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Some 1.2 billion barrels of oil have been discovered in Alaska, marking the biggest onshore discovery in the U.S. in three decades. The massive find of conventional oil on state land could bring relief to budget pains in Alaska brought on by slumping production in the state and the crash in oil prices. The new discovery was made in just the past few days in Alaska’s North Slope, which was previously viewed as an aging oil basin. Spanish oil giant Repsol and its privately-held U.S. partner Armstrong Energy announced the find on Thursday, predicting production could begin as soon as...

HOLY CRAP– Saudi student Abdul Rahman Ali Issa Al-Salimi Al-Harbi was injured in the Boston Marathon Bombings. He was once a “person of interest” in the bombings. He was put on a terror watch list after the bombings. Michelle Obama visited al-Harbi in the hospital last week. He posted pictures on his Facebook page: Then there’s this… Abdul Rahman Al-Harbi has visited the White House several times since 2009.

"So do not tell me that we're not drilling. We're drilling all over this country. There are a few spots we're not drilling. We're not drilling in the national mall. We're not drilling at your house. "

That was the 14th of July, 2008 when President George W. Bush wisely lifted the moratorium on oil drilling, thus sparking the precipitous drop in the price of gasoline from an average high of $4.12 per gallon to a cellar dwelling low of $1.60 by November of that year. Despite President Obama's promise of a newer, comprehensive energy plan, he has planned to do everything but open up drilling on the East Coast, West Coast, Gulf, and the Arctic. When President Obama bragged on "More energy production under his administration than the last ten years," recently, he also failed to...

JANUARY 26, 2012 Newt Beats Mitt on Energy Gingrich has revolutionary ideas, while Mitt enlists Bush-era bureaucrats. By Robert Zubrin In the race for the Republican nomination, instead of focusing on where the front-runners differ on policy, most of the commentary has focused on their contrasting personalities, putative past malfeasances, campaign gaffes, debate performances, and other atmospherics. This is unfortunate, because in the critical area of energy policy, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney are as different as night and day. Newt Gingrich has been advancing the cause of American energy independence for years. In 2008, for example, he published a...

The good news is that rising gasoline prices might be stalled by a cooled-down crude oil market. The bad news is that the cool-down is being prompted by deep economic concerns at home and abroad. Last week, the average retail price of gasoline in Sacramento rose another 3.4 cents a gallon to $4.15, according to Monday's weekly report by SactoGasPrices.com, a GasBuddy.com website. Nationally, the average price increased 3.7 cents per gallon to $3.80. Prices in Sacramento are $1.11 higher than they were a year ago, and they've climbed 23.7 cents in the past month alone. The national average has...

New Orleans (AP) -- A federal appeals court has blocked a judge's order requiring regulators to act on several drilling permit applications. The federal government filed court documents earlier this month saying it may have to deny the applications if regulators must make a decision within 30 days as ordered.

[. . . ] "The administration has at least 40 exploration plans and 40 development plans that have not been acted upon," Milito adds. . . . "In addition, this may be the first year since 1964 where we will not have a lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico," Milito continues. "A recently announced supplemental environmental-impact report for the Gulf may not be ready until 2012. Holding these lease sales is critical to our economic and energy security because they provide the opportunity for long-term investments in American jobs and energy sources." Short-term delays can cause long-term stasis. A...

The uncertain situation in the Middle East could send world oil prices to $200 or $300 a barrel even as the Obama Administration fails to promote domestic energy development, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) warned today. Gov. Perry spoke to bloggers at a briefing in Washington, D.C., this morning. (Present were Rob Bluey of the Heritage Foundation, Jen Rubin of The Washington Post, and your Shopfloor.org correspondent.) The governor, who is chairman of the Republican Governors Association, is in town for the winter meeting of the National Governors Association. In light of oil crossing the $100 a barrel price this week,...

With oil prices rising sharply on the back of the crisis in Libya, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned crude prices hitting $100 a barrel could be bad news for economic growth. "That is our concern, regardless of the margins of disruption, if the $100 per barrel of oil is continued in 2011, the burden of oil to the global economy is as bad as 2008," Nobuo Tanaka, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency told CNBC on the sidelines of a major oil conference in Riyadh. Nubuo's comments come amid escalating violence and protests in...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Drivers who have filled up their car lately have probably experienced sticker shock at the pump. Gas prices keep going up. "It's just getting higher and higher," said Nashville driver Robert Reynolds. "It's getting outrageous." "It's ridiculous we have to pay this much for gas," said Tracy Nolan, another driver. People pulling up to the pump this week are likely to be paying 4 cents more for gas compared to last week. The average price for a gallon of unleaded in Nashville is $3.04 cents. Economists are predicting a surge in gas prices because of instability in...

Dear Friend: This week I introduced the West Coast Ocean Protection Act, a bill to permanently prohibit new offshore drilling along the Pacific coast

OPEC ministers said on Friday that they saw no need to supply the world with more crude as oil prices approached a two-year high....frpa

NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal uses a new book to portray President Barack Obama as disconnected from the Gulf oil spill, charging that he was more focused on the political aftermath than the actual impact of the crisis.

This week oil climbed to $87 a barrel, its highest level since October 2008 and prompted concerns that triple-digit crude was once again in the offing. This was after a period of eight months when oil traded between $70 and $80, a narrow band that pleased oil producers without hurting consumers too much. The latest surge seems to have been prompted by rising confidence in a global economic recovery, even if most traders and bankers are still cautious about supply and demand fundamentals. Worries about the Greek economy have pegged prices back over the last couple of days but the...

Energy: As the administration loosens restrictions on domestic energy development and offshore drilling, a reviled company develops technology to unlock America's vast shale resources. Drill, baby, drill. We have been among President Obama's harshest critics when it comes to the administration's overly restrictive energy policy, so we were pleasantly surprised to see him announce on Wednesday some light at the end of the pipeline. Some light, for many restrictions will remain in an energy policy best termed schizophrenic. Speaking at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., Obama announced the welcome news that his administration will let lease sales go...

Ecology: The administration creates the mother of all protected habitats for a species whose numbers have increased since Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." It's our hopes for energy independence that are drowning. When filmmaker Phelim McAleer, whose documentary "Not Evil Just Wrong" takes apart the myths of global warming, got to ask Gore a question at the annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists, McAleer brought up the nine critical errors in Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth." A British court two years ago listed them and said they must be righted before the film could be shown in schools...

Energy The administration asked for public comments on a plan to expand offshore drilling. When they came in 2-to-1 in favor, the Interior Department sat on the news. Time for a "Texas tea" party? When you ask for public comment on a major policy issue, at some point you should make the results public, not hide them until you can figure out a way to spin the public reaction to support a conclusion you've already drawn. On its last business day in office, the Bush administration published a proposed draft of a five-year plan to lease areas in the Atlantic...

Energy: We balk at importing "dirty" oil from Canada, but others aren't so reluctant. Exempt as a "developing" nation from Kyoto-like agreements, China has decided to help Canada develop its energy-rich oil sands.The Financial Post reports that PetroChina International Investment Co. has struck a deal to buy a 60% interest in Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.'s McKay River and Dover projects for $1.9 billion. China has been establishing energy beachheads around the world in its quest to keep its growing economy fueled. With possible conflict brewing between Israel and Iran, Beijing recognizes the need for reliable suppliers like Canada in an...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-blue-ribbon-commission-americas-nuclear-future Home • Briefing Room • Presidential Actions • Presidential Memoranda The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release January 29, 2010 Presidential Memorandum -- Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY SUBJECT: Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future Expanding our Nation's capacity to generate clean nuclear energy is crucial to our ability to combat climate change, enhance energy security, and increase economic prosperity. My Administration is undertaking substantial steps to expand the safe, secure, and responsible use of nuclear energy. These efforts...