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September 2, 2010
PORTER POLL SHOWS REPUBLICAN WITH 15-POINT LEAD IN RRC RACE
Undecided at 36% in survey conducted by Republican PR firm from Washington.
Republican David Porter holds a 15-point lead over
Democrat Jeff Weems in the race for an open seat on the Texas
Railroad Commission, a poll released today shows.
The poll by Wilson Research Strategies, a
Washington, D.C.-based Republican public relations firm, was conducted Aug.
29-31 with telephone interviews of 1,001 Texans who identified themselves as
likely voters.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright September 02, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 2, 2010
NELSON GIVES ASSURANCES ON SWITCH-BLOCKING
PUC commissioner says provision will be scrapped if it doesn’t work properly.
The Public Utility Commission would order a
halt to allowing retail electric companies block customers struggling to pay
their monthly bill from switching to providers if it appears that the program
is harming Texans in need, Commissioner Donna Nelson promised today.
Nelson made the pledge to attorney Randy Chapman
during an afternoon workshop to put the finishing touches on a proposed rule
that would govern the way electric companies could disconnect service to
customers who don’t pay their bills.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright September 02, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 2, 2010
DÉJÀ VU IN THE GULF? EH, NOT SO MUCH
Today’s incident cannot compare with Deepwater Horizon disaster.
This morning’s reports of another fire and explosion on an
offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico 100 miles south of Louisiana rekindled the
still-vivid memories of Deepwater Horizon, but by late afternoon
it appeared that the latest event won’t come close to being comparable to the BP
disaster.
In fact, one industry insider tells us that were it not for
the magnitude of Deepwater Horizon, the fire and dramatic rescue
of the crew from the production rig operated by Houston-based Mariner
Energy would have been a relatively mild story, even on the 24-hour
news networks.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright September 02, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 2, 2010
OIL RIG EXPLODES OFF LOUSIANA COAST
"The accident took place 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana on the Vermilion Oil rig 380, which is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy."
From the CNN story. By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright September 02, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 1, 2010
PUC UNLIKELY TO DUMP SWITCH-HOLD PROVISION
Nelson will meet with stakeholders tomorrow, but affirms her support for controversial proposal in electric-disconnect rule.
Commissioner Donna Nelson will hold one last workshop
tomorrow on the thorny issue of how electric companies can go about
disconnecting customers who fail to pay their monthly bills, but it appears
highly doubtful that the Public Utility Commission will shelve
plans to prevent late-payers from switching providers.
The commission had been poised to finally vote today on the
proposed rule that’s been two years in the making. But late yesterday, Nelson
asked for another delay, saying the rule drafted by the commission staff after
countless workshops and memo-filings was “not ready for prime time.”
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright September 01, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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September 1, 2010
HUGE GROWTH SEEN IN ELECTRIC STORAGE MARKET
New study says it will be an $8 billion industry within a few years.
The market for energy storage technology will grow nine
times its present size over the next eight years and has the potential to
become an $8.3 billion industry during that time, a new study by the Texas
Foundation for Innovative Communities shows.
“This growth will produce hundreds of new jobs for
engineers, electricians, technicians, and renewable energy/smart grid system
integrators who install and maintain energy storage resources,” the foundation
says in the report released yesterday through The Good Company.
“Many thousands more in related occupations will need to upgrade their knowledge
and skills to understand and work with various types of energy storage.”
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright September 01, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 31, 2010
EPA DISAPPROVES TCEQ’S NEW SOURCE REVIEW PROGRAM
Action follows similar rulings on flex permits, qualified facilities.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today
knocked down another Texas air permitting program, ruling that the state’s “New
Source Review” program does not meet standards spelled out in
the federal Clean Air Act.
The federal agency first signaled that it would disapprove
the program, which is administered by the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality, in September when it published notice in the
Federal Register seeking comments on how it was working and how it
might be improved.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright August 31, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 31, 2010
TEXAS WIND PROJECTS INCLUDED IN EXELON, JOHN DEERE DEAL
Company seeking to drastically cut its carbon output in coming decade.
About one-fourth of the generating capacity that Exelon
Corp. will be taking over with the purchase of John Deere
Renewables is in the Texas Panhandle.
Exelon said the acquisition of JDR is
part of the Chicago-based company’s long-range plan to drastically curtail its
carbon footprint in the coming decade. The company, which is heavily invested
in nuclear generation, bills itself as being the least carbon-intensive major
electric company in the nation.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright August 31, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 31, 2010
UPDATE: PUC COULD WILL LIKELY DELAY DISCONNECT VOTE
Commisioner Nelson wants to keep working with stakeholders.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been uppdated since it was first posted.
Public Utility Commissioner Donna Nelson filed a memo late this afternoon asking that the full commission hold off on voting on proposed new rules to govern the disconnection of electricity service to customers
who are in arrears on their monthly bills and are on deferred payment plans. The commission had been expected to take up the matter tomorrow.
Nelson said she wants to keep working on the divisive issue of switch-blocking. Organizations such as AARP, Texas Legal Services Center and Texas Ratepayers Organization to
Save Energy continue to object to a proposal that would allow whether retail customers in the competitive
market who are behind in their bills to be prohibited from shopping around
for cheaper electric service.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 31, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 30, 2010
TWO GROUPS SEEK INTERVENER STATUS IN STATE SUIT AGAINST EPA
They argue that feds were right to toss out flexible permit program.
Two environmental organizations are seeking intervener
status in the in the state’s court challenge to the U.S. Environmental
Protections Agency’s decision to disapprove Texas’ flexible permitting
program.
Environmental Defense Fund and the Environmental
Integrity Project filed their petition Friday with the 5th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The action puts the organizations at
odds with Gov. Rick Perry and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott
who filed suit against the EPA in late July arguing that the agency
is overreaching its authority and endangering jobs in Texas’ energy sector.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright August 30, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 30, 2010
BLOWBACK FROM THE AMERICAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION
Advocacy group takes issue with Texas author Bryce on value of renewable.
The American Wind Energy Association is taking
issue with Texas author Robert Bryce’s recent op-ed in the Wall
Street Journal that argues that more wind generation will not
substantially reduce carbon emissions.
Denise Bode, the wind group’s CEO, posted a YouTube
video countering that CO2 emissions have “dropped in lockstep” with addition of
more wind turbines in West Texas and elsewhere over the past decades.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 30, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 27, 2010
TAB, C CLUB HOUSTON ARE BACKING PORTER
Key endorsements counter TIPRO ex-presidents’ nod to Weems earlier in the week.
Republican Railroad Commission candidate David
Porter has bagged two prized endorsement from conservative-leaning
organizations in what is shaping up as a spirited down-ballot statewide race
against Democrat Jeff Weems.
Porter, a certified public accountant who lives near
Giddings, is backed by the Texas Association of Business'
political action committee and the conservative C Club of Houston’s
PAC, made of 100 influential business leaders in Harris County.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 27, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 27, 2010
TCEQ POSTS INTERACTIVE BARNETT SHALE MAP
Gives pinpoint location for air quality information around the clock.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
today posted on its website an interactive map of the Barnett Shale
that allows viewers to see the latest data from the various air quality
monitoring sites near natural gas drilling and pipeline facilities.
TCEQ executive director Mark Vickery
said the map, which streams around the clock, is available from almost pinpoint
locations on the map and praised what he called “easily accessible” access to
scientific data available via the web.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 27, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 26, 2010
TSU PLANS SOLAR ENERGY RESEARCH CENTER
Houston campus partnering with Arizona company on thin-film array pilot project.
An Arizona solar company today announced plans to install
eight thin-film photovoltaic panels on the campus of Texas Southern
University as part of a long-range plan to develop a center for solar
technology at the historically African-American higher learning facility near
Houston.
Evolution Solar of Tempe said the
demonstration project at TSU will be the company’s first
installation of an array of the state-of-the-art AmpleSun panels
in United States.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 26, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 26, 2010
ENVIROS WARNING ABOUT COAL ASH DANGERS
EPA plans hearing next month at Dallas Hyatt Regency.
Environmental groups are calling attention to a Sept. 8
hearing in Dallas by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to
call attention to the hazards of toxic coal ash waste.
“For years nobody, including the Environmental
Protection Agency, has had a full picture of how much of this toxic
waste is out there, where it is, or if it is safely contained,” said Neil
Carman, a clean air advocate for Lonestar Chapter of Sierra Club.
“It has been dumped with no federal oversight, and utterly inadequate state
policies.”
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright August 26, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 25, 2010
UNIT 1 AT SOUTH TEXAS NUKE PLANT WENT OFF LINE LAST WEEK
ReCharge.com says ERCOT activated emergency procedures to avoid blackouts.
The South Texas Nuclear Project Unit 1 went
off line for a time on Friday, which forced the Electric Reliability
Council of Texas to activate an emergency response procedure to
forestall any blackouts on the high-demand late August day.
See Jake Dyer’s blog
item on ReCharge.com for details. By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright August 25, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 25, 2010
FIVE FORMER TIPRO PRESIDENTS BACKING WEEMS
Democratic RRC candidate hopes to parlay that support to others in the industry.
Five recent former presidents of the Texas Independent
Producers and Royalty Owners Association will endorse Democrat Jeff
Weems in this year’s race for an open seat on the Texas Railroad
Commission.
Three of the five have been generous contributors to at
least two of the sitting Republican members of the commission and the other two
have made campaign donations to at least one sitting Republican member. Several
have also contributed to Democrats in the past, but none running for the Railroad
Commission, according to the Ethics Commission website.
“I think that this shows that I have support that transcends
party lines,” Weems told the Texas Energy Report this afternoon.
His campaign plans a formal release of the names next week, he said.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 25, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 25, 2010
TCEQ PLANS INFORMATIONAL MEETING ON NEW OIL, GAS RULES
Tuesday’s events will be webcast to areas outside of Austin.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
will hold an informational meeting on proposed new rules for oil and gas
production facilities next Tuesday in Austin.
It starts at 9:30 a.m. and is scheduled to wrap up by 3 p.m.
at TCEQ’s headquarters in north Austin
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright August 25, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 25, 2010
EAGLE FORD SHALE GAINING ATTENTION
San Antonio conference in October comes as drilling pace accelerates in South Texas play.
The shale gas spotlight in Texas is about to shift south.
Developing Unconventional Gas, or DUG,
is planning a conference and exhibition in San Antonio in October on the
increasing pace of activity in the Eagle Ford Shale, which event
organizers say is “rapidly moving into the top tier of U.S. shale plays.”
Featured speakers at the conference, which runs Oct. 4-6 at
the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, are Richard
Stoneburner, president of Petrohawk Energy Corp., and
Scott Sheffield, chairman and CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 25, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 24, 2010
CARONA QUESTIONS WHETHER WIND GETS TOO MUCH EMPHASIS
New Business and Commerce chairman says maybe more incentives needed for other clean energy sources.
As the new chairman of the Senate Business and
Commerce Committee, Dallas Republican John Carona admitted that
his question might challenge one of the cornerstones of the state’s
energy-reliability policy since lawmakers restructured the retail electric market
more than a decade ago.
“Why do we place so much emphasis in this state on wind
(generation) when it’s such an inefficient source?” Carona asked.
The question appeared to catch Trip Doggett, the CEO
of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, a bit off guard.
“I’m not sure, from a policy perspective, that I know the
answer to that question,” Doggett replied during Carona’s inaugural meeting at
the helm of Business and Commerce where a variety of electric
reliability issues were kicked around.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 24, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 24, 2010
“HAYNESVILLE” MOVIE RECEIVES A BOOST
Look at life in the gas-rich shale is up for “Film of the Year” at NOLA film festival.
The feature-length documentary, Haynesville,
which examines the lives of three people affected by the discovery of a huge
natural gas formation in shale that straddles the East Texas, Arkansas and
Louisiana borders, has been selected for the New Orleans Film Festival in
October.
It is also nominated for “Film of the Year” at
the festival, which runs Oct. 14-21. For more information about the move, click here. For more about
the film festival, click here. By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright August 24, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 23, 2010
BARNETT SHALE TO GET 8 NEW AIR MONITORS
Details remain sketchy on who will foot the estimated $2 million tab.
The chairmen of two legislative committees that oversee
environmental regulations announced today that the state would double the
number of air monitoring devices in the natural gas-rich Barnett Shale
region, but less clear was how the new initiative would be paid for.
State Sen. Troy Fraser and Rep. Byron Cook,
made the announcement at Fort Worth City Hall that eight additional gas
chromatograph monitors would soon join the seven devices already in use near
gas operations in the shale. The added monitors, they said, would go a long way
toward allaying the concerns expressed by some residents that all the natural
gas operations could be damaging North Texas air quality.
“The Barnett Shale has been a great economic
benefit for Texas and especially the Fort Worth region,” said Fraser, a
Horseshoe Bay Republican who last month was named chairman of the Senate
Natural Resources Committee. “However, with growth there are growing
pains. In order to know how to protect the public, we must have enough
information to put the correct safeguards in place.”
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 23, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 23, 2010
PEAK ELECTRICITY DEMAND KEEPS RISING
Virtually entire grid enveloped in 100-degree-plus temperatures.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is
expecting yet another record for peak demand today as five of the six regions
within the grid reported afternoon high temperatures of 100 or more.
Curiously, the one sector running below triple digits was
nearly always muggy Houston, which appeared to top out at a balmy 99 degrees.
However, local TV station KPRC said Houston did manage to top 100
with a reading of 102 late in the afternoon. Stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth
region were reporting a high of 106 and Austin reached 104.
ERCOT spokeswoman Dottie Roark said the
grid was on pace to obliterate the record set last week when peak demand topped
64,800 megawatts. Today, it could go as high as 65,900, she said. By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright August 23, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 23, 2010
CORRECTION: IT’S CARLOS RUBINSTEIN, WITH AN “I”
We apologize for misspelling TCEQ commissioner’s name in Aug. 13 report.
By Texas Energy Report
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Copyright August 23, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 20, 2010
NATURAL GAS GROUP TAKES PERRY TO TASK FOR COMMENTS ON FRACKING
Governor’s camp says criticism aimed at White’s company, not industry as a whole.
The American Natural Gas Association chastised
Republican Gov. Rick Perry for last month’s press release criticizing
Democratic opponent Bill White’s business ties to a drilling company
that has used diesel fuel in hydraulic shale fracturing operations.
The association sent a letter to the governor at his
campaign address July 19 saying that the press release’s charge that fracturing
exposes underground drinking water supplies to dangerous chemicals is
“unfortunate and inaccurate.”
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 20, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 20, 2010
MANUFACTURERS COOL TO STUDY ON RENEWABLES
Association says incentives for solar will drive up rates, cost jobs.
The Texas Association of Manufacturers today
said state leaders should not allow the zeal to pursue more renewable energy
lead to policies that drive up the cost of traditional energy sources.
The manufacturers were referring to this week’s study conducted by former Chief
Deputy Comptroller Billy Hamilton on behalf of the Cynthia and
George Mitchell Foundation that predicted Texas would reap thousands of
new jobs and millions in new tax receipts by boosting incentives for solar
generation.
Hamilton noted in his study that the boost for solar would
add to the cost of electric service.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 20, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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August 19, 2010
IN 2010 RRC RACE, IT’S THE DEMOCRAT WITH THE INDUSTRY TIES
But history and the raw numbers suggest that the advantage remains with the GOP.
In some ways, nothing seems out of the ordinary with this
year’s race for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission.
One candidate never passes up an opportunity to tout his
roots and experience in the energy industry, and mingles easily with the men
and women who make their living in the business and remain active in the trade
associations that protect their interests in Austin and Washington, D.C.
The other major-party candidate is less familiar with both
the nitty-gritty details of the oil and gas industry and with the people who
drive the industry’s agenda in the halls of government.
But in this year’s race, the industry back-slapper is
running on the Democratic ticket and the outsider is a Republican.
The Rest of the Story, Subscribers Only
By John Moritz
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Copyright August 19, 2010, Harvey Kronberg, www.texasenergyreport.com, All rights are reserved
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