WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama took withering fire from the oil industry and Republicans for agreeing to release the nation’s emergency oil supplies, a decision that senior officials said was prompted by the need to prop up the ailing economy.

Critics blasted the release of 30 million barrels of oil — half of a global injection coordinated by the International Energy Agency — as an ill-timed misuse of reserves at a time when U.S. supplies are relatively high, despite the loss of Libya’s exports for the past three months.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday that would speed up approvals for drilling in the Arctic by removing regulatory hurdles that have stymied development of the area’s vast oil and gas resources.

The Republican-controlled House voted 253 to 166 in favor of the bill, which would require the Environmental Protection Agency to approve or deny applications to drill on the outer continental shelf within six months.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives began debating legislation on Wednesday that would speed up approvals for drilling in the Arctic while removing regulatory hurdles that have stymied development of the area’s vast oil and gas resources.

The bill, which could sail through the House but faces a tougher time in the Senate, would force the Environmental Protection Agency to approve or deny applications to drill on the outer continental shelf within six months.

WASHINGTON, June 21 (Reuters) – The United States would
increase its use of corn-based ethanol next year to 13.2
billion gallons as required by Congress, but will cut its
target for advanced biofuels for the second year running, the
Environmental Protection Agency proposed on Tuesday.

The EPA proposed cutting the amount of cellulosic ethanol
that must be produced next year to between 3.45 million and
12.9 million gallons from the original goal of 500 million
gallons. The target was cut to 6 million gallons this year from
the 250 million gallons required by Congress.

WASHINGTON, June 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency is set to unveil next year’s mandate for
renewable fuels as soon as Tuesday, likely cutting back the
target for making the fuel from cellulosic sources for a second
year, industry and agency sources said.

While the 2012 target to produce 13.2 billion gallons (60
billion litres) of corn-based ethanol are unlikely to be much
altered since the industry is already exceeding the volume, the
second-generation biofuel producers have failed to thrive due
expensive enzymes needed to make the advanced fuel.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether oil companies have engaged in anticompetitive practices or manipulated crude oil prices, the government’s latest salvo to rein in high energy prices.

The commission said on Monday it was also looking into whether oil companies had provided false or misleading information to a federal agency related to the wholesale price of oil or petroleum products.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Monday extended its ban on mining on 1 million acres of federal lands near the Grand Canyon by six months, as it heads toward a possible long-term moratorium on mining in the area.

Concerns that uranium mining near the Grand Canyon could hurt water quality and tourism prompted the decision, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.

WASHINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) – U.S. regulators should
examine whether crude from Canadian oil sands corrodes
pipelines and makes them more vulnerable to accidents,
lawmakers said at a hearing on pipeline safety on Thursday.

Congressman Henry Waxman, the top Democrat on the House of
Representatives’ Energy and Commerce committee, said he was
concerned regulatory oversight was not keeping up with the fact
that U.S. pipelines were increasingly transporting diluted
bitumen.

WASHINGTON, June 15 (Reuters) – A Congressional panel
approved legislation on Wednesday aimed at speeding permitting
for a proposed $7 billion pipeline project that would transport
Canadian oil sands crude to the U.S. Gulf coast.

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee greenlighted a
bill that would force the Obama administration to make a
decision on TransCanada’s (TRP.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) planned Keystone XL
pipeline by November 1.

WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) – When the ominous black
plume began gushing from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig last
year, an army of workers was dispatched to protect the U.S.
Gulf Coast using the latest technology — vinyl-covered booms
and dispersant sprays.

And if another major spill occurs offshore the United
States anytime soon, this is the most protection a community
can expect should oil begin leaking from a ruptured well near
its shores.