Watching Government - Video Blog

Federal fracing research update

2013-05-17T18:33:00.000Z

Four agencies are moving ahead and continuing to coordinate federal hydraulic fracturing research despite missing a pair of deadlines . . .

Broader questions at Richmond

2013-05-10T15:08:00.000Z

Broader questions emerged from the US Chemical Safety Board’s initial report on its investigation of an Aug. 6, 2012 incident at Chevron USA’s Richmond, Calif., refinery. . . .

Jobs and Keystone XL

2013-05-01T15:34:00.000Z

During Bill Clinton’s first US presidential campaign in 1992, workers at its headquarters kept focused by periodically glancing at a poster proclaiming: “It’s the economy, stupid.” . . .

Curbing methane emissions

2013-04-19T21:21:00.000Z

Fugitive methane emissions from natural gas operations are a significant global warming pollution source which should be reduced sharply, a new World Resources Institute working paper asserts. . . .

Pipelines and a new Silk Road

2013-04-12T17:52:00.000Z

Countries in Asia’s southern Caucasus region already have shown they can work together and build long-distance pipelines . . .

A timely future workforce report

2013-04-05T18:16:00.000Z

Many people in the oil and gas industry have been thinking hard about future workforce needs. They cite the number . . .

Overseas efforts enter new phase

2013-03-28T15:43:00.000Z

American security and prosperity are increasingly, and inextricably, linked to developing countries, a new Center for Strategic and International Studies report says . . .

Tier 3 and other EPA woes

2013-03-22T15:12:00.000Z

Gina McCarthy would not be nominated as the next EPA administrator for 3 more days. But an American Petroleum Institute official was ready on Mar. 1 . . .

Venezuela after Chavez

2013-03-12T14:15:00.000Z

Many anticipated Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s death from cancer. It still raised significant questions about what will happen next when it actually happened . . .

Wearing a Taxation Target

2013-02-28T17:57:00.000Z

Washington’s major league baseball team, which became the National League’s eastern division champion in 2012, isn’t the only group in the nation’s capital which feels as if it’s wearing a target . . .

A Surprising Choice

2013-02-21T17:16:00.000Z

Sally Jewell’s nomination on Feb. 6 to succeed Ken Salazar as US Interior secretary was indisputably a surprise. . . .

Building downstream outreach

2013-02-07T19:10:00.000Z

American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President Charles T. Drevna made his primary 2013 New Year's resolution early, and quickly started to keep it. . . .

Colorado deals with setbacks

2013-01-30T21:06:00.000Z

The idea that Colorado regulators faced setbacks seems confusing at first. In this context, however, “setback” refers to . . .

2012’s war of words

2013-01-21T21:17:00.000Z

Maybe it was because it was a presidential election year. Whatever the reason, words seemed to matter more than substance . . .

Pursuing pipeline safety

2013-01-11T15:06:00.000Z

The US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is expected to announced new safety regulations in 2013 . . .

The Iranian Oil Question

2013-01-03T18:36:00.000Z

From the outset, the discussion’s question seemed provocative: Can the world live without Iranian oil? . . .

Norway's Arctic Approach

2012-12-18T20:32:00.000Z

Norway is taking a phased development approach as it tries to create sustainable Arctic offshore oil and gas projects in the Barents Sea . . .

IEA's global refining outlook

2012-12-10T15:27:00.000Z

Most of the interest so far in the International Energy Agency’s medium-term global energy outlook was in its suggestion that the United States could surpass Saudi Arabia...

Quarterman cites progress, goals

2012-11-26T21:04:00.000Z

Federal regulators and US crude oil pipeline owners and operators have made real progress in 2012, PHMSA Administrator Cynthia L. Quarterman . . .

Averting a Regulatory Blunder

2012-09-12T21:25:00.000Z

Early indications were that the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement avoided a well-intentioned mistake . . .

A closer look at NPC’s future fuels report

2012-08-29T18:09:00.000Z

At first glance, the National Petroleum Council’s future transportation fuels report may have looked like a cop-out . . .

Deficit, tax uncertainties

2012-08-20T14:51:00.000Z

Deep federal spending cuts and tax increases due to automatically kick in early next year actually may force Congress and the White House to finally begin addressing the budget deficit . . .

Lights! Camera! Advocacy!

2012-08-13T17:53:00.000Z

In retrospect, it was inevitable. Claims made in “Gasland”, Josh Fox’s anti-fracing documentary, were so dramatic and troubling . . .

Arctic resource contradictions

2012-08-06T20:20:00.000Z

Arctic offshore oil and gas resources extend beyond North America, experts reminded their audience at a July 12 forum . . .

What North Carolina did

2012-07-26T20:45:00.000Z

There was plenty of drama, intrigue, and even some comedy, on July 2 when North Carolina’s general assembly overrode a July 1 veto by Gov. Beverly Perdue . . .

Delay or not, comments are on the way

2012-07-16T15:35:00.000Z

The Interior Department announced June 22 that it would accept comments on its proposed onshore hydraulic fracturing regulations for another 60 days. Then it unofficially explained why this was not a delay . . .

Positive outcome in New Mexico, Texas

2012-07-09T16:33:00.000Z

Voluntary conservation agreements already in place in New Mexico and Texas have kept the US Fish and Wildlife Service from listing the dunes sagebrush lizard as an endangered species . . .

State regulation under fire

2012-06-25T14:46:00.000Z

Can states effectively protect drinking water supplies as more oil and gas is produced from tight shales? That's the core question . . .

Solving the 'mystery city'

2012-06-15T18:45:00.000Z

A British researcher was started as he studied a night-time satellite photo of the US when he saw what he termed a "mystery city" in western North Dakota and eastern Montana . . . .

Frac fluid disclosure disagreements

2012-05-25T20:05:00.000Z

The US Bureau of Land Management didn't have to wait long for comments about its proposed hydraulic fracturing regulations. . . .

Wigley sees 2012 opportunities

2012-05-15T15:34:00.000Z

It was Tim Wigley’s first Washington call-up as the Western Energy Alliance’s president, and he liked what he saw. . . .

The road to breakthroughs

2012-04-24T20:04:00.000Z

Occasionally, it’s good to remember that decades of research and development normally precede technological breakthroughs . . .

Forces behind gasoline prices

2012-04-20T20:04:00.000Z

Four experts reminded a congressional committee that forces driving global oil markets are still beyond federal lawmakers’ control as the US Senate . . .

Still seeking a quick fix

2012-04-10T20:04:00.000Z

The Silly Season arrived earlier than usual in Washington, undoubtedly because gasoline prices soared and many members of Congress felt their constituents’ pain more than usual . . .

The Alberta premier’s outlook

2012-03-30T15:00:00.000Z

Alberta Premier Alison Redford wasted no time delivering her message: Her government plans to more actively tell the oil sands story . . .

Seeking ideal royalty rate

2012-03-20T15:00:00.000Z

US Sen. Lisa Murkowski believed that oil and gas production on federally-managed acreage dropped, as production grew on privately-held land, because the Obama administration created such a hostile environment . . .

Daniel Yergin's travels

2012-03-07T21:45:00.000Z

Daniel Yergin had covered a lot of territory when he spoke at the US Chamber of Commerce on Feb. 16. . . .

Monitoring remote wellsite activity

2012-02-29T21:45:00.000Z

A West Virginia University research associate professor has developed a technology to remotely monitor Marcellus Shale natural gas wells . . .

NARUC fracing session insights

2012-02-17T21:45:00.000Z

There were several insights as two National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners committees held a joint meeting on hydraulic fracturing Feb. 6 at NARUC’s 2012 winter meeting here . . .

NGVs gain ground in some states

2012-02-06T21:45:14.769Z

Natural gas vehicles may not have much political appeal in Washington, but they're slowly gaining ground in some states . . .

Behind successful pipeline safety bill

2012-01-29T19:07:17.082Z

The pipeline safety reauthorization bill, which US President Barack Obama signed into law on Jan. 3, 2012, was a conspicuous exception to 2011's hyper-partisan federal legislative gridlock . . .

Ohio quakes in perspective

2012-01-23T16:37:26.835Z

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director James Zehringer ordered operations halted at a fluid injection well . . .

And now, the 2011 Watchies

2012-01-12T20:03:59.968Z

It’s time for this column’s annual awards for dubious achievements and amusing moments in government: the 2011 Watchies . . .

Challenges for local governments

2012-01-06T16:49:12.358Z

Many rural US communities facing economic pressures and high unemployment would welcome oil and gas resource development. It can also challenge local governments . . .

A coming tight oil bonanza

2011-12-22T17:32:22.366Z

The essential question at a Dec. 7 Center for Strategic and International Studies seminar was whether North America is on the verge . . .

Klaber’s take on Marcellus growth

2011-12-12T21:57:36.624Z

Kathryn Klaber quickly got to the point when she addressed the American Gas Association’s Natural Gas Roundtable luncheon on Nov. 29. The Marcellus Shale Coalition’s president and executive director . . .

EIA cites Iran potential, obstacles

2011-12-05T17:44:04.772Z

International sanctions and an unfavorable investment climate continue to limit Iran’s development of its considerable oil and gas resources . . .

Aiming at a litigation loophole

2011-11-28T22:58:36.670Z

The US House Judiciary Committee approved HR 1996, the Government Litigation Savings Act, on Nov. 17 by 19 to 14 votes. Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) said that the 1980 Equal Access to Justice Act . . .

State regulators’ resources, challenges

2011-11-21T16:11:18.822Z

Some member of Congress still want the US Environmental Protection Agency to take a bigger role in regulating surface activities connected with onshore oil and gas exploration and production . . .

Lessons from 1973 oil crisis

2011-11-14T21:55:38.531Z

Can we learn from history? Hindsight gives us an advantage over those who were involved in important policy decisions back then. But the people who were there can still offer significant perspectives . . .