Oil profit announcements next week may give Dems edge in spat over offshore drilling

(Photo of ConocoPhillips gas station from Flickr and photographer Alec Ananian)

Washington Report 1: Three major oil companies will announce their earnings next week, possibly giving Democrats an advantage in the political fight over energy. Dems today failed 50-43 to pass a bill calling for more regulation of commodity traders, blaming high gas prices on speculators. Republicans, on the other hand, are calling for more domestic exploration, especially offshore and in shale. Dems say the oil companies should drill in the 68 million acres they already have under lease rather than offshore, and tried unsuccessfully to pass a bill to that effect. One big oil company, ConocoPhillips, announced its second-quarter earnings last week, revealing a $5.4 billion profit, up 13% from the same period last year. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Chicago) criticized the oil companies for using too much of their record profits for stock buy-backs and not enough for drilling. ConocoPhillips used $2.5 billion to buy back stocks. Exxon, Chevron and BP will all announce their earnings next week. Dem leaders are expecting record profits from all, at a time when people are hurting because of the price of gas. They think that will give them an election-campaign advantage, while Republicans think they have a winning message with their call for more offshore drilling. If you want to take action in opposition to offshore drilling, go to the Sierra Club Web site and write an effective letter to the editor. (Sources: Greenwire, E&E Daily)

Is Big Oil turning back from wind and solar to focus on oil and gas despite carbon emissions?

(Photo of Shell station in Britain from Flickr and photographer Lee Jordan.)

News Update: Shell Oil pulled out of plans to build a large off-shore wind farm in the UK last week, sparking concern about the viability of the project, which could have powered a quarter of London’s homes. The company said it was selling its one-third share in 341-turbine London Array wind farm, casting doubts about the viability of the 1-gigawatt project. Another partner said it was weighing its options. The cost of the project had skyrocketed from $2 billion to about $5 billion, largely because of the high demand for wind turbines. Britian was counting on the project to help it meet its target of 20% renewable energy by 2020. Shell said it would continue to invest in onshore wind in the U.S., but a story in The Guardian questioned whether two oil giants, Shell and BP, were turning away from renewables to focus more on oil and gas, after ExxonMobil made the biggest profit this year while avoiding renewable investment. BP is cooling on solar, The Guardian said, and putting money into tar sands, after earlier refusing to do so because of the greenhouse gases emitted. Meanwhile, descendents of John D. Rockefeller, who started Standard Oil, forerunner of Exxon, pushed the company to begin investing in renewables, citing the dangers of climate change. Leading the charge was Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) (Sources: The Financial Times and The Guardian.)