Eamonn Brennan

This feature is part of a series exploring the major developments impacting the near-term US upstream and midstream sectors.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation allowing the sale of E15 gasoline in the state, saying the move could lower fuel prices by up to 20 cents/gal "without adding environmental harm."

The US Department of the Interior took its first steps toward a new oil and gas lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Oct. 21, as the administration of US President Donald Trump begins fulfilling leases required by Republicans' 2025 budget reconciliation legislation.

The US Department of the Interior formally reopened the Coastal Plain in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing Oct. 23, a first regulatory step designed to encourage development of the potentially resource-rich but environmentally controversial region.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected Colonial Pipeline's proposed tariff modifications that would have changed how the company handles different gasoline grades with varying Reid Vapor Pressure specifications -- dealing a setback to the pipeline operator's attempt to streamline operations and increase capacity by up to 10,000 b/d.

The US Department of Energy closed its first crude purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, awarding contracts for approximately 1 million barrels, it announced Nov. 12.

The US is planning to lift its oil embargo on Venezuela and control the proceeds from the sales of Venezuelan oil, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Jan. 7.

The US Gulf Coast originated nearly three-quarters of the domestic cargo movements granted Jones Act waivers in the latest tranche of US Maritime Administration data, extending the region's dominance of the program even as the waivers approach an Aug. 15 expiration date. Of 68 waiver movements MARAD reported between June 12 and July 20, 50 loaded at Gulf Coast ports across Texas, Louisiana,