American Petroleum INSTITUTEBill Koetzle Joins Api as Vice President of Federal Affairs

API today announced the addition of a Vice President of Federal Affairs, Bill Koetzle, whose experience on legislative, regulatory and policy issues in the energy sector will deepen the bench of experience and talent the organization has added in recent months. Koetzle comes to API from the Chevron Corporation, where he served as Manager of Federal Government Affairs, leading advocacy for the company in Congress, the Administration and federal agencies on priority issues for Chevron.

Take 2 for Washington state: Carbon fee on fall ballot

Voters in Washington state will be asked this fall to do what state and federal leaders have been reluctant to: charge a direct fee on carbon pollution to fight climate change. If the ballot measure passes, it will be the first direct fee or tax charged on carbon emissions in the U.S. Experts say it will prove states can take action even if the Trump administration doesn't, and nudge other states to follow.

Natural gas called ‘best hope’ for West Virginia at…

The incoming president of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia doesn't like what is ahead for natural gas prices. "This year's not too bad actually," said Brett Loflin, vice president of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is running for U.S. Senate against Democratic …

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is running for U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson. Scott's midyear campaign report shows at least $880,000 in contributions from oil, gas and energy executives and employees to his campaign and from the industry to a pro-Scott super PAC.

Pope Francis To Convene Global Warming Summit At The Vatican

Pope Francis will hold a gathering at the Vatican next week on man-made global warming, focusing on what oil companies and investment firms can do to curtail fossil fuel use and emissions. Major oil companies, including BP, ExxonMobil and Equinor are attending the conference, Axios reported Friday.

Trump’s DOJ Asks Court To Toss Out California Climate Crusades Against Exxon

The Department of Justice asked a federal court Thursday to dismiss a pair of lawsuits targeting a slew of oil companies for allegedly contributing to man-made global warming. Oakland and San Francisco sued five energy companies in March for engaging in a nearly decades-long misinformation campaign about the science of climate change.

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.

Greasy Palms Dept.: Congress To Repeal Oil and Mining Anti-Corruption Regulation

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed a resolution to repeal an obscure anti-corruption rule aimed at the oil and gas industry before the rule even took effect. Now oil majors like ExxonMobil or Chevron won't have to disclose payments they make to foreign governments while chasing resource deals around the world.

Dogs, Ponies, Rats, Unicorns & Rhinos

The top executives of the five biggest oil companies were on the hot seat yesterday, testifying at the Senate Committee on Finance for a contentious hearing entitled Oil & Gas Tax Incentives & Rising Energy Prices . ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson, ConocoPhillips CEO Jim Mulva, Shell Oil Co.