A couple of days ago, the Sierra Club posted on The Hill's blog, questioning whether it's safe to bring more Canadian oil sands crude oil into the United States via pipeline. I posted a comment to this post last night, and today on this blog, I'm providing additional information to set the record straight. Simply put, the Sierra Club post grossly exaggerates the risks and ignores the benefits of transporting oil derived from Canada's abundant oil sands to the United States. And it mischaracterizes the pipelines that carry this much-needed oil to American consumers.

First, it's important to note that there's nothing new about Canadian oil sands oil coming into the United States. It's been transported to this country for decades and currently accounts for more than 1 million barrels a day of... more »

Have you ever heard of shale gas? It's the naturally occurring, clean-burning gas that is found in shale rock formations, and it's becoming increasing important as an energy resource in the United States. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy says there is enough so-called unconventional gas (shale gas, tight sands and coalbed methane) in the United States to supply our energy needs for the next 90 years. Other estimates extend this supply to 116 years.

Today, a House subcommittee is holding a fact-finding hearing on shale gas development. Because this form of gas is locked in layers of hard shale, it's more difficult to produce than gas that easily flows through underground sand formations. To encourage shale gas to move toward the well, a process called hydraulic fracturing is re... more »

At a time when the need for an economic boost has never been greater, Congress is considering a bill that threatens energy investments and jobs. If enacted as drafted, the bill--called The Federal Lands and Resources Energy Development Act of 2009--would consolidate federal energy and mineral leasing programs within one bureau at the Interior Department and establish regional councils intended to provide federal-state discussions about the development of regional energy plans.

The bill would also raise the fees associated with leasing onshore land for energy development, shorten the initial onshore lease terms from ten to five years, and assess a production incentive fee on existing leases that are not producing oil and gas in the later years of the lease agreement.

For those who haven't b... more »

There are 3,800 oil and natural gas production platforms and 74 operating drilling rigs in the federal, hurricane-prone waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

They are responsible for about 27 percent of the oil and 11 percent of the natural gas produced in the United States every day. These energy resources help to power our cars, homes, and factories, and have a role in nearly every consumer product sold in America today.

This year the United States is expected to have a near normal hurricane season, according to the federal government, and the oil and natural gas industry is ready to respond.

The industry's top priority is the safety of its personnel. Companies operating offshore continuously monitor weather conditions, and when hurricanes enter the Gulf, they shut in the oil and natu... more »

When economists are asked why the price of fuel fluctuates, they often explain that price changes are due to the "market"--the interaction of all of the people around the world who buy and sell crude oil and fuels in the global marketplace. These buyers and sellers decide how much oil and oil products they are willing to buy or sell at a given price. Their decisions can be affected by several factors including weather, refinery operations, and geopolitical and economic conditions. The price of other commodities, such as wheat and corn, are determined in much the same way. I touched on these points a bit in last Friday's post.

Recently, the market pushed the price of crude oil to about $66 a barrel (May 29), which equates to an increase of 49 cents a gallon since April 20, 2009. But the pri... more »