In what may be a last-ditch effort to salvage the Keystone XL pipeline from President Obama’s anticipated rejection, TransCanada Corp. has made an unprecedented request, asking the U.S. government to suspend consideration of its bid to build an $8 billion pipeline to funnel Alberta oil sands crude across the United States to Gulf Coast refineries.
Car enthusiasts rejoice!
Ever since oil prices, and with them gasoline prices, began plummeting last fall, the trend has been portrayed in varying forms as a “gift” or an “early holiday present” or a “tax rebate” for consumers, who are expected to give thanks for this free stuff.
The new total is the lowest since Apr. 26, 2002. Since Aug. 21, the count has fallen 110 units after a short-lived summer rebound. Compared with this week a year ago, the count has lost 1,154 units.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said $100 million in grants was awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) will run a “multifaceted advocacy campaign” against the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for the next month ahead of a deadline for the Obama administration to finalize three years of standards under the mandate.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc made its second major strategic change in two months, announcing it will take a $2 billion charge to exit an oil-sands project in Alberta.
Toyota threw in its lot with the alternative vehicle crowd when it predicted that gasoline and diesel engines will be virtually extinct by 2050. Kiyotaka Ise, senior managing officer of the world’s best-selling automaker, said that gas-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel-cell vehicles and electric cars will account for most of its auto sales by mid-century.
U.S. imports of foreign oil are rising again after a long decline, as the oil bust forces domestic producers to scale back.
Output from the Marcellus basin in Pennsylvania and West Virginia is faltering as pipeline capacity fails to keep up with the surge in production. While space on Appalachian pipelines has more than doubled this year, it hasn’t been enough to keep the flow moving freely.
