For Americans filling up at the pump, making sense of gasoline prices can be confusing. Here's a simple explanation: the price of crude oil is the main factor in determining the price of gasoline.

Since April 20, 2009, the price of crude oil has climbed 46 cents a gallon, and the price of gasoline has risen 41 cents a gallon.

A new study by the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) found that state regulations governing oil and natural gas field operations are "adequately designed" to protect ground water. The study, "State Oil and Natural Gas Regulations Designed to Protect Water Resources," was a collaborative effort between GWPC, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Its goal was to examine the language of state oil and natural gas regulations and evaluate it with respect to water resource protection.

In this week's episode, I talk with Tim Sampson, manager for exploration and production at API, and Roland Goodman, manager of upstream standards at API, about how the oil and natural gas industry prepares for storms during hurricane season. Use the audio player below to listen, and follow along with the show notes. I hope you find it informative.

Feel free to leave a question in the comments section of this post.

Last week, I had the pleasure of hosting 15 bloggers on a conference call about the challenges of deepwater exploration and the impact of these projects on the U.S. economy.

The conversation featured Robert N. (Bobby) Ryan, Jr., vice president of global exploration for Chevron Global Upstream & Gas and also included API Chief Economist John Felmy and API Federal Relations Director Mark Kibbe.

...that the United States imports more oil from Canada than any other country? More than two million barrels of oil a day comes from our neighbor to the north, and much of that oil is derived from Canada's abundant oil sands. Technological advances in oil extraction have allowed Canada to become the world's second largest holder of recoverable oil reserves behind Saudi Arabia.

A new report from Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) notes that the pace of oil sands development has far exceeded expectations.

Recently, the administration sent Congress a budget proposal that included at least $400 billion in new taxes and fees on the oil and natural gas industry--a plan that will put an economic burden on hard-working Americans and their families.

Raising taxes in a time of economic decline is a recipe for disaster. These taxes are anti-jobs, anti-consumer, and anti-energy. They would be felt throughout the economy. Historically, new taxes have discouraged business expansion and job creation, and have led to higher costs for consumers--taking money from American households.

In a conference call with reporters today, API President and CEO Jack Gerard said the Waxman-Markey bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is "unacceptable as drafted." He said the bill's potential economic impact cannot be overstated and called on Congress to conduct a thorough analysis.

Members of Congress trying to hammer out a bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have reached agreement on the distribution of valuable carbon dioxide permits. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, more than 50 percent of the emission allowances will be donated to electric-power distributors, automakers and other industries. Only 2 percent of allowances will go to refiners.

I like baseball. I particularly like the fact that baseball fans can quote statistics and recall spectacular games that occurred more than a century ago. For example, according to Baseball-Reference.com, did you know that on this day in 1901 the Washington Senators achieved the first shutout in American League history with Watty Lee pitching a 4-0 game to the Boston Americans?

API collects statistics, too, and some of them track gasoline prices at the pump all the way back to 1918.

If you're looking for a key indicator to illustrate the weakness in the U.S. economy, just look at oil demand. API's Monthly Statistical Report shows that total oil product deliveries (a measure of demand) in January-April 2009 were the lowest since 1998.

On Thursday, May 7, Chevron chairman and CEO David O'Reilly addressed 250 corporate executives at the Boston College Chief Executives' Club of Boston. Mr. O'Reilly discussed domestic and global policy issues and the impact of increased taxation on oil and natural gas supplies.

He outlined America's three major energy challenges as:

1. Meeting supply needs;
2. Reducing dependence on unstable regions; and
3. Reducing the impact of fossil fuels on our climate.

In this episode of Energy Tomorrow Radio, I speak with David Schnare from the Center for Environmental Stewardship at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy about plans to drill for oil and natural gas off Virginia's coast. Although no one can say how much oil might exist there, the estimates are quite impressive. David provides a great overview of the potential benefits.

Today, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard issued the following statement on API's decision to seek rehearing of a U.S. Appellate Court panel's decision remanding and vacating the Department of Interior's 2007-2012 Five-Year Outer Continental Shelf leasing plan. API on May 12 asked the court to change the remedy from "vacate and remand" to "remand." The Interior Department has sought similar relief from the court.

Congress has passed thousands of laws during its long history and frequently, questions are raised about how to interpret them. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the EPA has the statutory authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles under Clean Air Act--although the law was written to control other emissions in certain locations. Similarly, the EPA this year agreed to use its authority under the Clean Water Act to review the risks of carbon dioxide absorbed into seawater.

API issued a statement today from President and CEO Jack Gerard regarding taxes in the administration's "Analytical Perspectives" budget document released this morning.

As this document explains, the administration is proposing to reinstate the Superfund tax on petroleum and repeal several long-standing tax incentives. (See pages 265-276.) In response, Jack Gerard said:

"The new taxes are anti-jobs, anti-consumer, and anti-energy. They will depress investment in new domestic oil and gas projects, weakening the nation's energy security. Six million Americans depend on the oil and natural gas industry for their jobs. Raising taxes in a time of economic decline is a recipe for disaster. Historically, new taxes hurt businesses, threaten jobs, and lead to higher prices for consumers. Higher energy taxes that reduce production and increase costs take money from every American household. We need to get the nation on the road to economic recovery. New taxes on domestic energy production make that task substantially harder."

A couple of days ago, we posted a photograph taken at the Offshore Technology Conference and challenged you to tell us what it is. A sculpture at the Reliant Center in Houston? An artist's rendering of an octopus? Perhaps a close-up of a broach from the 1920s?

Actually, it's a 12 ¼" hybrid drill bit that grinds deep into the Earth in the search for oil and natural gas. But it has a lot in common with high-end jewelry. The black dots in the golden arms are diamond grit embedded in a cobalt matrix.

Several people at the Offshore Technology Conference were very impressed with the item in the photo below.

Do you know what it is?

Here's a hint: It's an integral part of every drilling rig.

Now that I've attended a few panel discussions here at the Offshore Technology Conference, it's abundantly clear that many of the speakers are in agreement over the issues that threaten America's ability to plan for a secure energy future. They mention the lack of bipartisanship in Congress, the fact that the oil and natural gas industry has been "demonized" by its critics, and the tone and content of the national debate over energy policy. As Karen Harbert of the Institute for 21st Century Energy said yesterday, the ongoing energy conversation has been "captured" by those who have their own agenda.

"It's just a matter of time before we must act on energy," said API President and CEO Jack Gerard when he met with reporters and bloggers yesterday at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston. But he said our nation needs to be realistic. "We can't just throw a switch and change from one source of energy to another overnight."

Hello from the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, the event where oil and natural gas companies gather to see the latest technologies and discuss the state of drilling today.

Much of the conversation during the morning session focused on energy policy and whether the United States is nearing a time when policymakers will propose legislation that addresses both U.S. energy security and environmental concerns. In a panel discussion on how to improve communications about energy, panelists asked whether that's possible in the current political climate.

Cyclical--that's one of the words often used to describe the oil and natural gas industry. The word refers to the economic peaks and valleys that have been experienced many times during the industry's 150-year history. A few months ago, when oil prices were climbing to an all-time high of $147 a barrel on the global market, the industry made a lot of money, and earned a similar return as other industries based on the average rate per dollar of sales. During the first quarter of 2009, earnings fell precipitously as oil prices hovered in the $50 a barrel range.

As mentioned in our introductory post, we'll always do our best to break down complex energy issues in a way that's easy to understand.

To that end, I'm inviting you to read our updated energy policy primer and share with us your thoughts and opinions about energy policy.

This week the Florida House of Representatives voted overwhelming to pass a bill to authorize oil and natural gas development in Florida state waters.

Florida's House of Representatives--like the majority of Americans--recognizes that domestic oil and natural gas development is necessary to preserve and create jobs, generate revenues for cash-strapped state and local governments and bolster America's energy security.

It also recognizes the nation's oil and gas industry uses state-of-the art technology and strict operating practices to ensure that any development would be done in a way that protects both the environment and state's vital tourism industry.

We hope that the state's governor and its Senate can see the wisdom in the House proposal, and re-open the door to offshore oil and gas development that would benefit not only Florida but the entire nation.