The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering whether to increase the percentage of ethanol than can be placed in gasoline. At present, ethanol blends of up to 10 percent are permissible, and studies are underway to determine whether more ethanol can be added without causing harm to vehicles, fuel dispensing equipment and air quality.

It's possible, however, that the EPA won't wait for the study results because the nation is swimming in ethanol.

A couple of years ago, U.S. ethanol production capacity soared after Congress passed the Renewable Fuel Standard mandating increasing amounts of ethanol to the nation's fuel supply. At the time, Congress assumed that gasoline consumption would continue to rise annually, making it possible to add greater ethanol supplies over a perio... more »

Northern Alberta is believed to contain more recoverable oil than the total reserves of Saudi Arabia--existing in oil sands deposits--20% of which can be accessed via surface mining and 80% that are too deep for mining.

During our visit to Alberta, we had the opportunity to visit ConocoPhillips' Surmont facility where these deep deposits are produced by flooding the sands with steam in a process called Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD).

Watch the video below to see how ConocoPhillips produces about 20,000 barrels of oil per day from SAGD oil sands recovery.

A recent Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) study says greater production of Canada's oil sands is expected to stimulate economic activity in both countries, creating more than 340,000 new U.S. jobs and adding an estimated... more »

In August, I wrote about my experience traveling to Alberta, Canada, with reporters and bloggers to see how oil sands are produced and converted into crude oil.

We learned that there are two different processes utilized to produce oil from the sands--surface mining and in-situ, where the sands are heated with steam and pumped to the surface.

Below is a video from the Syncrude facility we visited. You'll be able to see how surface mining and extensive land reclamation efforts happen post production, and how a form of oil called bitumen is processed into 350,000 barrels of oil per day.

Canadian oil is a reliable and plentiful strategic resource for meeting our nation's growing energy demand and making the United States more energy secure. It makes sense to tap into this energy-rich resou... more »

An article in today's Shreveport Times discusses the initial production results of Bossier Shale formation, and the findings are encouraging enough that it is expected to become a major player in U.S. natural gas development. The first Bossier Shale well was drilled in August flowed at 9.4 million cubic feet per day.

Over the past few years, advanced technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have unlocked the promise of natural gas in tight rock formations.

Quoted in the article, John L. Sharp, Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s geosciences manager said:

"And with all of that natural gas--estimated at 200 trillion cubic feet--available for sale at some point, the education of policymakers to move away from a dependence on foreign fuel sources should become a primary focus."

Today, the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing concerning environmental stewardship policies related to offshore energy production. (Watch the archive Webcast of the hearing).

Two of the witnesses--Shell President Marvin Odum and David Rainey, vice president for Gulf of Mexico exploration at BP America--discussed the oil and gas sector's strong environmental record and said that additional exploration and development was necessary to bring in needed much-needed supplies, reduce U.S. imports, create jobs and generate government revenues.

Advanced offshore technology, such as 3-D seismic surveys, has revolutionized the oil and natural gas exploration process, allowing the industry to have "eyes" underground. This technology improves the industry's ability to locate... more »