We talked recently about increasing access to domestic oil and natural gas as key to a made-in-America energy plan. Here’s another essential piece: common-sense regulation. Without a reasonable regulatory structure that’s transparent and accessible, red tape could tie up America’s ample energy resources.

In its recent report to the platform committees of the two political parties, API outlined what America’s energy regulatory structure needs:

• Transparency – We need a system that operates in a way that’s clear and unambiguous, with input from all stakeholders, and that bases rules on sound science.
• Sound analysis – We need regulatory processes that are based on legitimate cost-benefit analysis, with implementation timelines that consider economic impacts and resource availabili... more »

Who could have imagined the day would come when the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) crafted a report focused on relieving Americans’ “pain at the pump”? 

But there it is: the same group that once stated “there’s nothing we can do to control the price of gas in America” released a paper this week outlining the ways in which Keystone XL pipeline is apparently poised to make prices at the pump go higher – as if higher gas prices were something the group actually opposed. 

Of course, we know the truth about NRDC’s position on gas prices – that they support policies that increase the cost of fossil fuels to discourage their use. What’s tougher, though, is determining how the group came up with a methodology allowing it to argue, in effect, that greater supply of secure sources of... more »

According to a new API report, the U.S. oil and natural gas industry’s workplace safety record measures favorably with the private sector – reflecting the industry’s commitment to providing safe and healthy work environments for its employees.

The report includes 18 charts and tables comparing non-fatal injury and illness rates for the oil and natural gas industry (and its various sectors) to the rates of other U.S. industries and sectors. The charts and tables are based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Survey of Occupational Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement and the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. You can go to the report to learn more about the definitions, classifications and methodo... more »

Interesting report in the Boston Globe about how a ripple of economic benefits from shale natural gas development is reaching a non-energy state, Massachusetts.

Clean Harbors, Inc., a Norwell, Mass., company that delivers environmental services, estimates that demand for its know-how from shale-rich Pennsylvania generated 25 percent of its $2 billion in revenues last year – a number it expects to grow this year. “We just see a tremendous market that needs all of the services we provide,” says Chief Executive Alan McKim, who figures his company’s shale-related business is growing about 25 percent a year. “In the U.S., there’s huge potential,’’ McKim says. The Globe adds:

“Clean Harbors is just one example of how the unlocking of natural gas reserves hundreds of miles away promises... more »

Recently, ExxonMobil Development Co.’s L.M. Tillman addressed a gathering at the Offshore Technology Conference on the subject of energy industry employment. Tillman, vice president of engineering, said that economic growth in the developing world will drive the demand for energy and with it, the demand for energy workers. Here’s a follow-up Q&A with Mr. Tillman on energy employment, opportunities for younger workers and industry’s efforts to secure the next generation of workers.

Q: Where are the best opportunities to work in the industry, and what kind of skill sets are needed to land jobs and advance rapidly?

A: For the industry to be able to meet the energy challenge, it needs engineers and scientists who can push technology and innovation, analyze problems and develop creative s... more »