Energy Today - August 8, 2013

Mark Green
Posted August 8, 2013

EIA – Today in Energy – Oil and Natural Gas Industry Employment Growing Faster than Private Sector

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that from the start of 2007 through the end of 2012, oil and natural gas employment increased 40 percent (more than 162,000 jobs) – compared to 1 percent growth in the total U.S. private sector over the same period.

Washington Times – Unlocking the Power of Keystone XL

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton's op-ed argues that after nearly five years of delays, it’s time to build the Keystone XL pipeline to unlock the project’s job and economic power: “The president should welcome any project that will create jobs and boost our national security, but if the president won’t say ‘yes’ to Keystone, Congress will. After five years of delays, it is time to build.”

Forbes – Texas Oil and Natural Gas Numbers Fly Off the Charts

Texas’ oil production represents about 34.5 percent of all U.S. output, helped by surging growth in the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin shale plays, writes contributor David Blackmon. The production means revenue for state infrastructure projects. “… Texas State Comptroller Susan Combs was able to make the happy announcement that state receipts from oil and gas severance taxes had exceeded her projections for the first nine months of Fiscal Year 2013 by a whopping $900 million,” Blackmon writes.

Bloomberg – Party Negotiations Delay Mexico Energy Legislation

President Enrique Pena Nieto announced that his proposal to end seven decades of state energy monopoly will be delayed until next week. The bill would allow U.S. and other energy companies to pump crude in the nation with Latin America’s third-largest proven reserves.