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A recent assessment from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) found that there has been a 42 percent increase in technically recoverable oil and a 20 percent increase in technically recoverable gas[1] in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) since 2011, when the last assessment was conducted.  This amounts to a mean of 4.72 billion barrels of undiscovered technically recoverable oil and 37.51 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered technically recoverable natural gas[2] just off...
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required by law to set the amount of biofuel they will require to be blended with gasoline for the following year. They are tasked with doing this before December to give businesses some idea of what their mandates will be for the upcoming year. But we are more than half way through 2014 and EPA still has not set the amount of biofuel required for this year. It appears that political interest is again trumping public interest at the Environmental...

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The United States Supreme Court announced on June 30 it would not review California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). This decision allows California to go forward with its LCFS. As a result we will likely see even higher gasoline prices in California. A Low Carbon Fuel Standard limits the amount of greenhouse gases vehicle fuel can emit in its production and usage. Transportation fuel (ie. gasoline and diesel) producers are encouraged to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions...
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In a last ditch effort to drum up support from lawmakers in light of the recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal that would decrease the amount of biofuels required by the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in the nation’s fuel supply from 18.15 billion gallons to 15.21 billion gallons[1] , representatives from biofuels companies recently flocked to the Hill to lobby Congress. Anne Steckel, Vice President of Federal Affairs for the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) cited the recent...
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The unlikely trio Michael Bloomberg, Hank Paulson, and Thomas Steyer are the co-chairs of a new study, “Risky Business.” It purports to quantify the economic risks of climate change threatening the United States, if the government fails to take action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The choice of three titans from the financial world as chairs of the report serves rhetorically to reach out to the business community and get them on board with the climate policy intervention agenda. As...
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Last week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) produced a report on the feasibility of complying with the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a federal mandate that requires minimum volumes of renewable fuels to be blended into transportation fuels.  The original volume mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) for 2014 is 18.15 billion gallons, which continues to increase annually.[i] However, after recognizing severe challenges in meeting the EISA target, primarily...
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The EPA is proposing to lower the 2014 RFS biofuel blending mandate by 1.4 billion gallons, from the statutory mandate of 18.21 billion gallons to 15.21 billion gallons.  While a study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) concluded that reducing the biofuel target would reduce emissions by the equivalent of taking 580,000 cars off the road,[i] a study conducted by Biotechnology Industry Corporation found that reducing the target would add greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to placing...
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The EPA is planning to set an unrealistic target for cellulosic biofuel production for the 5th year in a row, although the final rule will be postponed until late summer due to an extension of the 2013 deadline for refiners to meet renewable fuel blending requirements from June 30 to September 30. Last year, EPA proposed adjusting the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) cellulosic target to 17 million gallons (15.21 billion gallons of total renewable), down from the original 1.75 billion...
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The U.S. oil boom is helping U.S. manufacturers, including refiners, by producing low-cost energy to help American companies compete in a global economy. The latest example of this is a recent report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that compares the profitability of American and European refiners over the past 10 years. EIA’s analysis shows that over the last three years American refiners have reported considerably higher profits than their European counterparts due to lower...
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