The history of the petroleum industry in the United States goes back to the early 19th century, although the indigenous peoples, like many ancient societies, have used petroleum seeps since prehistoric times; where found, these seeps signaled the growth of the industry from the earliest discoveries to the more recent.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in interstate commerce. FERC also reviews proposals to build interstate natural gas pipelines, natural gas storage projects, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, in addition to licensing non-federal hydropower projects.
Enbridge Inc. is a Canadian multinational energy transportation company based in Calgary, Alberta. It focuses on the transportation, distribution and generation of energy, primarily in North America. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates in Canada and the United States, the longest crude oil and liquid hydrocarbons transportation system in North America. As a distributor of various fuels, it owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution network, providing distribution services in Ontario, Quebec and New York State.
TC Energy Corporation is a major North American energy company, based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The company operates three core businesses: Natural Gas Pipelines, Liquids Pipelines and Energy.
High Island Offshore System is a natural gas pipeline system that gathers gas in the offshore Gulf of Mexico and brings it into ANR Pipeline's eastern leg and Enbridge Pipelines UTOS. It is owned by El Paso Corporation. Its FERC code is 77.
Kern River Pipeline is a 1,679-mile (2,702 km) long natural gas pipeline line extending from southwestern Wyoming to its terminus near Bakersfield, California. The pipeline supplies local gas distribution companies, power plants, and heavy industry in Utah, Nevada, and California. It is owned and operated by the Kern River Gas Transmission Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Its FERC code is 99.
Trailblazer Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline that brings natural gas from Colorado into Nebraska, where the pipeline joins the NGPL. It is owned by Tallgrass Energy Partners, LP is a private master limited partnership (MLP) headquartered in Overland Park, KS. On August 17, 2012, Tallgrass entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. to buy Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission, Trailblazer Pipeline Company, the Casper-Douglas natural gas processing and West Frenchie Draw treating facilities in Wyoming, and KMP’s 50 percent interest in the Rockies Express Pipeline. Tallgrass closed this acquisition on November 13, 2012. Its FERC code is 68.
TransColorado Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline that transports gas across Colorado to either the San Juan Basin or Denver and the Colorado Interstate Gas system. It is owned by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners. Its FERC code is 143.
NiSource Inc. is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.5 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across seven states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. The company, based in Merrillville, Indiana, has more than 8,000 employees. As of 2018, NiSource is the sole Indiana-based utility company.
Kinder Morgan, Inc. is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. The company specializes in owning and controlling oil and gas pipelines and terminals.
Petroleum production in Canada is a major industry which is important to the economy of North America. Canada has the third largest oil reserves in the world and is the world's fourth largest oil producer and fourth largest oil exporter. In 2017 it produced an average of 667,747 cubic metres per day (4.2 Mbbl/d) of crude oil and equivalent. Of that amount, 64% was upgraded and non-upgraded bitumen from oil sands, and the remainder light crude oil, heavy crude oil and natural-gas condensate. Most of Canadian petroleum production is exported, approximately 482,525 cubic metres per day (3 Mbbl/d) in 2015, with almost all of the exports going to the United States. Canada is by far the largest single source of oil imports to the United States, providing 43% of US crude oil imports in 2015.
Energy Transfer Partners is a company engaged in natural gas and propane pipeline transport. It is organized in Delaware and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in 1995 by Ray Davis and Kelcy Warren, who remains Chairman and CEO. It owns a 36.4% interest in Dakota Access, LLC, the company responsible for developing the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.
The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta to refineries in Illinois and Texas, and also to oil tank farms and an oil pipeline distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma. The pipeline became well known when a planned fourth phase, Keystone XL, attracted opposition from environmentalists, becoming a symbol of the battle over climate change and fossil fuels. In 2015 Keystone XL was temporarily delayed by then-President Barack Obama. On January 24, 2017, President Donald Trump took action intended to permit the pipeline's completion.
Spectra Energy Corp, headquartered in Houston, Texas, operated in three key areas of the natural gas industry: transmission and storage, distribution, and gathering and processing. Spectra was formed in late 2006 from the spin-off from Duke Energy. Spectra owned the Texas Eastern Pipeline (TETCo), a major natural gas pipeline which brings gas from the Gulf of Mexico coast in Texas to the New York City area, which was one of the largest pipeline systems in the United States. Spectra also operated three oil pipelines. In February 2017, Spectra Energy merged into the Canadian company Enbridge.
Petroleum in the United States has been a major industry since shortly after the oil discovery in the Oil Creek area of Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859. The industry includes exploration, production, processing (refining), transportation, and marketing of natural gas and petroleum products. As of 2019, the United States is the world's largest oil producer. The leading oil-producing area in the United States in 2014 was Texas, followed by the offshore federal zone of the Gulf of Mexico, North Dakota and California.
The Natural Gas Act of 1938 was the first occurrence of the United States federal government regulating the natural gas industry. It was focused on regulating the rates charged by interstate natural gas transmission companies. In the years prior to the passage of the Act, concern arose about the monopolistic tendencies of the transmission companies and the fact that they were charging higher than competitive prices. The passage of the Act gave the Federal Power Commission (FPC) control over the regulation of interstate natural gas sales. Later on, the FPC was dissolved and became the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC continues to regulate the natural gas industry to this day.
United States energy law is a function of the federal government, states, and local governments. At the federal level, it is regulated extensively through the United States Department of Energy. Every state, the Federal government, and the District of Columbia collect some motor vehicle excise taxes. Specifically, these are excise taxes on gasoline, diesel fuel, and gasohol. While many western states rely a great deal on severance taxes on oil, gas, and mineral production for revenue, most states get a relatively small amount of their revenue from such sources.
