European Parliament's key Industry Committee voted 50-2 Sept. 11 to require that 40% of all biofuels used to meet a 10% biofuels blending target by 2020 would have to be “second-generation” – not using food crops – or else include renewable electricity or hydrogen for motor fuel.

The Committee also voted to require that by 2015, at least 5% of all road transport fuels should come from renewable sources, according to the “co-decision” report. One-fifth of the 2015 “renewables” mandate could be met by second-generation non-food biofuels or else electricity or hydrogen from renewable sources.

California Air Resources Board (CARB) claims in a new study that the state's mandatory CO2 reduction schemes (including the pending "low carbon fuel standard" rule) would result in a net economic benefit.

The new economic study and a related public-health study "support the conclusion that guiding California toward a clean energy future with reduced dependence on fossil fuels will grow our economy, improve public health, protect the environment and create a more secure future built on clean and sustainable technologies," said CARB Chairman Mary Nichols.

An OECD analysis of the cost and impacts of climate change policies that will be released later this year concluded that the cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is likely to be higher than previous estimates, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said recently.

Gasoline demand among member nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) continued to decline in July, with demand falling 2.8% year-on-year, to 15 million b/d, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) monthly report.

In OECD North America, gasoline demand dropped 2.1% year-on-year, to 11 million b/d, with U.S. demand falling 3% to 9.3 million b/d.

Because demand for oil and petroleum products has declined this year in OECD countries, especially the U.S., many are wondering if this is permanent or a temporary trend that will end as prices decline.

In other words, is demand “destroyed” or “suppressed”?

The preliminary recommendations from the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) included in a report on futures trading released recently include changes to increase the transparency of futures trading and additional resources to implement those changes.

In June, CFTC required 32 entities and sub-entities, including swap dealers engaged in commodity index business, other large swap dealers and commodity index funds to provide data about their activity in futures and over-the-counter markets.

In a U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee hearing on diesel prices Sept. 23, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) cited recent data showing that U.S. ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) is typically trading in futures markets at about a 13-14¢/gal premium to relatively higher-sulfur No.2 heating oil (gasoil).

What’s more, EIA predicted at the hearing that ULSD is likely to continue to trade at a price premium to U.S. gasoline during the next few years, given the relatively tight diesel supply situation worldwide.

Biofuels could make up 10-15% of the future fuels mix in the next 10-20 years, according to the findings of an Accenture study.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued reports on several investigations into improprieties by former and current Minerals Management Service (MMS) employees in regards to dealings with oil and gas company employees.

A recent U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report said hydrogen-powered light duty vehicles would require a major financial commitment from industry and government, and face several significant technical, infrastructure and competitive challenges.

However, if all of these challenges could be overcome, then hydrogen vehicles could provide significant reductions in energy demand and CO2 emissions from vehicles, EIA said.

U.S. automaker Chrysler announced Tuesday it plans to add three electric vehicles to its lineup, including one in 2010.

Two of the vehicles will be what Chrysler calls “range-extended” electric vehicles, meaning they also come with a small gasoline engine that can power the vehicle when the electric motor needs to be charged.

The NYMEX crude oil futures price was down Tuesday for the first time in one week. The November contract began its run as the prompt contract with a 2.6% decline, to $106.61/bbl.