A recent expansion of API’s “Motor Oil Matters” campaign is good news for everyone up and down the motor oil supply chain – consumers as much as anyone else. The “MOM” campaign is designed to make sure drivers get the right motor oil for their cars and trucks every time, and the campaign’s expansion to include distributors and oil-change locations reinforces that effort.

For many years API has licensed motor oils that meet API performance standards while also sampling and testing them in the marketplace. The expanded MOM campaign will help ensure a secure “chain of custody” for bulk motor oil from manufacturers and marketers all the way to the vehicle:

• API will certify motor oil distributors and oil-change locations, identifying them as businesses committed to delivering qualit... more »

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Quality secretary and its energy executive have this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, citing a pair of studies that say the amount of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale may be far greater than any previous government estimate:

"This is good news. Real American energy security and a real force in American job growth are available to us right now – if we continue to make the right decisions to obtain and use what we have right here. Both studies confirm that Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale formation is the global superstar of natural gas formations. The Marcellus Shale will help make Pennsylvania the energy capital of the nation and spark the rebirth of our petrochemical and manufacturing base."

While they’re talking about shale natu... more »

People who support natural gas development and hydraulic fracturing in New York state took their message to the capitol building in Albany at an event earlier this month. Check out this video:

New York, which sits above part of the energy-rich Marcellus Shale, needs the jobs and the economic opportunity that could be provided by natural gas production. That’s reflected in a new Siena College poll that shows growing support in the state for natural gas and fracking – 42 percent of those surveyed favor it while 36 percent are opposed.

Worth noting in the crosstabs (Question #22): Hydraulic fracturing is supported in all regions of the state – including New York City – by both gender groups, all age groups, all self-identified ethnicities and religious affiliations and all income gro... more »

America has a lot of oil and natural gas that’s “unconventional” – energy trapped in shale and other rock formations that can be produced through horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. So says a study released this week by respected energy consultant IHS Global Insight: By 2035, unconventional oil and natural gas development could yield more than $5.1 trillion in capital spending into the economy, support 3.5 million jobs and generate $2.5 trillion in cumulative federal, state and local tax receipts.

Big numbers, big deal – if we embrace it.

Speakers at a Vote 4 Energy event, “Energy and the Economy,” noted upsides to America’s vast unconventional oil and natural gas reserves – which IHS’ John Larson likened to a “tsunami of production” to hit over the next two decades. Some h... more »

Check out today's Vote 4 Energy event, "Energy and the Economy," beginning at 9 a.m., here.

Discussion will center on energy's role in job creation, economic growth and its importance as an election-year issue. A new IHS Global study on America's vast reserves of unconventional oil and natural gas, which projects $5.1 trillion in cumulative capital spending by industry and 3.5 million jobs supported by 2035, will also be discussed.

The event is hosted by API.