oil and gas Archives - The Virginia Star

Investment Giants Leveraged Texas Universities’ Endowment Funds to Back Anti-Oil Agenda, Report Finds

September 27, 2024 Daily Caller News Foundation

Several asset managers leveraged two major Texas university systems’ endowment funds to advance anti-fossil fuel shareholder proposals in 2022 and 2023, according to a report from the conservative watchdog group American Accountability Foundation (AAF).

BlackRock-owned Aperio Group, Cantillon, former Vice President Al Gore-chaired Generation Investment Management, GQG Partners and JP Morgan Asset Management collectively manage approximately $4 billion for The University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) as of July, which handles the university systems’ endowments.

Federal Government Could Slash Oil Lease Opportunities in a Top Producing State

September 12, 2024 The Center Square

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s updated Resource Management Plan for North Dakota could cost the state $34 million a year for the next 30 years, North Dakota officials said in a protest filed with the agency.

The plan announced in August bans oil and gas leased on 4 million acres, which is about 99% of federal lands in the state, according to Gov. Doug Burgum. Forty-four percent of federally-owned fluid mineral acreage would also not be available for leasing.

U.S. and World Leaders Express ‘Serious Concerns’ About Venezuelan Election Results as Both Sides Declare Victory

July 29, 2024 ADN America

Both Venezuela’s opposition coalition and communist dictator Nicolás Maduro declared victory in Sunday’s presidential election, setting the stage for a potential showdown in the South American country, according to widespread news reports.

Taxpayers May Get Stuck with Cost of Removing an Offshore Wind Farm After Biden Admin Waives Fees

January 29, 2024 Just the News

The Biden administration reportedly waived fees for an offshore wind project that are in place to ensure that the infrastructure is removed and the site reclaimed at the end of the project’s life.

President Joe Biden, as part of his climate agenda, is pushing an aggressive buildout of offshore wind projects along the East Coast. With the offshore wind industry struggling financially, the waiving of these fees raises concerns about what would happen if these companies go bankrupt and leave behind wind farms they can’t afford to remove.

Stigma of ‘Dirty Fossil Fuels’ Drives Young People Away from Lucrative Careers in Oil and Gas Work

January 23, 2024 Just the News

Petroleum engineering is the highest paying bachelor’s degree in the United States, according to a report by Payscale, but despite an average annual salary of $97,500, oil companies struggle to fill positions.

The industry faces a number of challenges. Employees often face cyclical layoffs whenever commodity prices collapse, and that makes the jobs appear unstable. Young people today are also concerned about working in an industry they’re taught is destroying the planet.

After Fifth Circuit Ruling, Gulf Lease Sales Scheduled for December 20

November 21, 2023 The Center Square

After the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ order last week, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that it scheduled Lease Sale 261 in the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico for December 20.

In September, a federal judge ruled the Biden administration must go through with offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico by September 27 as originally planned and under original conditions. The Fifth Circuit concurred but amended the ruling, pushing back the lease sale date to November 8.

America’s Largest Oil Company Pays Nearly $60 Billion for Pioneer Natural Resources

October 15, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

ExxonMobil announced Wednesday that it has acquired Pioneer Natural Resources in a major deal in the oil and gas industry.

America’s largest oil company is merging with Pioneer, which controls a strong portfolio of assets in the oil- and gas-rich Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, in an all-stock transaction valued at about $59.5 billion, Exxon announced. The deal could draw antitrust scrutiny from the Biden administration, which has already demonstrated its distaste for long-term fossil fuel development, according to Axios.

Biden Admin Releases Most Restrictive Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling Plan in U.S. History

September 30, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration on Friday unveiled the most restrictive offshore oil and gas five-year leasing program in history.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the plan, which allows for three offshore oil and gas lease sales through 2029, with sales in 2025, 2027 and 2029. That schedule represents the lowest number of sales that the administration could have pursued while maintaining its ability to push offshore wind development under provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and it is the “smallest number of oil and gas lease sales in history,” according to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

Biden Admin Shuts Down Future Oil and Gas Activity on Thousands of Acres

September 20, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration announced Monday that it has moved to shut down future oil, gas and mining activity on thousands of acres of New Mexico land for the next 50 years.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a sub-agency of the Department of the Interior (DOI), issued the Monday proposal to block new oil, gas and mineral extraction activity on 4,000 acres of land in Sandoval County, New Mexico, according to a DOI press release. The proposal is motivated by the agency’s desire to safeguard tribal cultures and recreational activity in the area, and the policy would last for 50 years if finalized.

Biden Admin Proposes New Rule to Jack Up Prices for Oil and Gas Leases

July 24, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

The Biden administration unveiled a new oil and gas leasing rule proposal Thursday that would jack up prices at nearly every stage of the public land leasing process.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a subagency of the Department of the Interior (DOI), issued the rule proposal Thursday in an effort to adopt a “more transparent, inclusive and just approach” to federal oil and gas leasing on public lands and “[provide] a fair return to taxpayers,” Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Laura Daniel-Davis said, according to a Thursday DOI press release. The rule nominally aims to boost land conservation efforts, but it would do so by massively increasing minimum bid thresholds and required per-acre fees for energy interests and developers to pay.

Biden Approves ConocoPhillips Oil Project Over Green Group Objections

March 13, 2023March 15, 2023 Admin

The Biden administration formally approved Willow, an $8 billion oil drilling project located in Alaska, Monday morning over the objection of climate activists who lobbied heavily against it.

The massive project, operated by American energy firm ConocoPhillips, is projected to produce roughly 600 million barrels of oil over a 30-year lifespan, The New York Times reported. In a bid to placate environmentalists, the administration had considered limiting the project to just two drill sites, down from the five that ConocoPhillips initially proposed, but the company and Alaskan lawmakers warned that the project would need at least three to be economically viable, according to CNN.

Wyoming Governor Sues Biden Administration over Oil and Gas Contract Cancellations

December 4, 2022December 3, 2022 The Center Square

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon is again taking the Department of Interior to court. The governor has filed a second federal lawsuit against the department relating to a Bureau of Land Management decision to pause oil and gas lease sales. In a statement, the governor called the litigation timely and vital to the interests of people living in his state.

“Wyoming’s energy resources can help power the nation and bring down costs at the pump,” said the governor. “BLM’s decision to cancel lease sales sure seems to be a violation of both the letter and the spirit of the law, (and) I firmly believe the pause in lease sales was politically driven and not based in law or fact.”

Commentary: Expensive Energy Is a Core Feature, Not a Bug, of Biden’s Climate Agenda

October 18, 2022October 17, 2022 Virginia Star Staff

“Every government intervention creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions,” observed the great Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises. He was being generous by describing interventionism’s nasty side-effects as “unintended.” Some younger interventionists are naïve, and know not what they do, but the older, street-smart captains of progressive politics understand the harms their policies entail. For them, the adverse consequences are features, not bugs. The only downside is the risk of political retribution at the polls.

That’s the predicament in which the Biden administration now finds itself. It is also the theme of “Energy Inflation Was by Design,” a new report by supply-chain consultant Joseph Toomey.

Judge Issues Permanent Injunction on Biden Ban on New Oil and Gas Leasing on Federal Lands, Waters

August 30, 2022August 29, 2022 The Center Square

A federal judge sided with Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and 12 other plaintiff states in a Louisiana-led lawsuit, issuing a permanent injunction against the Biden administration’s moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and water.

U.S. District Court Judge Terry Doughty issued the permanent injunction, declaring that the president exceeded his authority when halting oil and gas leasing and drilling permits.

Commentary: Biden Has Conveniently Forgotten His Role in Explosive Gas Prices

July 19, 2022July 18, 2022 Admin

President Joe Biden’s attempts to reduce the cause of high gas prices to the war in Ukraine initially, and corporate greed more recently, are disingenuous.

On day one this president clearly stated his opposition to oil and gas production and development. The president’s words and even more so his actions, have serious impacts on the costs of commodities, including oil.

Average U.S. Gas Price Surges to $4.85 a Gallon

June 6, 2022June 5, 2022 The Center Square

In what has become a seemingly every day occurrence, gas prices rose to a new record high Sunday as the national average approaches $5 a gallon.

Nine states already have surpassed the $5 threshold, and several others are just pennies away.

According to AAA, the average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline reached $4.85 Sunday, up an additional three cents from Saturday and 24 cents from last week.

Majority of Americans Say They Are ‘Falling Behind’ Rising Cost of Living

May 18, 2022May 17, 2022 The Center Square

The majority of Americans feel they cannot keep up with the cost of living as inflation and the price of goods continue to rise, according to new polling data.

A poll from NBC News asked Americans, “Do you think that your family’s income is … going up faster than the cost of living, staying about even with the cost of living, or falling behind the cost of living?”

Feds Cancel Second Quarter Oil and Gas Lease Sales

April 23, 2021April 22, 2021 The Center Square

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said Wednesday the agency is canceling oil and gas lease sales for the second quarter, drawing criticism from Wyoming’s governor.

The announcement marks the second quarter in a row that the agency, which manages energy development, recreation, grazing and conservation on 245 million federal acres, halted lease sales after President Joe Biden signed an executive order in January that included a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands.

13 States Sue Biden Administration over Federal Oil and Gas Leasing Ban

March 28, 2021March 27, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

A coalition of 13 states sued President Joe Biden’s administration Wednesday over its January ban of new oil and gas leasing on federal lands.

The 13-state coalition argued that President Joe Biden’s Jan. 27 executive order banning new oil and gas leases on federal lands was unlawful, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced the lawsuit alongside state lawmakers and energy officials.

“By executive fiat, Joe Biden and his administration have single-handedly driven the price of energy up — costing the American people where it hurts most, in their pocketbooks,” Landry said during a press conference Wednesday. “Biden’s Executive Orders abandon middle-class jobs at a time when America needs them most and put our energy security in the hands of foreign countries, many of whom despise America’s greatness.”