The GOP tax bill is huge for the US oil and gas industry

The GOP tax overhaul passed both chambers of the U.S. Congress, although a lot remains to be done before a bill can reach the President's desk. Still, there are a lot of changes in store for energy, and because much of the discrepancy between the two chambers is focused on some big-ticket tax items-and not energy-we can be reasonably confident about what to expect from the legislation in regard to the energy sector.

Nebraska gives long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline new life

Nebraska regulators Monday approved a Keystone XL oil pipeline route through the state, breathing new life into the long-delayed $8 billion project, although the chosen pathway is not the one preferred by the company that hopes to build it and could mean more time is needed to study the changes. The Nebraska Public Service Commission's vote also is likely to face court challenges and may even require another federal analysis of the route, if the project's opponents get their way.

The Latest: Alternative Keystone XL route OKed in Nebraska

LINCOLN, Neb. - The Latest on Nebraska regulators deciding whether to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline through the state : A Nebraska commission has approved an alternative Keystone XL route through the state, removing the last regulatory hurdle to the $8 billion oil pipeline project.

Keystone XL Just Cleared One Of Its Final Hurdles

The five-member Nebraska Public Service Commission, which voted 3-to-2, was barred from considering the spill under a state law heavily lobbied by pipeline behemoth TransCanada. Under that 2011 law, the officials were required to weigh "economic and social impacts," compliance with state and local regulations, and evidence that the pipeline would damage or deplete natural resources.

Nebraska to decide future of Keystone XL pipeline expansion

After years of heated debate, Nebraska's Public Service Commission approved an alternative route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline, The Associated Press reports. The decision comes days after part of the existing Keystone Pipeline spilled 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota.

Nebraska Public Service Commission Allows Keystone XL Pipeline…

Betraying bipartisan voices from across Nebraska and the rest of the United States, the Nebraska Public Service Commission voted today to allow the Keystone XL pipeline, which will connect a Canadian pipeline transporting the dirtiest fuel on the planet to an existing line at the Nebraska-Kansas border. The fossil fuel company TransCanada plans to lay Keystone XL over the Ogallala aquifer, endangering the primary source of clean water for 2.3 million people in America's heartland.

Nebraska Approves Keystone XL Alternative Route, Oil Change International Response

Today, with a 3-2 vote, the Nebraska Public Service Commission issued a decision that approves a route for the Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska. In response, Stephen Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International, released the following statement: "Today the Nebraska PSC chose to stand with Trump, climate denial, and Big Oil.

Nebraska’s Keystone XL vote may not be a clear yes or no

Nebraska regulators are set to decide Monday whether to approve or deny an in-state route for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. It's the last major regulatory hurdle facing project operator TransCanada Corp. The Nebraska Public Service Commission's ruling is on the Nebraska route TransCanada has proposed to complete the $8 billion, 1,179-mile pipeline to deliver oil from Alberta, Canada, to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.

Nebraska to announce decision on Keystone XL pipeline

Nebraska regulators are set to decide Monday whether to approve or deny an in-state route for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. It's the last major regulatory hurdle facing project operator TransCanada Corp. The Nebraska Public Service Commission's ruling is on the Nebraska route TransCanada has proposed to complete the $8 billion, 1,179-mile pipeline to deliver oil from Alberta, Canada, to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.

UPDATE 3-U.S. formally proposes to scrap Obama’s carbon-cutting plan

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally proposed on Tuesday to scrap the agency's Obama-era plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, as the Trump administration seeks to slash fossil fuel regulation. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a notice that the agency intended to repeal the Clean Power Plan, which it said relied on controversial calculations of economic costs and benefits.

Seafarers Fret Over New Assault on Jones Act in Wake of Storms

On the darkened bridge of the Chesapeake Trader, with radio chatter filling the air, three officers were easing the giant freighter into San Francisco Bay when an unexpected vessel suddenly appeared on the starboard side. They scrambled to avoid catastrophe.

White House seeks to move past Trump/Tillerson friction WASHINGTON…

The Trump administration sought Thursday to move past the brouhaha over Rex Tillerson's reported insult of his boss, making clear President Donald Trump alone sets the nation's agenda that his advisers must execute. A day after the duo's sometimes difficult relationship burst into public view, the president joined his top diplomat in disputing a report that Tillerson had considered abandoning Trump's Cabinet earlier this year.

Rexit: Tillerson hangs on to job, but for how long?

Trump has at times appeared to undercut Tillerson's message on some of America's most sensitive national security challenges, including Iran and North Korea The moment was as remarkable as it was unprecedented: a sitting US secretary of state took to the microphone to pledge his fealty to the president - despite his well-documented unhappiness in the job and the growing presumption in Washington that he is a short-timer. Rex Tillerson said Wednesday he would stay as long as US President Donald Trump wants him to , and Trump said he has "full confidence" in the former ExxonMobil chief executive.

Appeals court voids pipeline safety order for Exxon

An appeals court has voided an order that would have required Exxon Mobil to revise its pipeline-safety procedures after a 2013 oil spill in Arkansas. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued the order in 2015, and it could have applied to more than 1,000 miles of the Texas oil and gas company's pipelines.

US oil industry pushes back on sanctions against Venezuela

The Trump administration's decision on Wednesday to slap sanctions on eight members of Venezuela's all-powerful constitutional assembly brings to 30 the number of government loyalists targeted for human rights abuses and violations of democratic norms since anti-government protests began in April. But even as the list of targeted individuals grows longer, promised economic sanctions have yet to materialize amid an outcry by the U.S. oil industry that a potential ban on petroleum imports from Venezuela - the third-largest supplier to the U.S. - would hurt U.S. jobs and drive up gas costs.

Keystone XL Survived Politics but Economics Could Kill it

The proposed Keystone XL pipeline survived nine years of protests, lawsuits and political wrangling that saw the Obama administration reject it and President Donald Trump revive it, but now the project faces the possibility of death by economics. Low oil prices and the high cost of extracting Canadian crude from oil sands are casting new doubts on Keystone XL as executives with the Canadian company that wants to build it face the final regulatory hurdle next week in Nebraska.

5 faith facts about Sam Brownback: Political champion of religious freedom

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, President Trump's nominee for international religious freedom ambassador, describes religious freedom as "the choice of what you do with your own soul." If confirmed, the 60-year-old, two-term Republican governor, former U.S. senator and onetime presidential candidate would be the first politician confirmed as the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.