WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued draft rules on Thursday that would cut emissions of health-harming gases emitted during the production of oil and natural gas.

The rules, which were expected, would lower emissions of volatile organic compounds that contribute to smog by nearly 25 percent across the oil and gas industry and by 95 percent from natural gas wells drilled using the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) – U.S. oil pipelines could be
required to be buried deeper when crossing waterways to avoid
the kind of leak that polluted the Yellowstone River this
month, under a bill approved by a congressional panel on
Wednesday.

Pipeline safety has becoming a bigger priority in Congress
after Exxon Mobil’s (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Silvertip pipeline ruptured earlier
this month and spilled an estimated 1,000 barrels of oil where
it crossed the Yellowstone River in Montana.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The great promise of a car fuel made from cheap, clean-burning prairie grass or wood chips — and not from expensive corn that feeds the world — is more mirage than reality.

Despite years of research, testing and some hype, the next-generation ethanol industry is far from the commercial success envisioned by President George W. Bush in 2006, when he pledged so-called cellulosic biofuels would be “practical and competitive” by 2012.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The State Department will issue a final environmental report next month on TransCanada Corp’s pipeline that would ship Canadian oil sands crude to Texas refineries, keeping the project on track for a final decision by the end of this year.

The $7 billion line has faced opposition from many lawmakers and environmentalists for greenhouse gas emissions associated with oil sands production, and because the line would run across the one of the world’s largest freshwater resources, the Ogallala Aquifer.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It will take several months to investigate the cause of the leak on ExxonMobil’s Silvertip oil pipeline crossing the Yellowstone River, the U.S. pipeline safety regulator told Congress on Thursday.

“We will also ensure that the Silvertip pipeline is free of safety and environmental risks before Exxon Mobil is granted permission to restart the line,” Cynthia Quarterman, head of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, told lawmakers at a House hearing looking into the leak.

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) – It will take several months
to investigate the cause of the leak on ExxonMobil’s (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
Silvertip oil pipeline crossing the Yellowstone River, the U.S.
pipeline safety regulator told Congress on Thursday.

“We will also ensure that the Silvertip pipeline is free of
safety and environmental risks before Exxon Mobil is granted
permission to restart the line,” Cynthia Quarterman, head of
the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration,
told lawmakers at a House hearing looking into the leak.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Demand from emerging economies will continue to support oil prices despite developed countries using less oil and the recent release of emergency oil supplies, the U.S. energy forecasting agency said on Tuesday.

The coordinated release last month of some 60 million barrels of emergency oil will mean industrialized nations won’t have to dip as deep into their commercial oil stocks for the rest of this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its short-term outlook.

WASHINGTON, July 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of
Energy on Monday said it hoped to begin delivering crude from
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to some companies as early as
this month as it issued the final contracts for firms
purchasing oil from the emergency stockpile.

The full 30.6 million barrels of oil initially awarded was
sold, the department said, with the largest amounts going to
Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Vitol Inc, ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz),
Plains Marketing, Hess Corp (HES.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Marathon (MRO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. environmental regulators finalized a rule on Thursday to slash air pollution from coal-fired power plants in 27 states east of the Rocky Mountains that result in unhealthy levels of smog and soot.

The Environmental Protection Agency measure, known as the Cross State Air Pollution Rule, will add costs for some power generators, but should cut health care bills for Americans.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. environmental regulators finalized a rule on Thursday to slash air pollution from coal-fired power plants in 28 states east of the Rocky Mountains.

The Environmental Protection Agency measure, known as the Cross State Air Pollution Rule, will add costs for some coal-fired power plants, but should cut healthcare bills for Americans as polluting emissions that flow across state lines are cut dramatically.