Evaluating the Proposed Test Drawdown and Sale of Strategic Petroleum Reserve Oil


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Under the authority of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, the Department of Energy (DOE) maintains and operates the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). In the event of an energy emergency, the President would initiate a drawdown of the Reserve to counter the harmful economic effects of a severe shortage in oil supplies. To prepare better for an emergency, DOE has conducted several exercises to test the Reserve's administrative and operational systems. In 1984, DOE planned a test drawdown and sale of SPR oil. This exercise would, for the first time, have involved the sale of a small amount of SPR oil to the highest bidders, and would have tested simultaneously the operation of all SPR subsystems. This Note lays the groundwork for the evaluation of such a test.




Strategic Petroleum Reserves


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A Rand Note


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Evaluation of the Department of Energy's Plan to Sell Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve


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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) plan for selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to analyze: (1) the plan's potential effects on world oil prices; (2) the issues affecting who would get SPR oil under this plan; and (3) how the plan compares with alternative sales mechanisms. GAO found that the plan's market approach would probably limit oil price increases in a severe supply disruption and allow broad participation in the sale. However, there were potential problems identified with oil distribution under the plan. DOE, in taking a market approach to the distribution, plans to award SPR sales contracts to the highest bidders who would be considered eligible buyers. This would allow any foreign country to buy the oil and does not limit the amount that a single buyer could purchase at a given sale. GAO also examined alternative sales methods of interest to Congress, including: (1) the continuous sale of options to buy SPR oil in advance of an oil emergency; and (2) allocation of SPR oil at government-set prices. Most industry representatives opposed the sale of SPR options because of their concerns about the length of time during which options could be exercised and who should be eligible to buy the options. GAO found that uncompetitive allocation of SPR oil would entail administrative difficulties that would undermine its intended benefits since it would be difficult to develop criteria for fair distribution.




Energy and Security


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The second, completely updated edition of this widely read and respected guide is the most authoritative survey available on the perennial question of energy security. Energy and Security gathers today's topmost foreign policy and energy experts and leaders to assess how the United States can integrate its energy and national security interests. This edition offers fresh analysis and insight into • Fundamental shifts in the global energy balance • The revolution in shale gas and oil • New energy frontiers, from ultra deepwater to the Arctic • The rising agenda of safety concerns across the energy complex • Energy poverty • Infrastructure for modernizing power grids • Climate security in the current political and economic environment The contributors offer a lively discussion of the challenges and opportunities presented by these changes and how they affect national security and regional politics around the globe.




Drawdown


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• New York Times bestseller • The 100 most substantive solutions to reverse global warming, based on meticulous research by leading scientists and policymakers around the world “At this point in time, the Drawdown book is exactly what is needed; a credible, conservative solution-by-solution narrative that we can do it. Reading it is an effective inoculation against the widespread perception of doom that humanity cannot and will not solve the climate crisis. Reported by-effects include increased determination and a sense of grounded hope.” —Per Espen Stoknes, Author, What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming “There’s been no real way for ordinary people to get an understanding of what they can do and what impact it can have. There remains no single, comprehensive, reliable compendium of carbon-reduction solutions across sectors. At least until now. . . . The public is hungry for this kind of practical wisdom.” —David Roberts, Vox “This is the ideal environmental sciences textbook—only it is too interesting and inspiring to be called a textbook.” —Peter Kareiva, Director of the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and bold solutions to climate change. One hundred techniques and practices are described here—some are well known; some you may have never heard of. They range from clean energy to educating girls in lower-income countries to land use practices that pull carbon out of the air. The solutions exist, are economically viable, and communities throughout the world are currently enacting them with skill and determination. If deployed collectively on a global scale over the next thirty years, they represent a credible path forward, not just to slow the earth’s warming but to reach drawdown, that point in time when greenhouse gases in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline. These measures promise cascading benefits to human health, security, prosperity, and well-being—giving us every reason to see this planetary crisis as an opportunity to create a just and livable world.




Hidden Costs of Energy


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Despite the many benefits of energy, most of which are reflected in energy market prices, the production, distribution, and use of energy causes negative effects. Many of these negative effects are not reflected in energy market prices. When market failures like this occur, there may be a case for government interventions in the form of regulations, taxes, fees, tradable permits, or other instruments that will motivate recognition of these external or hidden costs. The Hidden Costs of Energy defines and evaluates key external costs and benefits that are associated with the production, distribution, and use of energy, but are not reflected in market prices. The damage estimates presented are substantial and reflect damages from air pollution associated with electricity generation, motor vehicle transportation, and heat generation. The book also considers other effects not quantified in dollar amounts, such as damages from climate change, effects of some air pollutants such as mercury, and risks to national security. While not a comprehensive guide to policy, this analysis indicates that major initiatives to further reduce other emissions, improve energy efficiency, or shift to a cleaner electricity generating mix could substantially reduce the damages of external effects. A first step in minimizing the adverse consequences of new energy technologies is to better understand these external effects and damages. The Hidden Costs of Energy will therefore be a vital informational tool for government policy makers, scientists, and economists in even the earliest stages of research and development on energy technologies.




United States Code


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