WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) – Spain’s Repsol (REP.MC: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has
reassured the United States it will follow American
environmental requirements when it drills offshore Cuba this
year and will allow U.S. officials to inspect the drilling rig,
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Friday.

Following the BP Plc (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(BP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) oil spill last year in
the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. government is worried Cuba may be
unable to ensure the safety of its offshore drilling. The
United States does not have full formal relations with Cuba.

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) – The Obama administration told Congress on Thursday it strongly supported a Southern Corridor pipeline to bring natural gas from the Caspian region to Europe, which would reduce the role of Russian supplies.

Russia is a big provider of gas to Europe, which has been looking to diversify suppliers since Russian gas shipments to it were blocked in recent years after transit country Ukraine refused to pay higher prices for fuel from its neighbor.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A request by the Obama administration to sell $500 million in crude from the U.S. emergency oil stockpile was included in a spending bill released on Wednesday by the House Appropriations Committee, with a spring 2012 deadline to sell the crude.

The Energy Department has to inspect and possibly repair some of the underground caverns that hold the 727 million barrels of oil in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Part of the oil has to be removed from the caverns so the inspections can be carried out, according to the department.

WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) – U.S. senators, hoping to
rein in high oil and gasoline prices, slammed the U.S. futures
market regulator on Thursday for not moving to crack down on
speculators in commodity markets.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler
refused to spell out when the agency would act on a rule to
limit the number of contracts big players can hold in the
country’s commodity markets.

WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) – U.S. senators, hoping to
rein in high oil and gasoline prices, slammed the U.S. futures
market regulator on Thursday for not moving to crack down on
speculators in commodity markets.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler
refused to spell out when the agency would act on a rule to
limit the number of contracts big players can hold in the
country’s commodity markets.

WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) – U.S. senators on Thursday
will press the chief futures market regulator to impose
position limits on some commodities, especially oil, to help
rein in speculation blamed for high crude and gasoline prices.

Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, disappointed lawmakers earlier this week when he
failed to move ahead on a plan to quickly limit the number of
contracts a market participant can control.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With gasoline prices still near record highs for the Memorial Day weekend — the traditional start of the summer vacation season — every penny counts as U.S. drivers try to find the best deal at the pump.

But without knowing it, or maybe even caring, drivers are paying service stations a little extra every time they fill up. Why? The odd way U.S. gasoline is priced — to the 9/10ths of a cent — provides the oil industry with millions of dollars in extra profit each month.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. dependence on imported oil fell below 50 percent in 2010 for the first time in more than a decade, thanks in part to the weak economy and more fuel efficient vehicles, the Energy Department said on Wednesday.

The department’s Energy Information Administration said it expected the moderating trend in U.S. oil-import dependency to continue through the next decade due to improvements in energy efficiency and even higher fuel economy standards.

WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) – U.S. dependence on imported
oil fell below 50 percent in 2010 for the first time in more
than a decade, thanks in part to the weak economy and more fuel
efficient vehicles, the Energy Department said on Wednesday.

The department’s Energy Information Administration said it
expected the moderating trend in U.S. oil-import dependency to
continue through the next decade due to improvements in energy
efficiency and even higher fuel economy standards.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. citizens may be at risk from radioactive waste stored near nuclear plants as better training for federal safety inspectors and more on-site checks are needed, an internal government report showed on Friday.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s inspector general said in an audit that the NRC needs a formal, agency-wide training program to ensure its inspectors can do the best job when checking spent fuel storage sites.