German austerity measures were approved by the cabinet Friday. Conspicuously absent from the approved measures was the proposed nuclear fuel rod tax. The government plans to consider this proposal as part of broader energy recommendations later this month.

An interesting look at the impact of the Macondo spill on Gulf drilling permits. Considering the regulatory environment, it's not surprising permit approvals have fallen. Perhaps more interestingly, permit applications have also fallen.

For the first time, German Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly stated a timeframe for a nuclear extension, suggesting 10 to 15 years was reasonable. The Environmental Minister, a member of her party, is aiming for 4 to 8 years to pressure utilities to develop new technologies. The debate will be an interesting story to follow as it unfolds.

Better technology is allowing for production in locations previously thought far out of reach.

The Obama administration surprised many by opposing an appeals court ruling permitting litigation against utilities (known to be huge energy consumers and carbon dioxide producers) for greenhouse gas emissions.

“Member countries from developing nations couldn’t continue to invest such large sums unless they were convinced that the demand would be there when the capacity came onstream.”

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell proposes not only a new state tax on oil profits, but also a legislative bar preventing oil companies from passing on these increased costs to consumers. It’s unclear as to how he plans to accomplish the latter.

The government is both defending the ban publicly and in federal court, however energy companies and politicians from energy-producing states oppose the blanket ban. The case is currently under the review of US District Court Judge Martin Feldman (the same judge who ruled against the original moratorium). This interesting debate should continue to grab headlines as hearings and decisions occur.

The US Department of the Interior is publicly defending its moratorium (re-issued July 12th  after the initial ban was struck down in court) banning deepwater drilling in the Gulf.

Carbon capture projects are in vogue lately—but China, a huge carbon producer, is waiting for evidence of effectiveness before jumping into the fray.

An interesting discussion of energy companies deploying cash in increasing US production thus far in 2010.

A major goal of this transaction is to increase Nabors’ involvement in shale gas drilling.

Thankfully, the Macondo well appears plugged, but it will be some time before the regulatory and economic impact is fully known.

As the House’s vote on July 30th showed, support for this legislation is far from universal.

The moratorium is part of the problem—but another open issue is the pace of permitting, which by most reports has been slow for even shallow water drilling since the Gulf spill began.

An interesting look inside the nuts and bolts of a part of the hydraulic fracturing process.

As expected, the US House of Representatives passed legislation increasing regulation and scrutiny on offshore oil drilling. The Senate has yet to vote on their version a bill—something that may prove challenging if the tight House vote is any indication.

India is seeking to ramp up production of natural gas, and the US is in the loop to help. A plus for both sides if this moves forward.

An interesting review of the technological and scientific challenges posed by deepwater drilling beyond simply the water’s depth.

Increased regulation and costs to oil drillers in the Gulf may well push smaller players out in favor of larger companies—a potential unintended consequence of legislation swirling in the wake of the Macondo spill.

Despite the uncertainties noted above, total national rig counts were up on land and offshore last week. Interestingly, Louisiana led the way by adding the most rigs.

Following the Gulf oil spill, offshore drilling regulators’ responses have created rather significant uncertainties. It seems the senators cited may be overstating the case a bit, but more clarity would help alleviate some concern for oil producers.

A good example of private businesses learning from the Gulf oil spill, and the regulatory environment in its wake.

In light of the ongoing debate over Gulf deepwater drilling, it’s worth noting US oil and gas drilling increased 38% in Q2 versus Q1.

An interesting look at proven reserves by region—which speaks to the importance of technological developments in other significant areas of drilling, like much-discussed deepwater techniques.

Emerging Markets’ energy demand continues increasing, leading state-owned oil companies to seek overseas takeover targets.

China’s economic growth has spurred energy demand for years and will likely continue. Obtaining the number one consumer rank isn’t very important by itself, but the trend of increasing consumption says a lot about the growth of their economy.

In light of discussion surrounding BP’s potential asset sales, this is a good piece describing the history of extracting more oil from supposedly declining fields.

An interesting look at the Gulf of Mexico’s future beyond the politics of the present spill.

Not coincidentally, this announcement follows the DOI’s new Gulf of Mexico offshore drilling moratorium.

The latest twist in the Department of the Interior’s game of cat-and-mouse with offshore drilling companies. Considering the prior moratorium was successfully challenged in court, it would be surprising if the game was to end here.

In a widely expected move, the US Senate voted to eliminate limits on oil company liabilities stemming from the Gulf oil spill. In concert with other forces, like insurance rates rising, the costs of drilling in US waters are increasing—lessening the attraction for smaller players.

India’s decision to deregulate gasoline prices (and likely distillate prices) is bullish for the future of energy companies in this fast-growing Emerging Market country.

Despite strong rhetoric in a recent address, congressional political willingness to forge US cap-and-trade legislation seems a bit lacking at this time.

The US has abundant domestic natural gas resources. With improving technology, more are becoming available, and this cleaner, cheaper energy source could very well play a big role in years to come.

Another result from the Gulf oil spill, which could well translate into tighter supplies of non-OPEC oil or costs passed to consumers in future years.

Belarus and Russia have worked out tensions over unpaid bills, resuming gas shipments and easing a supply constraint.

The concept of clean energy is great. But in practice, it’s highly costly and subsidized by governments. Italy’s austerity measures seem likely to impact these subsidies rather directly.

The deepwater moratorium announced in the wake of the Gulf spill was dealt some blows in US District Court this week. A government appeal of the ruling is pending, which adds to uncertainty for new Gulf drilling but doesn’t affect producing wells.

Political rhetoric won’t help plug the leaking well, but it may unfortunately stress diplomatic relations and reduce much-needed investment in US oil & gas development.

While the drilling moratorium reduced the number of rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico, onshore drilling increased, driven by activity in unconventional oil & gas shales in Texas.

Despite the accident in the Gulf, deepwater drilling continues with global deepwater rig utilization at 98%.

The White House proposed increasing the per-barrel oil production tax from $0.08 to $0.09 to help deal with future oil spills. The proposal would also increase the cap on spill-related damages the government can collect, provide support for industries affected by spills, and split the Mineral Management Service into two divisions, with one responsible for regulation and the other for leasing and royalties.

The DOE reported an unexpected decline in gasoline inventories as product imports fell sharply and refineries unexpectedly cut utilization. Crude and distillate inventories were slightly higher than expected. Benchmark crack-spreads advanced to the highest level in over a year as crude oil prices slid and product prices increased.

The IEA downwardly revised its 2010 demand estimate, primarily reflecting downward revisions to 2009 demand estimates and weaker-than-expected demand from the Middle East, offset partially by stronger-than-expected demand from China. Earlier this week OPEC and DOE slightly increased their 2010 global demand forecasts.

Political fallout from the Gulf spill will be important for Energy investors to monitor in the coming weeks and months.

BP is pulling out all the stops to stem the flow of oil into the Gulf. Containment boxes like the one BP is utilizing have been used successfully in shallower waters, but never at these depths.

OPEC quotas often aren’t strictly enforced with many countries frequently pumping more oil than quotas allow. This is especially true when oil prices are high.

Oil prices plummeted in 2008 as recession gripped the world, but rebounded along with the global economy. Continued gangbusters emerging markets growth combined with strength in developed markets (US Q1 GDP grew by 3.2% annualized) should help support oil prices going forward.

Venezuela is oil-rich (it’s the 10th largest oil producer) but policy-poor. President Hugo Chavez has nationalized several large projects in the Orinoco Belt, driving away foreign energy firms and their much-needed capital and expertise. Output and the Venezuelan economy is suffering as a result.

This risk of oil supply disruption is ever present, especially in politically volatile areas like Nigeria. While oil supply is fairly easily taken offline quickly, it takes considerable time to bring new supplies online. This asymmetric risk means the odds of oil prices rising rapidly is usually greater than plummeting prices.

Correa is unfortunately following in Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's footsteps. Countries should rightfully expect to get a fair share of oil revenue, but extreme nationalization usually drives away much-needed foreign firms.