coming years, the oil and gas industry must rise to the challenge by finding more resources, improving efficiency and boosting investments in technology, speakers at an OTC panel said Tuesday.  More »

The Texas Railroad Commission would get broad authority to conduct key deliberations in non-public “executive” sessions, including discussions that help determine natural gas rates, under legislation approved Monday by the Texas House.  More »

Gulf Coast governors who know a little something about offshore drilling are forming a coalition with their East and West coast counterparts to lobby for expanded energy production on the Outer Continental Shelf.  More »