Oil dropped below $50 on Monday, but what’s even more interesting? The fact that North Dakota may be just days away from reaching their first oil tax trigger. Rob Port explains on his Minot, ND-based SayAnythingBlog.com. Plus, an interesting read asking if it is time to have COOL (Country of Origin Labeling) on gasoline- an idea that has been debated in the agricultural community for ag products. Those stories and more are below.
SayAnythingBlog.com: North Dakota May Be Just Days Away From First Oil Tax Trigger
Most of the attention has focused on the larger of the two triggers which would cut the effective oil tax in half if the price of WTI crude falls below $52.58 per barrel for five straight months (it stays that way until prices exceed the trigger price for five straight months).
But there’s another trigger in the law which takes effect if the average price of WTI crude for the last 30 days is less than $55 per barrel.
The price has been under the magic $55 per barrel number since the day after Christmas, but remember we only need the average of the past 30 days to be under $55 per barrel.
Also from SAB…Bob Timm: Does Gasoline Need Country Of Origin Labeling?
One piece of legislation well known in agricultural states is Country Of Origin Labeling (known by the acronym COOL). COOL lets people know where there ag products originate from and in cases of livestock the label is to let people know where the livestock was born, raised, and produced for consumption.
Why not apply COOL to oil and gas products? I for one would be willing to pay ten to even fifty cents per gallon more to know that I am NOT purchasing gas from countries that hate us and kill our soldier sons and daughters. Let them choke on their oil as it becomes worth less and less and decreases their ability to purchase weapons to kill US soldiers, citizens, and our allies.
NPR: Obama’s interior secretary says fracking bans are ‘wrong way to go’
“There is a lot of misinformation about fracking,” Jewell said. “I think that localized efforts or statewide efforts in many cases don’t understand the science behind it and I think there needs to be more science.”
Jewell’s comments come two weeks after New York announced a statewide ban on fracking. Officials there cited possible public health and environmental concerns, however they said the science around the issue has yet to be settled.
For those monitoring my blog this week, you know that I’ve also been following the latest on the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Well, Bill Whitsitt, a former energy industry leader and energy executive who now serves as the Executive-in-Residence at the UM Bureau of Business and Economic Research had this reaction to President Obama’s veto threat:
In following the Keystone XL issue, the President has apparently forgotten that XL will provide a market for Bakken crude – up to 200,000+ bbls per day.
From Fox News First earlier this week:
“I think we’ve got all 54 Republicans, looks like they’ll be original co-sponsors and more than half a dozen Democrats. The votes are there.” – Sen-elect Ben Sasse, R-Neb., on the Senate Keystone XL pipeline bill, on “FOX & Friends” this morning.
AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Republicans are going to have a chance to show how retroactively for the last six years everything has stopped in the Senate – Democrats stopped it, Harry Reid stopped it and they effectively acted as a shield to make [President Obama] look as if he wasn’t the one stopping stuff. Well, now he’s going to be exposed because he’s going to have to exercise the veto.” – Charles Krauthammer on “Special Report with Bret Baier” Watch here.
Politico’s Morning Energy earlier this week: OIL DROPS BELOW $50 MONDAY, SETTLES JUST ABOVE IT
The Wall Street Journal writes: “Oil’s selloff accelerated on Monday, with U.S. prices falling briefly below $50 a barrel for the first time since April 2009, on signs that supply will outstrip demand in coming months. … Monday’s declines took both oil benchmarks below psychologically important levels for many traders. Some analysts and investors have predicted that prices will level off above $50 a barrel, following a nearly 50% slide last year. But a persistent glut in the global market is fueling further declines in the new year.” WSJ: http://on.wsj.com/1BAmVTw