U.S. Now Exporting Oil To A Record Number Of Countries

On Friday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration made it official – the U.S. energy industry has broken yet another record. As Axios reports, the U.S. is “now exporting crude oil to a record number of 31 countries.” “U.S. oil exports are going all over the world, ranging from oil-rich United Arab Emirates to Australia, reaching 2.9 million barrels a day.” In 2015, Congress lifted a 40-year-old ban on oil exports, paving the way for this record-breaking accomplishment. In the years since, the U.S. oil industry has seen an unprecedented boom, thanks to technological developments in fracking, the efforts of American…

WSJ: Solar and Wind Need A “Reality Check”

Eco-activists like to say that solar and wind can power America on their own. They propose energy mandates saying you must use energy sources like these, and that states must cease using proven energy sources like oil and natural gas. They propose dangerous policies like the “Green New Deal” that would force a similar transition on the federal level. But is the rhetoric of the eco-left divorced from reality? The data says unequivocally “yes.” Robert Bryce, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, explains in the Wall Street Journal that “despite years of federal subsidies, wind and solar are being trounced by…

Alaska’s Workers Deserve A Voice

Alaska’s North Slope has been in “Renaissance mode” recently, with continued developmental breakthroughs from the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk legacy fields, to new fields coming online through the majors and smaller companies like ENI and Oil Search. While total production still hovers around 465,000 barrels per day from the Slope, the projects noted previously should push that number over 500,000 barrels soon. An article in the Fairbanks Daily News Miner this morning highlighted the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management’s upcoming comment period (through July 22) pertaining to which lands should be available for oil leasing in the National…

Local New Mexico Banking Grows From Energy Boom

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the energy jobs boom in southeastern New Mexico is overflowing into all areas of the economy, including the banking sector. The Journal reports that the flood of high-paying jobs is changing the local economy for the better. From the article: The oil boom in Lea and Eddy counties has propelled Carlsbad banker Jason Wyatt into another universe of challenges. “Although these are big problems, one can say they are good problems to have,” said Wyatt, president of Western Commerce Bank. “I would rather be on this end than in a decreasing economy where jobs are…

‘Booming’ Oil Industry Leads to Infrastructure Upgrade in New Mexico

The Associated Press reported that New Mexico’s “booming” Permian Basin is getting a $5 million upgrade because of the increased demand from the local oil industry. From the article: “The improvements call for doubling the expansion of the holding area for flight patrons and renovating the apron area on the airside of the terminal. They also including upgrading a runway safety area and extending the primary runway. Officials say increased ridership is spurring the recommended improvements.” This airport upgrade shows the unintended benefits — and consequences— of tampering with energy jobs. When the industry is allowed to grow without unnecessary regulations, there are…