The Congressional Research Service (CRS) added to the pile of conflicting well-to-wheels analyses with its report released this week, “The Life Cycle Assessment of Canadian Oil Sands,” written in the context of the Keystone XL project. Just like its predecessors, CRS wades into the world of assessment comparisons, choosing previously-published reports with seemingly common variables to come up with an emissions calculation slightly different from the rest. The problem, however, is that more often than not, apples are compared to oranges and policymakers are misled.

The report concludes that the Canadian oil sands emit 14 to 20 percent more greenhouse gases (GHGs) in a well-to-wheels (WTW) comparison with other crude oils imported into the United States “despite differences and input as... more »

It will take some time to fully digest the EPA’s new rule governing emissions from oil and natural gas production, including hydraulic fracturing, but it’s clear the agency heard industry’s concerns and worked to improve the regulation from its preliminary version.

Significantly, companies will have until 2015 to comply with some of the requirements of the new rule. Industry had maintained more time was needed to develop the equipment needed for compliance and to train workers to use it. Howard Feldman, API’s director of regulatory and scientific affairs on the final rule:

“The industry has led efforts to reduce emissions by developing new technologies that were adopted in the rule.  EPA has made some improvements in the rules that allow our companies to continue reducing emission... more »

Here’s something to keep in mind as we discuss the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule on emissions from oil and natural gas development: A Rasmussen Reports poll this week showed 44 percent of likely voters believe, generally, that EPA’s regulations and actions hurt the economy. Just 17 percent disagree and say EPA’s policies help the economy.

EPA has a new policy on the way, the proposed New Source Performance Standards. As presently crafted, the standard would require hydraulic fracturing operators to use “green completion” equipment to control emissions of volatile organic compounds or VOCs.

But in a conference call with reporters, Howard Feldman, API director of regulatory and scientific affairs, said the proposed rule could needlessly impose significant costs – more... more »

We've said energy shouldn't be a zero-sum game - that pursuing some energy resources shouldn't come at the expense of others. America needs all the energy it can develop. Most Americans seem to recognize this, and the notion that energy winners and losers are being picked probably is a factor in new polling that shows less than 14 percent think the country is on the right energy track.

That said, a new study by T2 and Associates shows the oil and natural gas industry is doing more than talking about an all-of-the-above energy strategy, having invested $71 billion in technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 2000 and 2010.

That's almost as much as the rest of private industry combined ($74 billion) and way more than the federal government ($43 billion) over the same period.

The oil and natural gas industry thinks EPA's proposed rules on emissions from drilling and refining operations are reasonable. Repeating: Proposed rules pertaining to emissions from oil and gas activities appear to be workable, given the time to properly implement them.

That's what industry is saying as the agency collects public comment on its proposals at hearings around the country. "Some rules are worse than others, and this rule is not the end of the world as long as we can get time to implement it," Howard Feldman, API's director of regulatory and scientific affairs, told the Wall Street Journal [subscription required].

Last week Feldman and Khary Cauthen, API's director of federal relations, told reporters that industry needs additional time before the ending of the public comments... more »