FuelFix Newslinks |03.31.11|

Lawmaker accuses White House of ‘stonewalling’ Keystone XL pipeline

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 4:57 pm by Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Pipelines, Politics/Policy

Lawmakers today deliberated whether the proposed Keystone XL pipeline could make a dent in the cost of crude. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, accused the Obama administration of “stonewalling” the project. More »

Coast Guard monitoring Louisiana pipeline break

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 3:53 pm by Jillian Cohan in Accidents, Pipelines

Authorities are monitoring a pipeline near Cameron, La., that broke Wednesday night after being struck by a dredging ship. El Paso Corp. shut its West Cameron Block 62 platform as a result of the accident. More »

Oil climbs to highest since 2008 on Libya conflict

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 2:17 pm by Associated Press in Crude oil, Middle East

Crude prices rose past $106 a barrel on Thursday as fighters loyal to Moammar Gadhafi pushed back rebels from key areas in eastern Libya. More »

GOP pushes plan to open ANWR, expand offshore drilling

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 12:44 pm by Jennifer A. Dlouhy in Politics/Policy

Senate Republicans are making another bid to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, sweetening the deal by proposing to dedicate a quarter of the revenue to renewable energy. More »

Idaho lab readies radiation-detecting robot for Japan

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 11:35 am by Associated Press in Accidents, Asia

The robot will help officials in Japan pinpoint radioactive areas within the nuclear plant crippled in this month’s earthquake and tsunami. The U.S. Department of Energy, which runs the lab, expects to have it ready and delivered next week. More »

White House affirms opposition to EPA riders in spending bill

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 11:17 am by E2-Wire in Politics/Policy

Green groups fear the White House will agree to a rider that blocks climate change rules in a deal to fund government spending. (Via The Hill’s E-2 Wire) More »

Industry: No such thing as ‘idle leases’

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 11:15 am by Tom Fowler in Gulf oil spill, Middle East, Politics/Policy, Social

A government report that depicted a majority of oil and gas leases as idle is misleading at best and leaves out a lot of realities, says the industry. But neither side is innocent of leaving out context to score points with the general public. More »

Scientists find 2,000-year-old coral near site of BP oil spill

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 10:45 am by Associated Press in Gulf oil spill, Social

Federal scientists had been studying the ancient slow-growing corals before BP’s Macondo well blew out on April 20, 2010. The corals were found about 21 miles northeast of the well, living 1,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf. More »

A question of balance in Saudi oil kingdom

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 9:56 am by Loren Steffy in Crude oil, Middle East, Social

Though it is vital to the world’s economic balance, Loren Steffy writes from Saudi Arabia, much about the nation’s oil production remains shrouded in secrecy. More »

Statoil joins Gulf spill-response group

Posted on March 31, 2011 at 7:12 am by Brett Clanton in Gulf oil spill, Social

The Norwegian firm, one of the largest leaseholders in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, becomes a member of the Marine Well Containment Co. after last week winning the sixth permit to drill in the region since the BP oil spill. More »