Our weekly update to unravel the industry and political spin around the energy debate
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
FUNNY NUMBERS FROM WESTERN ENERGY ALLIANCE
The Western Energy Alliance chose to ignore market forces in its analysis of public lands leasing data. According to the EIA, the wellhead price of natural gas has been fluctuating wildly. Maybe that’s why there are tens of million of acres leased in the West to oil and gas companies that have not yet been developed.
The industry trade group pointed to low leasing numbers in states such as Colorado. However, they neglected to mention that the Colorado BLM is set to auction 54 parcels covering more than 41,700 acres this November. And in FY2010, for every three drilling permits issued for public lands in Colorado, industry started only one new drilling well. The only thing dictating drilling rates in the West is supply and demand.
A COZY RELATIONSHIP WITH KEYSTONE
New information revealed that lobbyists for TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline acted inappropriately while trying to gain support for the project. Recent reports show that a chief lobbyist for TransCanada tried to influence American energy policy without filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The reports also show a “cozy” relationship between Hillary Clinton’s State Department and TransCanada, as well as direct contact between the unregistered lobbyists and several members of congress.
MONEY TRUMPS CITIZENS IN PIPELINE DEBATE
TckTckTck and TarSandsAction released an info-graphic illustrating the disproportionately large amount of opposition to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline compared to the support for it. The graphic shows that there are literally seven major supporters for the pipeline. Compare that to the hundreds of thousands of individuals, elected officials, spiritual leaders and non-governmental organizations who are on the record opposing the plan.
DID YOU KNOW?
LOOKING AT BIG OIL’S BOOKS
The Center for American Progress (CAP) took a closer look at the top five oil-and-gas companies’ financial shape. Here are a few highlights from what they discovered:
- BP and Shell, the two largest foreign oil companies that operate in the United States, had combined cash reserves of nearly $32 billion at the end of last year (the latest data available). Added together, these five companies are sitting on cash resources of $59 billion, which is 30 times more than the estimated $2 billion in annual tax breaks that these companies receive.
- [Big Oil] companies made more than $900 billion in profit from 2001 to 2010.
- ExxonMobil had a lower effective tax rate than the typical middle-class family.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
- Tuesday, October 4th, 10am: SENR To receive testimony on the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board’s Shale Gas Production Subcommittee’s 90-day report.
CONTACT
Twitter: @CandBP | Email: [email protected]
Recent Comments