On Tuesday, the California State Assembly approved Governor Gavin Newsom’s new refinery supply mandate, which now heads to the state Senate. The proposed legislation will require oil refiners to keep a minimum gas reserve on hand, and gives the California Energy Commission the power to require oil refiners to provide resupply plans to address losses
Read More...After failing to find any evidence of price gouging under a new law enacted last year, it appears California Governor Gavin Newsom has decided to pivot from price controls to new regulations for refiners. This week California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed a new law that would institute a minimum gas reserve requirement for refiners that
Read More...The state of California issued a new report that acknowledges potential margin regulations on retail gas dealers may make gas price spikes even more painful for consumers. The report, released last week by California Energy Commission (CEC) staff, assessed the feasibility of a variety of proposals to rein in gas prices under the state’s gas
Read More...A recent string of laws from the Golden State makes California Governor Gavin Newsom’s strategy on climate and energy policy crystal-clear – rack up the headlines first and sort out the policy details later. At a splashy press conference in March, six months after announcing that California needed to address high gas prices, Gov. Newsom
Read More...Everything old is new again. This week, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) came back with a revised version of his spectacularly incorrect “price gouging” theory. Speaking to E&E News about ExxonMobil’s and Chevron’s recently proposed acquisitions, Sen. Whitehouse made the bizarre claim that oil majors are looking for deals because of their “immense levels of
Read More...Calling all fact checkers. In a “Twitter Spaces” conversation on Tuesday, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) pushed blatantly false and easily debunked claims about oil and gasoline prices and a windfall profits tax in yet another attempt to undermine the American energy industry. The conversation comes a day after President Biden
Read More...Nothing is scarier on Halloween than a White House that doesn’t understand basic energy economics. Unfortunately, that’s the pattern we continue to see from President Biden who, right before passing out sugary sweets to children at the annual White House Halloween event, will use the podium to attack the U.S. oil and natural gas industry
Read More...Last week, President Biden announced further drawdowns from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). While the President claimed that the decision was “not politically motivated at all,” members of the media and current and former legislators were quick to draw connections between the move and the looming midterm elections. According to industry statements and data, the
Read More...Energy Sec. Jenifer Granholm once again met with the CEOs of major energy companies last week to discuss refinery capacity following Hurricane Ian. But in the middle of those conversations, the secretary yet again floated the idea of banning American crude oil exports – a move that would be detrimental on numerous fronts. As the
Read More...Claims that oil and natural gas producers are price gouging have been met with swift rebuttal from experts across the country, but that hasn’t stopped members of Congress from pushing this narrative. That includes what is being hailed as a “blockbuster” report this week – despite presenting no evidence to support such claims. Failing to
Read More...This week, major oil and natural gas companies will announce what is expected to be record high earnings for the second quarter, just two years after experiencing historic losses, demonstrating yet again that the industry is defined by highs and lows that require big picture strategic planning to build a sustainable energy sector. The second
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