The Obama administration on Friday gave Freeport LNG approval to broadly export domestically harvested natural gas, marking only the second time a U.S. company has won such a license. The export license ensures that the Texas-based project will be able to liquefy natural gas produced by BP to Japan, Taiwan and other countries that do not have free-trade agreements with the United States.  More »

The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a new plan to tighten standards for drilling on public lands and force companies to reveal the chemicals they use in the process, after making significant concessions to the oil industry.  More »

During a closed-door meeting with oil industry leaders on the sidelines of the Offshore Technology Conference, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell pleaded for cooperation and a little understanding, as federal drilling regulators aim to keep pace with rapidly evolving technology.  More »

After representing the National Rifle Association in heated fights over gun control — including some policy debates inspired by the school shooting in Newton, Conn. — Christopher Rager now is moving to the American Petroleum Institute.  More »

Almost 50 groups representing everything from oil companies to American Jews have stepped up their Washington spending as the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline proves to be a bonanza for lobbyists.  More »

Lawmakers took a modest step Thursday toward enacting a one-year-old agreement between the United States and Mexico that promises to unleash oil drilling along the nations’ maritime boundary in the Gulf.  More »

ConocoPhillips on Wednesday said it would abandon its plans to begin drilling for oil in Arctic waters north of Alaska because of “uncertainties of evolving federal regulatory requirements” for oil exploration in the region. The move follows similar decisions by Statoil and Shell, which is pausing its own Arctic oil hunt after experiencing several high-profile mishaps last year.  More »

Clean air advocates and the oil industry on Thursday released dueling studies on the Obama administration’s proposed gasoline emissions rule, with radically different conclusions on its effects on air pollution.  More »

In a Q&A with FuelFix, outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar reflects on his tenure in Washington, D.C., including a brush with Texas Gov. Rick Perry over the dunes lizard, reforming regulation of the offshore oil industry, and a Senate that actually got things done.  More »

Martin Durbin, the newly tapped CEO for America’s Natural Gas Alliance, told FuelFix in a Wednesday interview that natural gas producers need to do more work in state legislatures and on Capitol Hill to advance policies that will grow demand for the fossil fuel.  More »

In a bid to boost its profile in Washington, D.C., America’s Natural Gas Alliance is turning to an industry veteran and skilled lobbyist for its next CEO. The pick: Marty Durbin, now at API.  More »

A fight between oil giants and the ethanol industry is escalating, as a new oil industry study says ethanol in fuel will hurt consumers and the economy, and ethanol producers say oil producers and refiners simply want to protect their market.  More »