Energy & Fuel

Despite early headlines, an EPA study on the impact of fracking on drinking water offered both sides ammunition.

"The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is highly unlikely to agree to curbs on its members’ oil output at its meeting here on Friday, even though oil prices are about 40 percent lower than a year ago, OPEC officials and analysts say."

"Two Florida members of the House of Representatives are joining one of the state’s senators to keep oil drilling far off shore, seeking to stave off efforts to bring the rigs closer to land."

"A landmark Environmental Protection Agency report on the impact of hydraulic fracturing has found no evidence that the contentious technique of oil and gas extraction has had a widespread effect on the nation’s water supply, the agency said Thursday."

"The nomination of Marie Therese Dominguez, President Obama's pick to lead the federal agency that oversees pipelines, was greeted with surprise and uncertainty by pipeline safety experts." "If confirmed, Dominguez would take over an underfunded, understaffed and beleaguered agency that has faced criticism of cozy ties with industry."

"The head of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) said his union will sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over two rules designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions at power plants once the Obama administration finalizes them."

"A global carbon emissions pricing system pushed by top energy companies is unlikely to be a big part of any United Nations' deal to curb global warming, some experts say, because many countries have little faith in such cross-border initiatives."

"An oil pipeline that ruptured and spilled an estimated 383,000 litres (101,000 gallons) of crude near Santa Barbara in May had been allowed to corrode to a tiny fraction of its original thickness, federal regulators have said."

"Presumed presidential candidate Jeb Bush spoke Monday afternoon to coal industry CEOs at a closed door conference in Bristol, Virginia, drawing preemptive expressions of concern from environmental activists."