Energy Today - February 14, 2011
Rayola Dougher
Posted February 14, 2011
The Hill: Dem leaders shy away from gas-tax hike despite party support: Despite pressure from some members, Senate Democratic leaders are reluctant to embrace an increase in the gas tax as they search for ways to rebuild the nation's infrastructure. "At this point, the caucus is not ready to sign off on a gas tax or any tax increase," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters Thursday afternoon. The issue arose because there is strong Democratic support for passing a multi-year transportation authorization bill. Democrats say it would create jobs and make the economy more efficient by easing the transport of goods. But the money's not there -- unless the gas tax is raised or another major revenue source is found. Talk of a higher gas tax came up during Senate Democrats' two-day retreat at The Boar's Head Inn in Charlottesville, Va., where they discussed other funding proposals. The Houston Chronicle: Deep drills set for Gulf: Get the rigs warmed up. The deep-water drilling permits are on the way. At least that's what the nation's top offshore energy regulator said in a visit Friday to Houston. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has issued no new deep-water drilling permits since last April's Deepwater Horizon accident that killed 11 and spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. "I'm on the record as saying that I expect deep-water permits to begin to be granted before the end of the second quarter," said Michael Bromwich, director of the bureau, in a meeting with the Houston Chronicle editorial board. "But I now think we're going to see them, I hope, in the next several weeks." Five permits for new wells are pending, he said, but they are held up primarily by requirements that the industry finish building systems capable of responding to a subsea blowout like last year's.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune: Oil-spill containment system is nearly ready, industry consortium promises: The oil-spill containment system that is supposed to be the key to unlocking a return to deepwater drilling is complete and will undergo a final test next week, according to the consortium of leading oil companies that are spending $1 billion on a solution. The Marine Well Containment Company says the containment system will be ready for deployment once a critical capping stack passes its last exam. The so-called interim system is expected to be similar to what BP and the federal government eventually came up with to cap the gushing Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico last summer, 87 days after the well BP was drilling exploded 5,000 feet under the sea. The company, a collaborative effort by ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, promised ships to collect oil through a system of vacuum-like tubes and manifolds on the ocean floor, along with a capping stack akin to the one that finally attached to the damaged Macondo wellhead and shut off the flow on July 15.
Additional Resources:
The Hill: Obama's budget to call for slashing oil tax breaks, boosting clean energy
The Hill: House GOP spending bill prohibits funding for EPA climate regs