Canceling, delaying, banning domestic offshore exploration will increase tanker traffic, foreign imports IER President: “Canceling lease sales is purely a public relations move designed to show that the White House is doing ‘something’ to address the tragic accident in the Gulf. But the truth is, if these lease sales move forward, exploration in those areas would [...]

Recently, the Department of Interior finalized changes to its onshore oil and gas leasing program. These changes are designed to slow down leasing on federal lands. Clearly, these changes ignore federal law and create a new extra-legal barrier to issuing new permits for energy development. This is not called for by federal law and it [...]

The tragic Deepwater Horizon accident and the ensuing oil spill that has become the new rallying cry for opponents of increased domestic energy production, will undoubtedly change the debate in Washington. But should it? From what we can tell, this was an accident. While the finger pointing began before the families of the missing could [...]

China’s economy is growing with dizzying speed, and the government is fueling the growth with plentiful energy. In fact, China’s electrification program and its ability to secure future oil supplies are second to none. By contrast, the U.S. economy is growing more slowly and its energy strategy is limiting that growth. The United States has [...]

The Manteo Prospect off the shore of North Carolina is an exploration target estimated to contain as much as five trillion cubic feet of natural gas (TCF), [1] potentially the largest domestic find of conventional natural gas since Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay in 1968.[2] For comparison sake, Independence Hub in the Gulf of Mexico can access [...]

Photo: Eric Feferberg, AFP/Getty Images Washington, DC – Earlier this morning, President Obama delivered remarks at Andrews Air Force Base on offshore energy exploration and production, and what a scene it was. While many newspapers and cable news pundits cheered the announcement as a positive development, we at the Institute for Energy Research caution lawmakers, [...]

Washington, DC – On Wednesday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) administrator Jane Lubchenco will testify before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and State – on hand to defend her agency’s $5.55 billion budget request, which represents a 15 percent increase over current funding levels. While some of that money will certainly go [...]

The Obama Administration today released its proposed FY 2011 budget. Not surprisingly, it contained $36.5 billion in new taxes over ten years on the oil and gas industries, while heaping new billions in taxpayer support for politically-favored energies. Such policies are never a good idea, but they are particularly destructive in the midst of a [...]

IER calls on the administration to unlock taxpayer-owned energy resources IER President: “Americans need jobs and America needs fuel to drive economic growth and prosperity. Increasing domestic energy production is a common sense solution embraced by a clear majority of Americans” Washington, DC – Today, one in 10 Americans are out of work. However, the Obama [...]

In 2009, China surpassed Germany as the world’s biggest exporter, adding to the list of economic areas where it ranks number one. According to China’s customs agency, the country’s 2009 exports totaled more than $1.2 trillion. Germany’s foreign trade organization estimated that that country’s exports were $1.17 trillion for 2009. This is yet another sign [...]