Free Republic

The Biden Administration believes cyberterrorism that prompted the largest refinery to shut down two crude units, paralyzing gas distribution, is a “private sector decision.” White House officials on Monday said they have not offered advice to Colonial Pipeline on whether to pay ransom to hackers who shut down a vital US pipeline.

We already learned that Russia was sending bombers to Venezuela for military exercises and supporting the country’s imploding economy. What could Vladimir Putin have wanted in exchange? We’re probably seeing the answer come into focus as Russia moves in to “help” Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro as we head into the new year. Putin is going to bail out Maduro’s failing government with some cash in exchange for establishing some measure of control over that nation’s vast crude oil reserves that are currently lying mostly dormant. (WaPo) As allies go, Venezuela is a relatively cheap one for Russia. But the potential...

>The green energy, “keep it in the ground” folks are off to a bad start in 2018. It turns out that another one of Barack Obama’s signature “achievements” in energy regulation, the one which would heavily regulate fracking on federal lands, is going away. Given what a dirty word “fracking” has become in liberal circles, this is causing all manner of outrage on the left. There’s only one catch here… the rule in question never even went into effect for even a single day. (Washington Times) The Obama administration’s 2015 fracking rule was never actually implemented, thanks to an ongoing...

Things aren’t going very well in Juneau these days and unlike the more nuanced arguments taking place in other states, Alaska is dealing with a problem which can be summed up in one word: money. The state spent a long time riding high on sustained, high oil prices which greatly impact their budget, but the sunset of the oil boom has led to a long term collapse in those revenues and Alaska needs to come up with some more cash. Their part time legislature will be returning to session next month and they will be facing a wide ranging proposal...

Central Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 213 attracted nearly $1 billion in high bids, prompting calls for the federal government to replicate the process.