By Alex Guillen
With help from Darren Goode and Talia Buford
SENATE GOP TO RELEASE ENERGY PACKAGE: Senate Republicans will officially unveil their newest energy plan today, a goodie bag of measures that have largely cleared the House already. Among them: approval of the Keystone XL pipeline except within Nebraska (where a new route is being worked out to avoid the Sandhills region), requiring an interagency committee to look at EPA rules affecting gasoline prices, hitting the pause button on various environmental regulations and giving the Bureau of Land Management strict timelines for approving oil, natural gas, wind, solar and other energy projects. GOP senators will hold a press conference on the package at noon, but why wait when Darren Goode had the details earlier this week: http://politico.pro/MEUWf6
Fact sheet on the Senate GOP package: http://politico.pro/NKfYbd
MURKOWSKI INTROS OWN DRILLING PLAN: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) unveiled her own alternative drilling plan yesterday, which adds East Coast and California offshore drilling but sidesteps the north Atlantic and some areas in Alaska. Murkowski hopes her bill helps keep alive bipartisan talks heading into next Congress on expanding revenue sharing to all states that want to produce oil and gas off their shores. "I want to again keep this issue out there for consideration, allow them to be thinking what it might mean for full responsible development off of our shores," she said yesterday.
MURKOWSKI PLAN HAS BIPARTISAN CHOPS? And it was one of the "motivating reasons" retiring Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) is a co-sponsor, she said. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — widely expected to be the top Democrat on Energy and Natural Resources next Congress — is among those Democrats who have expressed interest in at least considering the idea. Retiring Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M) is a staunch opponent of the idea.
HOUSE GOP PASSES ITS OWN DRILLING PLAN: House Republicans, meanwhile, passed their own alternative drilling plan yesterday. Both parties seized on the chance to trumpet their own election-year messaging and denounce the other side’s positions — perhaps the last major energy debate on the House floor before lawmakers leave for the summer. Darren has more for Pros: http://politico.pro/QH0E2c
HAPPY THURSDAY and welcome to Morning Energy. Send your news to aguillen@politico.com, and hit us up on Twitter @alexcguillen, @POLITICOPro and @Morning_Energy.
IT’S SECOND QUARTER EARNINGS SEASON for the Big Five, and it didn’t start out too well (relatively speaking): ConocoPhillips announced yesterday it reeled in $2.27 billion from April through June, down 33 percent from $3.4 billion in the same period of 2011 (more on the news from the AP: https://bit.ly/MIXvfY). Businessweek notes that analysts expect that trend to continue for ExxonMobil and Shell, which announce their results today. Chevron’s announcement comes Friday and BP’s next Tuesday: http://buswk.co/PmsMFL
DEMS, CAP TO HIT ROMNEY ON OIL, GAS TAX PROVISIONS: Democrats and the left aren’t letting the profits — while lower than last year —go by without commenting on cutting industry tax breaks. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) will join the Center for American Progress’s Dan Weiss and Tom Periello on a conference call today at 11:30 a.m. to discuss oil and gas industry tax provisions and release a report concluding that Mitt Romney’s tax plan would send the industry more than $4 billion each year.
FROM THE CAP REPORT, by Weiss and Seth Hanlon, coming out later today: “The world’s five biggest public oil companies — BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell — would keep special tax breaks worth $2.4 billion each year. And by cutting corporate tax rates, the Romney plan could lower the companies’ annual tax bill by another $2.3 billion, based on an analysis of the companies’ tax expense for 2011. The special tax breaks, supplemented by Gov. Romney’s lower corporate rates, could benefit the oil companies by more than $4 billion annually.”
HOUSE REPUBLICANS FIX TYPO: The House Rules Committee voted yesterday to fix a typo in H.R. 4078, the bill to freeze significant regulations until unemployment is equal to or less than 6 percent, and will debate the rule and the bill on the floor today. The version that originally passed through the committee omitted the “un” in “unemployment.”
INHOFE: HOW MUCH FOR THAT T-SHIRT ON THE FLIGHT DECK? Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) still isn’t happy about the Navy spending millions of dollars on biofuels for its “Green Fleet” demonstration last week, and now he wants to know exactly how much the exercise cost beyond the fuel. In a letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, the ranking Environment and Public Works Committee Republican requests a details report on the event, including everything from the cost of transporting the fuel down to how much was spent painting ships and aircraft with special logos and on commemorative t-shirts and caps. Inhofe’s letter: http://1.usa.gov/QjNGIO
MABUS AGAIN DEFENDS GREEN FLEET: Mabus seemingly replied to Inhofe on Facebook last night, writing in a post that doesn’t mention the senator that “the Great Green Fleet … was a successful demonstration of the seamless integration of advanced biofuel and energy efficient technologies in some of the U.S. Navy's most sophisticated air and sea platforms.” Mabus’s Facebook post: http://on.fb.me/PqU3GU
Mabus also took a shot at news reports that included a figure from a recent Defense Department report projecting the Navy could spend as much as $1.8 billion on its biofuel programs. “There is no truth to the reports that the U.S. Navy will spend $1.8 billion on biofuels. That figure is a fabrication based on speculation, and does not take into account Navy's commitment regarding biofuel purchases for operations. The projection assumes oil prices will not rise and that biofuel costs won't go down. History and experts tell us that oil prices are more likely to rise, and because of advances in technology and economies of scale, the price of biofuel has already dropped.”
SO WHERE’D THE $1.8 BILLION FIGURE COME FROM? The $1.8 billion figure (recently noted in this July 17 Wired report: https://bit.ly/MDJCwl) comes from a July 2011 DoD report projecting the Navy will use 336 million gallons of drop-in biofuels in 2020 and estimating that fuel could be as much as $5.24 more per gallon than conventional fuel starting in 2015 — a $1.76 billion equation. The report notes: “Should the cost of crude oil significantly rise, it is likely that this cost difference would close if not eliminate the price premium. However, production of renewable fuels requires energy, and their costs would be anticipated to rise as well. …Nevertheless, investment in renewable fuels could help to provide a hedge against a sudden and steep rise in petroleum prices if these fuels were being obtained under long-term contracts at fixed prices.” The DoD report: https://bit.ly/vNKpAT
HOUSE SCIENCE MEETS ON DOE VEHICLES PROGRAM: The House Science Committee’s energy and environment panel holds an oversight hearing this morning on DOE’s vehicle technology programs, including alternative vehicle R&D, battery initiatives, stimulus funding and transportation electrification projects. Deputy Assistant Energy Secretary for Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan, Deputy DOE Inspector General for Audits and Inspections Rickey Hass and Electric Drive Transportation Association President Brian Wynne testify. The hearing’s at 9:30 a.m. in Rayburn 2318.
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP FOR EVS, Hogan will tell the subcommittee. “Plug-in electric vehicle sales continue to increase, with sales growth outpacing that of gasoline hybrid electric vehicles when they were first introduced. We expect to see this trend continue, as several new vehicle models were introduced earlier this year, providing additional choices for consumers considering electric drive vehicles.” Hogan’s prepared testimony: http://politico.pro/NK2R9M
TIME TO CONSULT YOGI BEAR: Herman Cain stopped by “The Daily Show” last night for another segment of his series “Herman Cain: An American Presidency” — and this time, he and correspondent John Oliver talked energy policy, starting with national parks and natural resources. Some of the exchange:
Cain: “Let’s sell some of these parks. They’re nice to have, but do we really need millions of acres of parks in order to say that we are environmentally friendly?”
Oliver: “How much can one family picnic?”
Cain: “Exactly. And in today’s world, where we are a 24/7, 365 information overload society, how much picnicking are the kids doing if they’re texting while picnicking?”
NOT ALL ON RIGHT HAPPY WITH GOP SOLYNDRA BILL: GOP communications strategist Michael Turk took to Facebook to complain about the No More Solyndras Act passed by an E&C panel yesterday — and subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield’s press secretary, Corry Schiermeyer, didn’t let it slide. “Whitfield's ‘No More Solyndras’ Bill is completely hypocritical as long as the U.S. government keeps pumping money into USEC hand over fist. We have invested twice what the company is worth into centrifuge technology that is known to be a failure. But I guess GOP cronyism is better than Dem cronyism, right Ed?” Turk wrote, linking to a news item on the bill’s passage.
"WHAT??? Why blasting my press release???" Schiermeyer commented, adding later: “Paducah is in our district!!!”
Turk’s reply: “It may be, but that doesn't make it right. I don't blame you for trying to defend it as the congressman from there, but it's the poster child for hypocritical spending by the GOP.” The whole exchange: http://on.fb.me/PJHZS8
T&I TO MARK UP EPA AERIAL SURVEILLANCE BILL: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is set to mark up several bills today, including Rep. Shelley Moore Capito’s H.R. 5961, which would bar EPA from performing aerial surveillance of farmland without obtaining permission from the landowner, publishing a notice in the newspaper or getting the OK from a federal district court. Similar legislation in a Senate amendment landed 56 votes, not enough to overcome a 60-vote requirement. The markup’s at 10 a.m. in Rayburn 2167.
LCV HITS HELLER AS FRIEND OF OIL: The League of Conservation Voters has a new ad up criticizing Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) as “hand-in-hand with Big Oil for years,” mirroring a charge frequently lobbed by Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) and her campaign. The 30-second spot features water turning into oil as it passes over a man’s hands and hits his voting record as pro-oil and anti-clean energy. Watch: http://youtu.be/VI3e7q5hT2I
CHAMBER LAUNCHING SHALE CAMPAIGN: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy will launch a new campaign today that “will be focused on educating businesses, policy and thought leaders, and the public on the widespread economic benefits of shale,” according to a spokeswoman. On hand for the 9 a.m. kickoff at the Chamber’s headquarters at 1615 H St. NW are the Chamber’s energy chief, Karen Harbert, as well as representatives from state shale, manufacturing and business groups.
EPA STOPS DIMOCK WATER DELIVERIES: Reuters reports: EPA “is discontinuing water deliveries to four homes in a rural Pennsylvania town that attracted national attention after residents complained that natural gas drilling polluted wells. Further testing showed no reason for further action, the EPA said on Wednesday. The EPA had been delivering water since January to four homes in Dimock, Pennsylvania where the agency did a second round of water sampling after residents and local regulators submitted data that suggested water at the homes could be contaminated.” More: http://reut.rs/OnkVWr
API TO CONGRESS: JOBS, JOBS, JOBS: The American Petroleum Institute wants to make sure lawmakers have heard about its new oil and gas industry jobs campaign, Energy Works. “The U.S. jobs performance of America’s oil and natural gas industry is good news for American workers, and if we commit to a stronger program of safe and responsible domestic energy development, we could add more than a million new jobs,” API chief Jack Gerard wrote to members of Congress: http://politico.pro/M98UYy
TWEET OF THE DAY: @ChuckGrassley: “I will eat more meat on Monday to compensate for stupid USDA recommendation abt a meatless Monday”
PASS THE POPCORN: The Natural Gas Caucus will screen “Truthland” on August 1 at 1 p.m. in 100 Capitol Visitors Center, according to John Krohn, vice president of strategic communications for FTI Consulting. The movie has been making the rounds since it debuted a few weeks ago as a response to Josh Fox’s “Gasland.”
QUICK HITS
— POLITICO’s Abby Phillip reports on E&C-er John Sarbanes’s experimental fundraising plan: http://politi.co/MJaOet
— Shell faces a ticking clock in its bid to drill in the Arctic. Reuters: http://reut.rs/Qk9DHQ
— Electric carmaker Tesla said yesterday its second quarter loss widened steeply from the same period in 2011 as it invested heavily in its second vehicle. AP: http://www.bit.ly/Pqc9Jb
— Extreme weather has infrastructure across the U.S. suffering. New York Times: http://nyti.ms/OH8qDk
— Standard and Poor’s has lowered its rating of Duke Energy, citing transparency issues over the company’s CEO switch. AP: https://bit.ly/Qk9sw0
HAPPENING TODAY
9 a.m. — The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Environment and the Economy Subcommittee marks up S. 710, a bill creating an electronic system to track hazardous waste manifests and shipments. Rayburn 2123
9 a.m. — The Global Business Dialogue hosts a panel on Canadian trade policy. National Press Club
10 a.m. — The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosts a forum on the U.S.-Canadian Regulatory Cooperation Council Action Plan at six months. Info: https://bit.ly/SU8Afc. Ronald Reagan Building
11 a.m. — Former NRC Commissioner Peter Bradford joins Nuclear Information and Resource Service Executive Director Michael Mariotte on a conference call to discuss foreign ownership of U.S. nuclear reactors ahead of an NRC decision on the ownership of a Calvert Cliffs, Md., reactor. Info: https://bit.ly/Qjqk6g
12:45 p.m. — White House CEQ Chairwoman Nancy Sutley speaks about sustainability at a U.S. News & World Report summit. Boston
3 p.m. — The Atlantic Council hosts the North American Carbon Capture and Storage Association's Michael Moore and Advanced Resources International's Vello A. Kuuskraa to discuss CO2 enhanced oil recovery and carbon markets. 1101 15th St. NW
6 p.m. — NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco and Washington Post reporter Juliet Eilperin hold a panel discussion following of the documentary “Ocean Frontiers” at the Carnegie Institution for Science. 1530 P St. NW
7 p.m. — Resource Media hosts an event on “pragmatic environmentalism” with documentarian Andrew Blackwell, Brenda Ekwurzel of the Union of Concerned Scientists, Tim Reichert of Energy Sherlock and American University professor Paul Wapner. 528 F St. Terrace SE
THAT’S ALL FOR ME. Got get ‘em.