U.S. needs a "rational" policy for oil, gas development, API says

U.S. needs a "rational" policy for oil, gas development, API says
The American Petroleum Institute is seeking "rational" energy policy that backs domestic oil and natural gas production "to keep this country going strong," said Rayola Dougher, API's senior economic adviser of media relations. At a Wyoming conference of energy and business leaders, Dougher spoke of the impact of oil and gas on global economies and several challenges facing the industry. "I think some people think we're going to switch overnight from fossil fuel to renewables and it's just not going to happen," Dougher said. Wyoming Business Report

API: Idle leases do not exist

API: Idle leases do not exist
There is no such thing as an idle lease, the American Petroleum Institute said in response to President Barack Obama's speech Wednesday detailing a comprehensive energy plan. Obama cited an Interior Department study saying the industry has several nonproducing offshore and onshore leases. "The administration's report assumes that oil and natural gas are spread uniformly across the lease acreage -- suggesting that 70% of idle leases equates to 70% idled resources," said Erik Milito, API's upstream director. FuelFix.com

API, Republicans comment on Obama's support for Brazilian oil

API, Republicans comment on Obama's support for Brazilian oil
The Obama administration needs to do more for the development of U.S. oil and natural gas reserves, said the American Petroleum Institute and Republican lawmakers in response to President Barack Obama's comments regarding a potential energy partnership with Brazil. "It's ridiculous to ignore our own resources and continue going hat-in-hand to countries like Saudi Arabia and Brazil to beg them to produce more oil," said Sen. David Vitter, R-La. The Hill/E2 Wire blog (3/21)

API disputes government's claims on oil production

API disputes government's claims on oil production
The Obama administration is misleading Americans by claiming that oil production and federal leasing significantly increased, according to the American Petroleum Institute. "It's completely disingenuous to say that offshore production has increased due to anything this administration has done," said Erik Milito, API's upstream director. A boost in federal oil and natural gas leases is "attributable to these decisions to lease almost a decade ago," Milito added

Groups warn against impact of EPA's GHG regulations

Groups warn against impact of EPA's GHG regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency's rules on greenhouse-gas emissions could place U.S. refiners at an economic disadvantage against global competitors, said Howard Feldman, API's director of regulatory and scientific affairs. Refiners want to increase their efficiency because energy is the second-biggest operating expense, Feldman said. "Our nation's petroleum refineries remain one of the last internationally competitive segments of the American manufacturing base," wrote Charles Drevna, president of the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, in a letter to the EPA. Oil & Gas Journal (3/4)

EU watchdog says no need to cut cap on BPA in food

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(Reuters) - The European Union's food safety watchdog said it saw no need to cut the official limit on accepted exposure to bisphenol A, a chemical in plastic containers which some experts believe may harm human health.

Frito-Lay sends noisy, 'green' SunChips bag to the dump

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By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY

Frito-Lay is preparing to quietly sack its "green" but noisy SunChips bag.

Roughly 18 months after Frito-Lay, with great fanfare, launched a biodegradable SunChips bag made from plant material that was billed as 100% compostable, the company is yanking the noisy material from the packages of five of six SunChips flavors immediately.

The company is returning them to their former bags that can't be recycled — but won't wake the neighbors — while it works frantically to come up with a new, quieter eco-friendly bag.

The noise of the bag — due to an unusual molecular structure that makes the bag more rigid — has been compared to everything from lawnmowers to jet engines. There's even an active Facebook group with more than 44,000 friends that goes by the name of "Sorry But I Can't Hear You Over This SunChips Bag."