Energy In-depth: 20 Arkansas Trade Groups Join Campaign To Oppose EPA Ozone Standards

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20 ARKANSAS TRADE GROUPS JOIN CAMPAIGN TO OPPOSE EPA OZONE STANDARDS
Twenty Arkansas trade groups were among the 370 state associations from across the country to petition the White House on Thursday saying the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to change ozone air quality standards is too costly and unnecessary, according to the American Petroleum Institute, which led the letter-writing campaign.

“As associations representing many businesses, both large and small, that employ millions of Americans, and local governments in which those businesses thrive, we are deeply concerned about the harmful impact that EPA’s recently proposed rule to make ozone standards more stringent could have on the still struggling economy,” the groups told White House Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough in the letter.

Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA set national ambient air quality standards for ozone and five other pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment, including particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and lead. EPA is expected to take final action on the proposed standards by Oct. 1, 2015.

NATION’S LARGEST PUBLIC PENSION FUNDS LOSE MORE THAN $5 BILLION ON ENERGY-RELATED INVESTMENTS
California’s two major public pension funds, the biggest in the nation, lost a total of more than $5 billion on energy-related investments for their fiscal years, ended June 30, according to a new report by the Los Angeles Times.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System posted losses on its oil and gas portfolio of about $3 billion, a 28% decline, and a similar set of investments at the California State Teachers’ Retirement System was down 27%, or about $2.2 billion, the report said.

Both systems, though, posted overall annual gains for the year. CalPERS, with $300 billion in assets under management, reported an overall gain of 2.4%. CalSTRS, with about $190 billion in assets, had a total return of 4.8%. Read the LA Times article here.

ARKANSAS, U.S. PUMP PRICES TO RATCHET DOWNWARD IN FOURTH QUARTER
Arkansas and U.S. motorists will likely see pump prices continue to move lower for the rest of the year, and may well see local gas prices ratchet down near the two dollar level ahead of the holiday season, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s short-term energy outlook.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s statistical arm forecasted that it expects monthly average gasoline prices to decline from their July level to an average of $2.11 per gallon in the fourth quarter, a decline of nearly 46 cents from today’s average of $$2.58 per gallon to fill up at most stations across the U.S.

IRAN SELECTS 45 PROJECTS TO DOUBLE NATION’S OIL, GAS OUTPUT
Iran has selected 45 oil and gas projects to show international companies at a conference in London in December when new oil contract models will be discussed ahead of exploration auctions to double the country’s crude output, according to a Bloomberg article.

The projects, including oil and gas exploration, will be discussed along with details of a new oil contract model at the Dec. 14-16 conference, Mehdi Hosseini, chairman of Iran’s oil contracts restructuring committee, said in an interview in Tehran. Iran hopes to boost crude production to 5.7 million barrels a day, he said.

The Persian Gulf nation’s output was 2.85 million barrels a day in July, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Oil producers such as BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc have expressed interest in developing Iran’s reserves, the world’s fourth-biggest, assuming sanctions are removed following last month’s nuclear agreement with world powers.

ARKANSAS, OKLAHOMA COOPERATIVES TEAM UP ON SOLAR PACT
Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc.’s renewable energy subsidiary has reached an agreement to provide solar power to a three-county electric cooperative in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The deal calls for AECI’s Today’s Power Inc. (TPI) group to provide a one-megawatt AC solar portfolio for Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC) of Hooker, Okla., located in the far northwestern corner of the Sooner State.