Energy Today -- April 1, 2011
Rayola Dougher
Posted April 1, 2011
The Buffalo News: Tapping shale gas is called benefit to economy, consumers: Low natural gas prices, and ample supplies that are likely to keep prices down far into the future, are the rewards that could come from tapping into the vast supplies of shale gas trapped deep below the United States, an energy industry analyst said Thursday. Rayola Dougher, a senior economic adviser for the American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, said the potential of shale gas, such as the Marcellus Shale that stretches from New York to West Virginia, could have tremendous economic implications for both consumers and the overall economy. "The energy, the value and the affordability is going to change the lives of a lot of people," Dougher said during a lecture at the University at Buffalo that drew about 125 people. Reuters: Former State Dept envoy backs Keystone pipeline: The energy security benefits of a proposed pipeline that would transport Canadian crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast outweigh the environmental concerns about the project, a former official at the agency that will decide the fate of the pipeline said on Thursday. David Goldwyn, who recently served as special envoy for international energy affairs at the State Department, said approving TransCanada Corp's $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline is in the best interest of the United States and will make the nation less dependent on hostile regimes. "The permitting of this pipeline dramatically enhances U.S. national (security) and energy security," Goldwyn, who left the department in January, told lawmakers at a House Foreign Affairs committee hearing on the importance of Canadian oil.
Fuel Fix: Industry: No such thing as 'idle leases': In his speech Wednesday outlining a broad national energy strategy, President Obama cited an Interior Department report that says the oil and gas industry has vast numbers of leases sitting idle. The study says 70 percent of federal Gulf of Mexico leases and 57 percent of federal onshore leases "are not producing or not subject to approved or pending exploration or development plans." The oil and gas industry has heard this before and was ready with the reply: There really is not such thing as an idle lease. In a press call this week the American Petroleum Institute chef lobbyist Erik Milito depicted the report as blind and deaf to how companies go about exploring for oil and gas. "The administration's report assumes that oil and natural gas are spread uniformly across the lease acreage - suggesting that 70 percent of idle leases equates to 70 percent idled resources. As if finding oil was no more difficult than sticking a pipe in the ground," Milito said.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune: The Obama administration's actions on drilling speak louder than words: An editorial: President Obama will find no disagreement in our region with his stated goal to cut our nation's oil imports by a third over the next decade and replace it with U.S. energy sources, including more domestic oil. But thousands of people across the Gulf Coast whose livelihoods depend on domestic oil production want to see more decisive action from this administration to back up the president's words. That means working with the industry to speed up the resumption of safe drilling in the Gulf, which the administration halted for almost a year with its blanket moratorium and slowness to issue new drilling permits. The president rejected criticism that this disruption is responsible for the current spike in gas prices, noting that oil production levels have remained high. But the disruption in exploration and drilling could have serious consequences over the next few years, as currently producing wells run out and not enough new wells come on line.
Wyoming Business Report: API calls for 'rational' energy policy: Responsible for more than 9 million jobs, the oil and gas industry is a key component to the nation's growth and development. American Petroleum Institute (API) Senior Economic Adviser of Media Relations Rayola Dougher told about 100 energy and business leaders in Gillette Tuesday what API is doing to promote the oil and gas industry and how that promotion impacts the national and global economies. "I'm hopeful we have a rational policy that supports domestic development to keep this country going strong," Dougher said. "We all have to get on the same page; we need these resources, and we need to develop them responsibly." Hosted by the Campbell County Chamber of Commerce, Dougher discussed various ways the national and global economies are impacted not only by oil and gas, but also by other energy resources, and the increasing roadblocks the industry is facing. From cutting subsidies to increasing taxes on fossil fuel-related industries, businesses across the country are facing more challenges while conducting business.