OVERNIGHT ENERGY: BP spill, drilling risks take center stage

Bromwich testified on the same subject in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last month. He said the Interior Department and U.S. Coast Guard plan to inspect a Repsol oil rig that will be used to drill in Cuba in the coming months.

Obama administration officials are closely watching efforts by Cuba, the Bahamas and other countries to develop their offshore drilling industries, fearing an oil spill that could affect the United States.

{mosads}Later Wednesday, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) will hold the second hearing on a joint Interior Department-U.S. Coast Guard report that blamed BP and its contractors for the oil spill.

Democrats on the panel requested the second day of hearings after Hastings held a hearing last month on the report that included Obama administration officials and executives at BP, Transocean and Halliburton.

Hastings, at the urging of ranking member Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) invited the CEOs of BP, Halliburton, Transocean and Cameron to testify. All of the executives declined the invitation. (Read more about that here.)

A Hastings spokesman told The Hill that the hearing will continue on without the witnesses.

NEWS BITES

EPA official: ‘Our rules will not cause the lights to go out’

Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe parried Republican claims that upcoming power plant air toxics regulations will harm the economy and threaten electric reliability.

“Our rules will not cause the lights to go out,” Perciasepe said during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on EPA’s utility MACT (maximum availability control technology) rules, which would require coal-fired power plants to reduce mercury and other toxics released into the atmosphere.

Perciasepe also said the regulations will result in a “modest” number of coal plant retirements and will actually yield a net gain of 9,000 jobs.

His comments are contrary to claims by industry and Republican groups that the regulations will weaken the economy, put thousands of people out of work and close down many power plants.

Perciasepe said industry-backed studies making dire predictions about the regulations are “flawed.”

Huntsman calls energy ‘driving force’ in WH agenda

GOP White House hopeful Jon Huntsman vowed an expansion of drilling and pledged his support for the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in a speech on Tuesday that tied energy policy to the nation’s broader economic health.

Huntsman’s University of New Hampshire speech comes as he’s lagging badly in the polls and seeking to energize his campaign in a state where he has staked his future on performing well.

“Energy security can no longer be a catchphrase; it will be a driving force behind my administration’s agenda,” he said, according to prepared remarks. “Because this is an issue critical to solving two of America’s most urgent challenges: putting people back to work, and ending our heroin-like addiction to foreign oil.”

The speech by the former Utah governor calls for wider domestic oil-and-gas development and faster permitting.

“Yes, there is a balancing act between utilizing our resources and maintaining the integrity of our oceans and forests. But there is no reason drilling cannot be safely conducted in the Gulf, across the states and in Alaska,” Huntsman states.

The speech also backed natural-gas development through hydraulic fracturing and the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to bring crude from Canadian oil sands projects to Gulf Coast refineries.

However, it also warned that “we cannot simply drill our way to energy security” and calls for an end to gasoline and diesel’s “monopoly” as a transportation fuel.

The wide-ranging speech also backs removal of regulatory barriers that Huntsman claims are slowing nuclear energy, including development of small modular nuclear reactors.

The speech backs Energy Department research into green technologies but warns “we must not confuse pure research with politically-driven industrial policy such as we saw with Solyndra,” a reference to the Energy Department-backed solar company that went bankrupt in October.

“We must have a level playing field, with the federal government setting fair rules, but investing only in basic research,” Huntsman states.

Elsewhere, Huntsman says he’s no fan of energy subsidies — and says he won’t wait on Congress to start killing them off.

“I will systemically begin to eliminate every subsidy for energy companies, whether it be oil, natural gas, wind or solar. Under my presidency, the United States will get out of the subsidy business. And if necessary, I will use my executive authority to act unilaterally,” he said.

Interior fills key offshore regulatory slot

The Interior Department announced that Doug Morris will serve as chief of offshore regulatory programs for its Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

“As Chief of Offshore Regulatory Programs, Morris will be responsible for a broad range of programs — developing and maintaining technical and operational standards, developing new regulations, enhancing the agency’s inspections and enforcement programs, leading efforts to enhance operational safety, and supervising the agency’s National Offshore Learning and Training Center,” the announcement states.

Morris comes to BSEE from the federal Energy Information Administration, where he ran the Oil and Gas Supply & Financial Statistics Team, according to BSEE. Before that he worked for the American Petroleum Institute and was a petroleum engineer with the now-defunct Minerals Management Service, the agency that preceded Interior’s current offshore drilling oversight structure.

BSEE Director Michael Bromwich said Morris brings the right kind of history to the agency.

“Because of his vast and diverse experience, both within the federal government and in private industry, Doug Morris brings to the agency a blend of personal qualities and professional qualifications that will help us achieve our goals,” he said in a statement.

ON TAP WEDNESDAY

Energy Department financing under the microscope

A House Oversight and Government Reform Committee panel will review federal green energy spending at a hearing that will include the Energy Department inspector general.

The hearing is the latest assault by Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on federal renewable energy financing and green jobs efforts.

Republicans are increasingly attacking federal green energy programs in the wake of the solar energy company Solyndra’s collapse despite receiving a $535 million Energy Department loan guarantee.

House panel to review fuel standards

A House Science, Space and Technology Committee panel will hear from oil and refining industry groups and a top EPA official at a hearing on “conflicts and unintended consequences of motor fuel standards.” More here.

Dems, greens to press supercommittee on oil taxes

A slew of House and Senate Democrats will join environmentalists at a press conference urging the congressional supercommittee to nix oil industry tax breaks as part of its work to curb the deficit.

Murkowski, federal officials headline ‘rare earth’ conference

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), federal officials and industry experts will gather for a Washington, D.C., conference on rare-earth elements that are vital to a number of green technology applications.

{mossecondads}China’s dominance in rare-earth production is creating concerns about lack of domestic supply. The forum — titled Rare Earths, Critical Metals, Energy and National Security — is hosted by the National Center for Policy Analysis.

GreenGov symposium to wrap up   

Wednesday brings the final day of the big GreenGov 2011 conference convened by the White House Council on Environmental Quality. More info here.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…

Here’s a quick roundup of Tuesday’s E2 stories:

– State Department denies conflict of interest in Keystone pipeline review
– Wyden: Keystone decision is a ‘presidential call’
– CEOs of Gulf oil spill companies decline to testify before House committee
– GOP candidates split on energy tax breaks at Iowa forum
– Obama designates his first national monument
– Report: Security guards think they can use deadly force to protect oil reserves
– Hoyer wins vows from 182 Democrats to oppose policy riders in spending bills
– Second green flop stokes controversy

Please send tips and comments to Ben Geman, ben.geman@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com, and Andrew Restuccia, arestuccia@digital-release.digital-release.thehill.com.


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