Energy Development

As Congress begins to tackle a plethora of legislative issues this fall, one particular issue has garnered broad support on both sides of the aisle: lifting the decades-old ban on oil exports. Representatives across the country have realized that the ban not only inhibits economic growth, but also prevents free trade and does nothing to advance energy security both at home and abroad. Rep. Barton has introduced H.R 702 , which would end the ban on oil exports, and other measures are being...
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Thanks to developments in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, America is experiencing a modern energy renaissance. Oil production is at its highest levels in nearly twenty years, and natural gas continues to surge at a near-record pace. America currently produces more petroleum and natural gas than any other nation. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of this innovation is taking place on non-federal lands. Since 2010, oil and natural gas production on non-federal lands has ...
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For decades, political pundits and even quite a few presidents have been saying we’re on the verge of running out of oil. Fortunately, as Stephen Moore recently explained in The Washington Times, America's shale revolution has ushered in an age of energy abundance. Below is an excerpt from Moore's piece:

Welcome to the age of oil and gas abundance. One of the people who predicted all of this 40 years ago was the late, great economist Julian Simon. When cultural icons like doomsdayer Paul...

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As the battle over the Senate’s objectionable tax extenders package continues, another fight over special interests and corporate welfare is building in Congress—namely, the reauthorization of the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank. After Ex-Im’s mandate expired on June 30, senators voted Sunday to revive the Bank. The U.S. government runs the bank as its “official export credit agency .” It provides a way for the government to back up projects that the private sector is purportedly...
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In a piece for Real Clear Energy, Dr. Robert Bradley, the founder and CEO of the Institute for Energy Research, examined the Obama administration’s misguided energy and climate policy. As the clock runs out on President Obama’s term, administration officials are rushing to impose additional rules on the oil and natural gas industry. As global demand for fossil fuels grows, the U.S. has become the world leader in oil and natural gas production. In spite of federal policies , oil and...
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Congress has until the end of June to decide whether to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, the official credit export agency of the U.S. government. While the bank’s stated mission “is to ensure that U.S. companies—large and small—have access to the financing they need to turn export opportunities into sales,” Ex-Im has gained a reputation for favoring large, politically connected firms to the detriment of small businesses, the free market, and American families. Ex-Im’s...
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Coal-fired electricity generators that once powered 5.5 million homes have closed permanently, according to a recent announcement from the Columbus, Ohio-based electric utility American Electric Power (AEP). The 5,588 megawatts (MW) of coal capacity located across Appalachia and the Midwest are the latest casualties in the continued assault on affordable, reliable power by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under President Obama. Specifically, AEP’s announcement says the utility...
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Last week, Mac Zimmerman penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal  lambasting Congress for considering legislation to raise the federal gasoline tax to save the broken Highway Trust Fund (HTF) from insolvency. As the Policy Director for Americans for Prosperity explains, HTF wouldn't need saving if it hadn't been grossly misappropriating funds for years. But most importantly, Zimmerman makes clear that America - and especially the middle class - simply can't afford any increases in...
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The House and Senate energy committees are currently considering a variety of energy reform proposals. Given the poor track record of broad “energy bills” such as Energy Policy Act of 2005 (which created the Renewable Fuel Standard) or the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (which expanded the RFS), it is paramount to focus on pursuing policies in a broad energy bill that promote free markets, expand domestic energy development, and reform broken regulatory schemes. Below are a...
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its estimate of global fossil fuel subsidies for 2015 at $5.3 trillion—almost ten times higher than the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) calculation of $548 billion for 2013.[i] The difference is not the change of a 2-year span, but the methodology. The IEA uses a “price-gap” methodology, which is the difference between end-use prices and supply costs that include shipping costs, margins, and value-added taxes. In other words, the...
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