Two energy strategies are going head to head in Washington right now.

The administration continues to talk about energy tax hikes that won't help put Americans back to work or expand access to domestic energy resources. Not good. Contrast that with three bills in Congress that would move toward both goals by removing obstacles to new offshore drilling.

There's already been lots of discussion about the administration's proposal to end energy tax treatments that historically have encouraged domestic exploration and production of oil and natural gas. As API President and CEO Jack Gerard told reporters this week, increasing energy taxes will "destroy jobs, diminish energy security and reduce government revenue."

Meanwhile, legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., is designed... more »

About one-quarter of U.S. oil production and nearly 10 percent of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in due to Hurricane Alex, the first June hurricane to develop in the Atlantic region since 1995.

The federal government reported yesterday that 28 production platforms and three rigs had been evacuated as operators moved personnel to safety. The storm is expected to make landfall on Wednesday near the Texas-Mexico border.

As oil workers wait to return to their offshore jobs, thousands of others are wondering about whether they will have jobs under the administration's deepwater drilling moratorium.

According to an Oil Daily report, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) estimates Louisiana alone could lose up to 38,000 jobs. MidSouth Bank President Rusty Cloutier told Oil Daily t... more »

The U.S. Coast Guard and BP sent oil skimming boats back to port this morning as Tropical Storm Alex gained strength and threatened to become the first Gulf hurricane of 2010.

Although it remains south of the oil spill and is heading toward the Texas-Mexico border, it could cause high waves and force BP to delay its installation of a third oil containment unit. Officials say they need a few days of calm seas to connect the new unit to the well.

On Monday, several oil company executives and API met with U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about the deepwater drilling moratorium and other spill-related issues. As we reported yesterday, the administration is asking a federal court to keep the ban in place by delaying a lower court... more »

The first tropical storm of the season has veered away from the Gulf oil spill, allowing engineers to continue siphoning oil and gas from the leaking Macondo well.

BP reports that approximately 22,750 barrels of oil were collected or flared on Saturday.

BP also is making preparations for the installation of a floating riser containment system. The company says the system will be connected to the Helix Producer vessel and will be able to handle 20,000-25,000 barrels of oil per day, raising the daily oil and gas containment capacity to 40,000-50,000 barrels by late June or early July.

The first relief well is making steady progress toward intercepting the wellbore of the Macondo well. It has reached a depth of 16,546 feet and is using high-tech equipment to precisely locate the wellbore. Th... more »

BP reinstalled the cap on the blowout preventer (BOP) at the leaking Macondo well last evening, and it began capturing oil and gas a short time later. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says the amount of oil being collected could rise to about 53,000 barrels a day after a third containment device arrives next Tuesday.

Along the Gulf Coast shoreline, responders continue to mop up the drifting oil as the debate continues over deepwater drilling and coastal protection:

• The Wall Street Journal reports today that BP and other major oil companies based their spill response plans on U.S. government projections that provided low odds of oil reaching shore. The projections are based on government models that the companies are required to use. The models assume that most of the oil from a large spill--ev... more »