Natural Gas Provides Solutions to High Gasoline Prices (Inhofe Op-Ed, Human Events)
Inhofe Welcomes US-Poland Missile Defense Agreement
SENATOR INHOFE ANNOUNCES OKLAHOMAS PICTURING AMERICA AWARD RECIPIENTS
T. Boone Pickens Comes Home to Oklahoma to Talk About Energy Plan
Oklahoman Says Inhofe-Boren Bill "Makes Good Sense"
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Natural Gas Provides Solutions to High Gasoline Prices (Inhofe Op-Ed, Human Events)
Human Events
Natural Gas Provides Solutions to High Gasoline Prices
By Senator Jim Inhofe
August 12, 2008
Fellow Oklahoma native T. Boone Pickens is back in the news and hitting the airwaves with an energy idea that I believe is pure common sense.
Pickens believes, like I do, that as Americans continue to suffer from high gas prices, we need to take advantage of our abundant, domestic supply of natural gas for use as a transportation fuel. The promise of natural gas as a mainstream transportation fuel is achievable today -- not 15 or 20 years from now. From Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered cars, to semi-trucks running on liquefied natural gas (LNG), no other commercially viable fuel burns cleaner.
America has massive reserves of natural gas. The latest report (Sept. 2007) from the Potential Gas Committee at the Colorado School of Mines identifies 82 years of natural gas supply at current rates of production. Canada's reserves hold an additional 40 years' supply.
Raymond James Equity Research recently reported that they hold a "bearish outlook for U.S. natural gas prices." After examining the future supply of domestic production, they released a May 19, 2008, energy report which concluded, "...we continue to see unprecedented growth in U.S. gas production that will eventually overwhelm the U.S. gas markets."
In 2007, 130,000 Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) were operating on America's roads consuming just 0.052 percent. NGV America states that, "even if that number were to increase 100-fold in the next ten years to 11,000,000, or roughly 5 percent of the entire vehicle market (a formidable goal), the impact on natural gas supplies and the natural gas delivery infrastructure would be small -- equating about 4 percent of total U.S. natural gas consumption."
The good news about natural gas as a transportation fuel, in addition to being abundant and clean, is that it is inexpensive. In April, the Department of Energy reported that the average nationwide price of a gallon of gas equivalent to CNG was just $2.04 per gallon. In some regions of the country prices are even lower -in Rocky Mountain States CNG costs average just $1.26 per gallon. In fact, many state and local governments, businesses, and consumers have been able to cut their fuel bills by more than half when utilizing natural gas as a transportation fuel. In my hometown of Tulsa, OK, for example, a person can currently refuel their CNG powered cars for just 91 cents per gallon. With gasoline prices currently hovering over $4, those are significant savings for consumers.
To help make CNG a reality, I have introduced the Drive America on Natural Gas Act, legislation that encourages the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel and sends a signal to auto manufacturers to produce and sell these vehicles domestically. Today's regulatory burdens are daunting for those in the business of converting vehicles to run on CNG or LNG, so my bill streamlines burdensome EPA emissions certifications required for the conversion of vehicles to natural gas. The bill also establishes a natural gas research, development, and demonstration program to assist manufacturers in emissions certification, examine and improve the current nationally recognized safety codes and standards, and advance the reliability and efficiency of natural gas fueling station infrastructure.
Most importantly, my legislation also bridges "the chicken and the egg" conundrum: automakers won't build NGVs without the refueling infrastructure, and the gas stations won't build the refueling infrastructure without the NGVs. By encouraging the production of bi-fuel natural gas vehicles, my bill overcomes this key difficulty.
Coupled with a home refueling unit (also known as the Phill), consumers will be comfortable purchasing bi-fuel natural gas vehicles knowing that they can also run on conventional gasoline for those occasional long distance trips from home. Installed in your garage, the Phill is connected to a home's natural gas line. Once plugged into a CNG vehicle, the Phill slowly compresses natural gas into the car's tank. Similar to the idea of plug-in hybrids, the Phill allows consumers to re-fuel at home. Unlike plug-in hybrids, this technology is not a few years away - it is here today. As more of these vehicles hit the road, the refueling infrastructure will soon follow to fuel these cars beyond our homes.
My Drive America on Natural Gas Act will allow natural gas to compete on its own merits; it does not dictate that consumers, businesses, or states must use natural gas as a transportation fuel. The bill encourages auto manufacturers to produce bi-fuel vehicles, streamlines EPA's emissions certifications, and establishes a natural gas vehicle research program. Americans can ultimately choose whether natural gas powered vehicles are right for their own individual and business needs.
Inhofe Welcomes US-Poland Missile Defense Agreement
August 15, 2008
Senator Inhofe, a Senior Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, welcomed the agreement on Friday between the United States and Poland to place an American missile defense base in Poland. Under the agreement, Poland would host an American base with 10 interceptors in exchange for "enhanced security cooperation" - an American Patriot battery from Germany operated by a crew of about 100 American military personnel. The Patriot anti-missile battery will provide Poland with an increased level of protection against potentially hostile threats. Expenses would be shared by both nations.
"As someone who has long viewed the deployment of missile defense as an urgent national priority, today's agreement with Poland is certainly welcome news." Senator Inhofe said. "With increasing instability throughout the world and in the region, we must continue to bolster our nation's and our allies' defenses. President Bush should be commended for his steadfast commitment to the deployment of an effective missile defense system capable of protecting the United States, its allies and its forward deployed forces from the growing threat of missile attack.
"Over the past year I have had the opportunity to travel to Europe and discuss the importance of missile defense with leaders from both Poland and the Czech Republic. We talked about overall missile defense, ground based missile defense capabilities, and the radar site in Czech Republic and the interceptor site in Poland. The fact is that today more than twenty countries have a ballistic missile capability. North Korea and Iran are both developing ballistic missiles for coercion and intimidation and the proliferation of ballistic missile technology amongst the world's rogue nations is increasing. My colleagues and I believe that we must continue to fund this important work and we successfully ensured full funding of the program in this year's mark up of the National Defense Authorization Bill. It is important to note that just four years ago, no ballistic missile defense capability existed, and by the end of this year we will have as many as 30 ground-based interceptors, 18 Aegis cruisers and destroyers with almost 100 standard missile interceptors aboard, and multitude of radars and command and control suites all over the world.
"The mission of protecting the United States against a ballistic missile attack is becoming increasingly important. Our enemies are working on advanced missile technology and nuclear warheads, and there is little doubt that these technologies and capabilities are being shared with terrorist elements. In short, our enemies are advancing their ability to reach out and hit us, our Allies and our forward deployed forces in a devastating way. Today's agreement with Poland and our partnership with the Czech Republic show we are continuing to take the threat seriously and take another step toward strengthening our security."
SENATOR INHOFE ANNOUNCES OKLAHOMAS PICTURING AMERICA AWARD RECIPIENTS
Senator Inhofe was pleased to announce on August 8, 2008 Picturing America awards given by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to 424 schools and libraries within Oklahoma.Picturing America is a free initiative that helps teach American history and culture by bringing some of the country's great art directly to classrooms and libraries. In September, these schools and libraries will receive forty large, high-quality reproductions of great American art and a comprehensive teachers resource book to assist educators using the works of art in core subjects. For a complete list of Oklahoma's award winners, visit Picturing America's site.
"As students across Oklahoma prepare to return to school this fall, a new learning opportunity awaits many of them," said Senator Inhofe. "Picturing America is a unique program that provides students with a gateway to the humanities. By bringing great art into public and private schools, libraries and communities, this program will offer Oklahomans of all ages the opportunity to learn about our nation's history in a fresh and engaging way. I want to encourage other Oklahoma schools and libraries to submit their applications by October 31st so that they can be considered for next year's Picturing America Awards."
Feedback from local educators currently participating in the nationwide Picturing America pilot program has been tremendous. The 424 Oklahoma institutions awarded the Picturing America program join over 26,000 schools and public libraries across the country that will participate in the program.
Tami Marler, Director of Public Information for Tulsa Public Schools: "Tulsa Public Schools is grateful to receive the Picturing America Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The district's 42,000 students will benefit greatly from this exciting initiative to bring masterpieces of historic American art into our classrooms and libraries. What a wonderful way to learn about our nation's rich heritage."
Dr. Anne Caine, Superintendent of Stillwater Public Schools: "I am thrilled that Stillwater has been chosen as a recipient of the Picturing America awards. Thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities, ten Stillwater schools have the opportunity to learn American history in an exciting new way."
Dr. JoAnn Layne of the Byng School District in Oklahoma: "The Picturing America prints will be of great value to the Byng School District. Students, adults and the citizens of our rural Oklahoma community as a whole will benefit from these pieces of artwork depicting scenes from American history. This artwork will enrich the meaning to these moments in American history for our students, staff, and community."
Mr. Barry Beauchamp, Superintendent of Lawton Schools: "Our students in Lawton will have an amazing new learning opportunity this year. The Picturing America prints will open the doors to understanding American history in a fresh and exciting way that will positively impact not only our students, but our Oklahoma community as a whole."
"The Endowment believes that Picturing America should be in every school and public library in the United States. As a result of our first round of applications, thousands of schools and millions of people all around the country will have the chance to view and learn from this collection in their own communities," said Bruce Cole, Chairman of the NEH. "Picturing America helps us understand our democracy by bringing us face to face with the people, places, and events that have shaped our country. It provides an innovative way to experience America's history through our nation's art."
The NEH will offer Picturing America to more schools and libraries through a future enrollment opportunity beginning in August 2008. All eligible schools and public libraries in the U.S. and its territories that have not previously received Picturing America may apply for the program from August 4 through October 31, 2008 at PicturingAmerica.neh.gov.
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About Picturing America
Public, private, parochial, and charter and home school consortia (K-12), as well as public libraries in the US and its territories, are eligible to receive Picturing America materials. Interested schools and public libraries will be able to apply through the NEH for the second round of Picturing America awards, beginning August 4 through October 31, 2008 for receipt of the materials in spring 2009. Detailed instructions for submitting an application can be found in the 'Apply Now' section of the Picturing America Web site, PicturingAmerica.neh.gov. Picturing America comes with a comprehensive package of materials that includes:
A comprehensive teachers resource book providing a wide range of ideas and background information to support educators using the works of art in core subject areas
Additional resources and lesson plans available through the Picturing America Web site.
About the National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The study of the humanities - history, literature, philosophy, and the arts - helps us explore what it means to be human. The humanities enable us to understand the world and our place in it.
Because "democracy demands wisdom," NEH serves and strengthens our Republic through promoting excellence in the humanities and conveying the lessons of history to all Americans. Through its programs, NEH provides opportunities for all citizens to embrace the humanities and benefit from their wisdom. For more information about NEH, visit http://www.neh.gov.
INHOFE ANNOUNCES NOAA GRANT
August 7, 2008
Senator Inhofe also announced last week that the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded a $3,013,103 grant to the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies (CIMMS) at the University of Oklahoma to further the program's research initiatives.
"This year we celebrate thirty years of exemplary weather research at the University of Oklahoma's CIMMS research institute," said Senator Inhofe. "I am pleased to announce that over $3 million is being awarded to further support the excellent work being conducted by the CIMMS scientists and graduate students, including the advancement of early detection of severe weather."
Senator Inhofe has long supported the weather research at the University of Oklahoma. He has secured over $10 million for the phased array radar program at the National Severe Storms Lab in Norman, Oklahoma since 2005.
In late 2007, Senator Inhofe introduced the NOAA Scholarship Act of 2007 (S. 2164) to create a Science and Technology Scholarship Program to recruit and prepare students for careers in the National Weather Service and in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) marine research, atmospheric research, and satellite programs. The program's mission would be to provide an opportunity and an incentive for students to develop scientific expertise that will continue to advance meteorology and the technology for severe weather detection.
For more information on grants awarded by NOAA contact: Tim Bagley at NOAA Legislative Affairs at 202-482-4666.
T. Boone Pickens Comes Home to Oklahoma to Talk About Energy Plan
T. Boone Pickens was back in Oklahoma today discussing his call to increase American energy production of natural gas and wind energy. Hundreds of Oklahomans gathered to hear more about the Pickens Plan.
Upon introduction of the Pickens Plan back in July, Senator Inhofe applauded Pickens saying "The Pickens Plan is a bold and achievable approach to meeting our nation's energy challenges. Like Pickens, I believe tomorrow's energy mix must include the development and expansion of natural gas and wind energy production. Importantly, however, I believe we must utilize all domestic energy resources including not only natural gas and renewable energy, but also oil, coal, and nuclear energy. Developing and expanding domestic energy resources will translate into energy security and will ensure stable sources of supply and well-paying jobs for Oklahomans and Americans."
In an op-ed in the Journal-Record on July 8, 2008, Senator Inhofe discussed how Oklahoma can continue to be leader in natural gas production and technologies, writing, "Utilized in all 50 states, natural gas makes up nearly a quarter of our nation's energy supply. It provides electricity in over 60 million homes, and 40 percent of U.S. industry relies on natural gas for energy or as a necessary feedstock to produce a variety of products from chemicals and fertilizer to glass. To maintain a vibrant and internationally competitive economy, America must produce enough affordable natural gas to meet a growing demand. Oklahomans stand ready to help meet this challenge. Presently, Oklahoma produces oil and gas from over 120,000 wells and is one of the top natural gas producing states in the country. In fact, Oklahoma alone annually produces nearly one-tenth of total U.S. natural gas production. The expertise and experience of Oklahoma's producers lead the world in many exploration and extraction technologies. Additionally, the industry provides billions in tax revenue and employs tens of thousands in some of the highest-paid jobs in the state."
One idea that has caught plenty of attention in Oklahoma and across the country is the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel. On July 17, 2008, Senator Inhofe introduced the Drive America on Natural Gas Act to promote the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) vehicles. In a statement at the time, Senator Inhofe said, "As Americans continue to suffer from high gas prices, we need to take advantage of our abundant domestic supply of natural gas for use as a transportation fuel," Senator Inhofe said. "The Drive America on Natural Gas Act adds flexibility to the current Renewable Fuels Standard mandates by adding natural gas. It encourages the use of a proven alternative fuel and sends a market signal to manufacturers to consider compressed natural gas as a cost competitive alternative. Natural gas is domestic, plentiful, affordable, and clean. The promise of natural gas as a mainstream transportation fuel is achievable today -- not 15 or 20 years from now."
The legislation has received the support of the Oklahoman, who recently praised the bill in an editorial saying, "The Senate should be talking about big solutions to the big problem. One we like is Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe's proposal to help make compressed natural gas more readily available as a transportation fuel. But that's not on the Senate leadership's agenda. Neither is drilling offshore or in Alaska. Most Democrats are against adding new supply, but their excuses are having a harder time with the gasoline-buying public."
Energy Chief Executive Aubrey McClendon testified before a House Committee in July and expressed support for using natural gas as a transportation fuel. As Chris Casteel with the Oklahoman reported in an article on July 31, 2008, Chesapeake chief says the answer to energy crisis lies in natural gas, "McClendon endorsed a bill by Reps. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, and Rahm Emmanuel, D-Illinois, to create incentives for moving more vehicles to natural gas. And he endorsed another bill by Rep. John Sullivan, R-Tulsa, to invest federal money into research on natural gas vehicles. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, has also introduced legislation on the matter."
Oklahoman Says Inhofe-Boren Bill "Makes Good Sense"
The Oklahoman
Editorial
Marginalized: Congress should help 'stripper' wells
Mon August 11, 2008
New federal legislation that would help low-producing oil and gas wells makes good sense as the United States considers all options to meet its energy needs. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, are co-sponsoring the bill they say would help protect a key source of domestic production - marginal or "stripper" wells producing fewer than 10 barrels of oil a day.
According to the Oklahoma Marginal Well Commission, these account for almost 18 percent of U.S. domestic oil production. Inhofe told The Oklahoman's Chris Casteel that wells producing fewer than 15 barrels a day accounted for 355 million barrels nationwide in 2006. In Oklahoma, more than 65,500 marginal wells produce 78 percent of the state's oil.
Likewise, marginal wells contribute 9 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of natural gas and 12 percent of the state's production, the commission says.
This production often is overlooked in the larger U.S. energy picture. But it's clearly an important part of the picture. As such, the Inhofe-Boren legislation would increase the percentage depletion allowance for marginal wells to 27.5 percent from 15 percent. The allowance is similar to business depreciation and helps producers' bottom line.The bill also would permanently eliminate the net income limitation, which prevents a producer from using percentage depletion when it exceeds the income from an individual property. Finally, the legislation would ease emissions and storage regulations.
All are important features that will help keep marginal wells profitable enough to stay in production. Certainly, the United States needs all the oil and natural gas it can get, even as the country seeks alternatives for the future.
Although there's little meaningful time left for legislating this year, Congress should find a way to pass this bill and keep oil and gas flowing from all available sources.