New transportation tax withholding for Oregon employees begins July 1

SALEM, OR (KPTV) - Paystubs received by Oregon employees after July 1 will include the new transportation tax.

The transit tax was part of House Bill 2017, also known as the "transportation package."

The Oregon Department of Revenue said the statewide tax will be one-tenth of one percent of wages earned.

Employers are responsible for withholding the tax from employee wage, according to the Oregon Dept. of Revenue, while the employees pay it. Oregon residents who work outside the state can ask their employer to withhold the tax from their wages as a courtesy, but employers aren't required to do so.

Revenue from the tax will go to finance investments in and improvements to public transportation throughout the state of Oregon, except for light rail. For more information on how the tax revenues will be used visit www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Pages/HB2017.aspx

http://www.kptv.com/story/38512324/new-transportation-tax-withholding-for-oregon-employees-begins-july-1

WGC: Politics ranks high in gas pipeline risk factors

West Virginia (R) Sen. Shelley Capito, speaking June 26 at the World Gas Conference in Washington, DC, described the recent stop-and-start nature of pipeline construction, brought about by ongoing protests, as “very problematic” regarding needed expansion of the US pipeline system. Her thoughts were echoed on an international scale by Tatiana Mitrova, director of the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo Business School’s Energy Center, who ranked geopolitics as the second-biggest risk factor in pipeline network expansion, behind only demand uncertainty.

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov focused on the economic benefits of gas pipeline transportation in explaining why it remains crucial despite such headwinds. “LNG will be used extensively,” Shahbazov said, “but pipelines remain the cheapest way to transport gas.” His Israeli counterpart, Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz, added that the supply security offered by pipeline transport kept it at the forefront of delivery options, especially for customers. “Whenever you can export by pipeline, it’s the better option,” he said.

Steinitz’s remarks were made in the context of Israel’s participation with Cyprus as the origin countries for the Eastern Mediterranean Natural Gas (EastMed) pipeline. EastMed would move gas from Leviathan field to Europe via subsea pipeline to Greece and Italy. It’s more than 2,000 km length, however, and subsea sections reaching depths of roughly 3,000 m, have led to doubts that the project is economically viable even if technically feasible.

Steinitz, however, maintained that the pipeline’s subsea route would reduce toll costs to customers, avoid the political pitfalls he and other panelists agreed were increasingly problematic, and offer delivery security not available via any other option. These factors combined would ensure EastMed’s long-term value even in the face of high initial costs, according to Steinitz.

Returning to North America, Sen. Capito called on the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expand its definition of “national interest” when deciding whether to approve pipeline projects by including job creation and economic growth among the aspects it considers. Stanley Chapman III, executive vice-president and president US natural gas pipelines for TransCanada, meanwhile, reminded panel attendees not to forget ethylene as a driver for continued pipeline network expansion, noting that though both electricity and heat can be derived from alternative fuel sources, only natural gas could be used to produce ethylene.

https://www.ogj.com/articles/2018/06/wgc-politics-ranks-high-in-gas-pipeline-risk-factors.html

VIA Welcomes Residents to Influence the Future Of San Antonio's Public Transportation

In light of VIA’s 2016 adoption of its Vision 2040 Plan, a long term project aimed at improving public transportation in the area, the company is calling for community feedback to help shape their proposed public transit lanes across town.

The survey, open through July 18, is thirteen questions in total with a text box so residents can provide direct feedback to VIA. If you are more comfortable in Spanish, the website provides that option.

The draft network of the rapid transit corridors, displaying seven different routes stretching all over San Antonio, is informed by data collected from the public in 2017. This new infrastructure seeks to provide more efficient and reliable transportation to meet the needs of the city’s growing population.

According to census data, San Antonio grew more than any other city in the country in 2017—surpassing the 1.5 million mark. Many are concerned about the population outgrowing the highway system. If you've been on I-35 at rush hour, you might argue it already has.

“Our long range plan as well as that of our transportation partners are all trying to service future demand of a million plus people in our area by 2040, and recognizing that our current infrastructure would not be able to sustain that,” said Jeffrey Arndt, via President and CEO. “We are all looking at ways we can contribute to future mobility.”

Arndt admits this is no easy feat. Access to sufficient funding is the greatest thorn in the side of this project. In its roughest original draft, the projected capital cost was in the neighborhood of 7 billion dollars, which accounts for a marriage of light rail and rapid transit corridor busing. After their creation, these lanes will have the capability of adapting to the needs of the community.

It also doesn’t help that despite its surging size, San Antonio is at a disadvantage because funding for a project of this scale is not currently supported under VIA’s infrastructure.

“Unlike Austin, Houston and Dallas that have pledged a full penny from their sales tax to their transit system, we have pledged a half cent to ours,” says Arndt. “To give you an idea, Dallas has invested something like 5 billion dollars more than us over the past 20 years.”

With this relative impediment, VIA anticipates the formation of many capital partnerships. This of course includes the city of San Antonio, Bexar County, Tex Dot, Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (AAMPO) and the federal transit administration — the last of which has a program that will potentially fund up to 50 percent of the capital cost of the project. If they receive federal help, the first project is estimated to begin in the mid 2020s.

After spending 25 years working for the Houston Metro and seeing a similar system applied successfully, Arndt is optimistic that even the most diesel truck loving amongst us might be swayed. “If you can offer relatively fast travel time, reliable travel time and have highly frequent service...it makes the service attractive as a viable option.”

The outcome of which lines will be tackled first and how they will manifest is largely still up for deliberation by the VIA board and informed by the feedback provided in surveys and community meetings. VIA wants to build a system that the public wants and needs, stresses VIA Communications Manager Lorraine Pulido and CEO Jeff Arndt.

Be sure to fill out the survey, your opinions and insight will directly impact how this exciting project is carried out.

https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2018/07/09/via-welcomes-residents-to-influence-the-future-of-san-antonios-public-transportation

DNV GL survey sees oil and gas professionals preparing for gas overtake

OSLO -- Nearly two-thirds (64%) of oil and gas sector leaders expect to increase or sustain spending on gas projects in 2018, as the sector prepares for gas to overtake oil as the world’s primary energy source in the mid-2030s. Confidence in the case for gas is growing, according to a survey by DNV GL, the technical advisor to the industry. The vast majority (86%) of the 813 senior industry professionals surveyed agree that gas - the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel - will play an increasingly important role in the global energy mix over the next decade, up from 77% last year.

The findings appear in Transition in Motion, a special report from DNV GL’s research on the outlook for the oil and gas industry in 2018. It reveals the primary driver for investment in natural gas and LNG projects this year is the global energy transition. The pace of the oil and gas industry’s intentions to lower carbon emissions differs by region, however. Just a third of survey respondents in North America (33%) say that their company is actively preparing for the shift to a lower carbon energy mix this year, compared to more than half (51%) in Middle East and North Africa.

The stage is set for gas to become the largest single source of energy. Demand for it will peak in the mid-2030s, well after the use of each of the other fossil fuels has gone into long-term decline, according to DNV GL’s 2017 Energy Transition Outlook, an independent forecast of the global energy mix in the lead-up to the mid-century. The model predicts the industry’s intentions for increasing gas investments will accelerate in the early-2020s as major oil companies decarbonize their business portfolios.

“Society’s transition to a less carbon-intensive energy mix is already a reality, and oil and gas will continue to be crucial components. Our research affirms that the industry is already taking positive steps to secure the important role we forecast gas to play in helping to meet future, lower-carbon energy requirements,” said Liv Hovem, CEO, DNV GL- Oil & Gas.

“Significant investment will be needed in the gas industry over the coming decades to increase capacity, transform assets to source and transport a decarbonized mix of energies, and to safely build and maintain the infrastructure needed to connect emerging supply regions with evolving demand centers,” Hovem added.

Power generation is predicted to be the primary consumer of gas in most regions, though manufacturing could demand similar volumes in emerging markets. DNV GL’s 2017 Energy Transition Outlook suggests that North East Eurasia and the Middle East and North Africa will increase gas output towards 2040 at least, overtaking North America as the world’s largest gas producer. Production is also forecast to double in China, the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia.

http://www.worldoil.com/news/2018/6/26/dnv-gl-survey-sees-oil-and-gas-professionals-preparing-for-gas-overtake

Automation and Digitalisation in Oil & Gas

BGS Group has started the registration of companies attending AUTOMA Congress in Berlin, Germany, on 1-2 October. The format of the Congress is closed-door, which means that only a carefully selected audience of decision-makers will be presented with an opportunity to attend. AUTOMA unites more than 450 leaders of oil & gas companies, EPC contractors, refineries and pipeline operators.

Among those already confirmed are companies including TechnipFMC, Equinor (former Statoil), Fluor, Saudi Aramco, Hellenic Petroleum Aspropyrgos Refinery, and others. Job titles to be present are Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer, Director Process Automation, Principal Engineer, CEO and other decision-makers from technical and business development departments.

The AUTOMA Congress comprises a business programme, an exhibition area and a B2B meeting zone to conduct negotiations. Sessions are dedicated to:

- Digitalsation in Upstream, Midstream and Downstream

- Asset Management: Smart Contracts & Operation Optimisation

- Cyber Security in the Oil & Gas Industry

- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Oil & Gas

- The Digital Future: Successful Cloud Migration

The exhibition area consists of 45 stands. Technologies or products can be included with the Exhibition Package, which includes the participation of two delegates, two gala-dinner passes, and printing and installation of the exhibition stand.

http://www.asiaoutlookmag.com/news/automation-and-digitalisation-in-oil-gas

Broomfield council to consider final draft of tighter oil and gas regulations

The Broomfield City Council is expected to vote on whether or not to adopt an ordinance amending sections of the municipal code regarding oil and gas regulations at its Tuesday council meeting.

In general, the draft regulations ensure that oil and gas facilities are designed, modified, commissioned, constructed, equipped, operated, maintained, suspended and abandoned in a manner that prioritizes the protection of human health, safety, and welfare, according to the city memo. The draft regulations also contain provisions related to the location of proposed oil and gas well sites, including a requirement that operators conduct an alternative site analysis.

Residents will be able to deliver comments during the public meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at the George DiCiero City and County Building, 1 Descombes Drive.

In previous meetings, residents have turned out in force to speak out against adopting an ordinance that would amend the municipal code, asking for more time to strengthen the regulations and voicing disapproval of Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc.'s practices.

In August 2017, Broomfield City Council adopted the oil and gas chapter to the Comprehensive Plan — a chapter that had been missing from a previously-updated version of the Comprehensive Plan.

It set forth policies and actions steps in 17 areas, including: air quality, soil and groundwater, environmental assessment, historical and cultural resources, oil and gas facility siting, application process and requirements, facilities, pipelines, noise, traffic, visual screening, property values, emergency response, risk management plans, insurance and bonding, setbacks and enforcement.

Members of the committee that worked for months to craft the oil and gas chapter to the Comprehensive Plan, urged Broomfield officials to continue to work with the state, other local governments, and citizens to change laws and regulations regarding oil and gas development, according to a city memo.

Broomfield officials started that process in promoting changes to the state flowline rules for additional testing and continued with support and testimony before the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in favor of state law that would require more reporting of well pad incidents by operators. Now, staff is proposing updated state oil and gas regulations consistent with the Comprehensive Plan chapter adopted by Broomfield.

http://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/news/ci_31996702/broomfield-council-consider-final-draft-tighter-oil-and

Audit: Transportation Should be More Transparent, Efficient

HELENA — Audits of how the state Department of Transportation is spending gas tax money found the agency needs to better document its reasons for choosing certain projects and be more efficient in spending maintenance money.

Audits released this month found the department in some cases hired contractors when it could have done the work in-house at less cost. The audits also found times when miscommunication led to overspending, Lee Newspapers of Montana reports.

The audits were required under 2017 legislation that raised the state gas tax from 4.5 cents to 31.5 cents a gallon.

Department Director Mike Tooley said the department agrees with the recommendations and is implementing them, including developing a form that lists the criteria to be used in deciding which highway projects should be funded.

“We will have standardization where we in headquarters are comfortable with the fact all districts are doing it the same,” Tooley said. “(Auditors) didn’t have any issue with the projects selected, they just didn’t know how it was prioritized over others by the district. We thought it was a fair assessment and we’re finding a better way of documenting the facts.”

Auditors found staff in the five transportation districts around the state didn’t provide clear justification for the projects they chose to forward to the state Transportation Commission. The five-member board makes the final selection on which projects get funding. The projects receive federal funding that requires a state match and the state money comes from the gas tax.

Auditors looked at 25 projects with a total estimated cost of $168.5 million and found seven cases where projects were nominated without documentation. One was a turn lane requested by a resident and another was nominated based on poor road conditions that weren’t documented.

A review of the Maintenance Division found the department did not compare in-house costs in performing some work before contracting it out.

In 2016 and 2017, auditors found if the department had done some crack sealing work itself it could have saved $400,000.

“That was a surprise to us,” Tooley said. “The rumor was always that the contractors do it cheaper and they do it better. What the audit found is in certain areas, but not all, (transportation) employees do it cheaper and at nearly the same quality.”

The audits also found times when a lack of communication cost the department money. In one case in 2017, maintenance staff filled ruts on a road just weeks after rumble strips were installed. The rut-fill project covered about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) of recently installed rumble strips and it cost about $7,000 to pay a contractor to reinstall them.

Another example was when more expensive and longer lasting epoxy was used instead of paint to stripe 64 miles of road when segments of the road were due for major work that would wipe out the striping.

In response, the department said it will use planning resources to identify when projects overlap or conflict and implement a new maintenance management system.

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2018/06/25/audit-transportation-transparent-efficient/

Disruptive construction surrounds Nats Park ahead of MLB All-Star Game

WASHINGTON — The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is coming to Nationals Park in Southeast D.C. in less than a month and, along with it, thousands of fans. But active construction in the area may threaten the fun.

The mayor’s office is expected to announce an action plan for the event in a joint news conference with the MLB, The District Department of Transportation and Metro officials this Thursday, to help the commute.

There are over a dozen active construction projects within just a few blocks of Center Field Gate. Eventually, the two mixed-use buildings will have nearly 1,000 residential units and thousands of feet of retail space combined. But for the time being, the construction is noisy, dusty and, for pedestrians, inconvenient during work hours.

Many sidewalks are either closed or constricted by temporary scaffolding. Crosswalks and bicycle lanes on N Street Southeast and Half Street Southeast are obscured or impeded by rough pavement and plate-covered trenches.

It isn’t all dust and disrepair, though. DDOT crews were atop step ladders Monday slathering a fresh coat of black paint onto the streetlights around the ballpark. Officials also touted a resurfaced sidewalk outside the Navy Yard Metro station and road resurfacing on nearby streets including Seventh Street Southeast, near M Street Southeast.

The Midsummer Classic festivities begin on Friday, July 13 with youth-oriented events at Yards Park. The events continue into Sunday and Monday with the SiriusXM All-Star Futures minor league and softball games followed by the home run derby and culminate with the All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 17.

It will be the first time the District has hosted the event since 1969 when the game was held at the then seven-year-old Robert F. Kennedy Stadium.

https://wtop.com/dc/2018/06/disruptive-construction-surrounds-nats-park-ahead-of-mlb-all-star-game/slide/1/

Nassau IDA seeks to encourage affordable housing construction

The Nassau County Industrial Development Agency is looking to grow the county’s stock of affordable housing.

The IDA, which has the authority to grant businesses tax assistance in exchange for job retention or creation, is looking for a consultant to help the agency work with private developers that can build and operate affordable multifamily and transit-oriented housing developments.

“You can’t attract new businesses without creating more affordable housing,” said IDA chairman Richard Kessel. The goal, he said, is to help retain the county’s population of younger, millennial-aged workers, which will add to the area’s tax base. “If you’re creating more affordable housing, it makes it easier to attract those new businesses.”

The consultant would work with the agency to review its procedures regarding benefits for multifamily projects, evaluate tax benefit applications for affordable housing projects and look at redevelopment opportunities at county-owned sites.


Kessel said that developing affordable, transit-oriented projects has been a goal of the new administration of County Executive Laura Curran, and the IDA is part of a “cooperative effort” that will require input from local municipal leaders, school boards and developers.

A consultant could recommend that developers include some affordable housing in multifamily projects seeking benefits, and that the county pursue developments that are mostly if not all affordably priced.

“There’s been reticence in the past to be aggressive and initiate these kind of projects,” Kessel said.

Developer groups applauded the IDA’s effort.

“The suburban mindset of past generations is evolving, and Nassau’s next generation of property owners are looking for downtowns with mixed use,” said Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, a real estate developers’ lobbying group.

Mitch Pally, chief executive of the Long Island Builders Institute, said the effort by the IDA is “commendable” and resembles efforts by the towns of Brookhaven and Islip.

“It’s the type of development that millennials now want, and it’s the type of development that millennials now expect,” he said.

Pally added that while communicating with developers and identifying potential county-owned sites is important, zoning is a consideration that would need to be taken up by government agencies.

“The worst thing you can make a developer go through is a change of zone here,” he said.

https://www.newsday.com/business/nassau-ida-affordable-housing-1.19581973

EnLink Midstream makes executive changes

Executive and senior leadership changes have been made to Dallas-based EnLink Midstream.

Benjamin D. Lamb has been promoted to executive vice-president and chief operating officer. Lamb previously served as executive vice-president of Oklahoma and North Texas.

Alaina K. Brooks has been promoted to executive vice-president, chief legal and administrative officer, and secretary. She most recently served as senior vice-president and general counsel.

Eric D. Batchelder, executive vice-president and chief financial officer, adds corporate development to his CFO responsibilities.

Michael J. Garberding remains president and chief executive officer (OGJ Online, Jan. 3, 2018). Barry E. Davis remains executive chairman.

Enlink is changing its structure from having liquids and gas business units to a focus on four core asset teams: Oklahoma, Permian, North Texas, and Louisiana, the company said. Promoted are Michael S. Burdett, senior vice-president—Texas; Cynthia L. Jaggi, senior vice-president—Oklahoma; Christopher H. Tennant, senior vice-president—Louisiana; and Jared C. Larew, senior vice-president—Engineering. They will report to Lamb.

McMillan Hummel, EnLink executive vice-president and president of the liquids business unit, will leave the company. He has been with EnLink since its creation in 2014.

https://www.ogj.com/articles/2018/06/enlink-midstream-makes-executive-changes.html

GE To Divest Baker Hughes Stake

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) said June 26 it plans to pursue an orderly separation from Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHGE) as the Boston-based conglomerate chooses to narrow its focus on its aviation, power and renewable energy businesses.

The announcement comes roughly a year after GE completed its buyout of Baker Hughes, merging the company with its GE Oil & Gas division and creating the world’s second-largest oilfield service provider by revenue.

GE plans to fully separate its 62.5% interest in Baker Hughes in an “orderly manner” over the next two to three years, the company said in the release.

Analysts with Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH) said the news as it relates to Baker Hughes is both good and bad.

“Good news is that investor concerns that GE would find a way to jettison its 62.5% interest in Baker Hughes in one fell swoop over near-term were misguided. Bad news [in terms of supply/demand for BHGE shares] is that GE does indeed plan to fully separate from Baker Hughes over next two to three years,” TPH analysts said in a morning note on June 26.

Rumors began circulating late last year that GE was considering shedding its holdings in Baker Hughes before the expiration of a two-year lockup period the companies set as part of their merger agreement. Though GE CFO Jamie Miller dispelled speculation after she affirmed the company’s commitment to Baker Hughes at a conference in February.

“Given today’s valuation levels, we see a lot of upside [with Baker Hughes]. We like the macro trends. At this point in time, we have no intent to change anything or execute prior to the expiration of any of the lockup periods,” Miller said at a Barclays conference in Miami according to a Reuters report on Feb. 21.

However, GE's ultimate decision to pursue the separation from Baker Hughes followed the conclusion of a strategic review of its portfolio targeting a leaner corporate structure with substantially less debt. The company also announced plans to spin off its health care business.

As a result, GE said it expects to generate at least $500 million in corporate savings and also reduce net debt by roughly $25 billion by the end of 2020 while maintaining more than $15 billion cash on the balance sheet.

“Today’s actions unlock both a pure-play health care company and a tier-one oil and gas servicing and equipment player,” John Flannery, chairman and CEO of GE, said in a statement on June 26. “We are confident that positioning GE Healthcare and BHGE outside of GE’s current structure is best not only for GE and its owners but also for these businesses, which will strengthen their market-leading positions and enhance their ability to invest for the future while carrying the spirit of GE forward.”

The separation of GE’s health care business includes the divestment of a 20% interest and spinoff of an 80% stake to shareholders.

Analysts with Cowen and Co. LLC’s equity research group pointed to the possibility of the company following a similar path while divesting Baker Hughes ownership since the merger agreement further stipulated that GE couldn't sell more than 15% of Baker Hughes to a single entity without conflicts committee approval for three years beyond July 2019.

“Assuming GE’s majority stake is not transferred to a single entity, removal of a controlling shareholder should benefit Baker Hughes’ valuation,” Cowen analysts said in a June 26 note.

Baker Hughes is a fullstream provider of integrated oilfield products, services and digital solutions with operations in more than 120 countries. The company posted a profit for the first quarter in April that beat Wall Street estimates.

In total, Baker Hughes’ revenue rose in the first quarter to $5.4 billion from $5.32 billion on a combined basis a year earlier. The increase was largely driven by rising oilfield services revenue, which rose 10% year-over-year to $2.64 billion in the quarter.

https://www.oilandgasinvestor.com/ge-unload-baker-hughes-stake-1706881#p=full

How Google's parent company is paving the way to become a transportation giant through deals and internal projects

Electric scooters, self-driving vehicles, and flying cars: No matter what the future of transportation is, Alphabet wants to be involved.

Earlier this week, The Financial Times reported that the holding company directly invested in electric-scooter startup Lime, even as its venture capital arm, GV, led the startup’s funding round.

This news brings together two striking things about Alphabet: That it has an unusually high number of concurrent investment vehicles and that it has found a hefty handful of different ways to ensure that it plays a role in the future of transportation.

“Not only is Alphabet interested in this space, it already is a superpower in transportation,” Mike Ramsey, a Gartner research director who focuses on mobility, tells CNBC.

Here’s a look at the many ways that Alphabet has focused on the way people get around:

Alphabet’s investment arms

Alphabet was the most active corporate investor last year, making more than 100 deals, through both direct investments and its three venture funding arms: GV, for early-stage companies; CapitalG, for growth-stage investments; and Gradient, for artificial intelligence related startups.

Through these investments, Alphabet is backing a wide-range of transportation technologies. GV was an early investor in Uber, while CapitalG has invested in Lyft, which have plans for bikes and scooters, and, in Uber’s case, flying cars.

Earlier this year, Gradient poured money into Scotty Labs, which makes a platform for remotely controlling self-driving cars.

Besides Lime, the company has also directly invested in Southeast Asian ride-hailing startup GoJek and Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX.

The Maps backbone

The most obvious way that Alphabet makes its mark in the transportation world is through Google Maps.

More than 55 percent of smartphone users in the U.S. use Maps, according to comScore, and it has more than one billion monthly active users worldwide relying on it for walking, vehicle, or public transportation directions.

Google currently lets Uber and Lyft advertise their prices through Maps, and it’s not hard to imagine it opening up to on-demand bikes, scooters, and, eventually, self-driving cars.

“I would be surprised if Alphabet doesn’t aggressively pursue a transportation platform offering that ties together multiple modes of transportation with Google Maps at its center,” Ramsey says.

Meanwhile, Google also runs another mapping product, Waze, which it acquired in 2013 for roughly $1 billion. (One big difference between Maps and Waze is that the latter lets any user add information about construction, police, or traffic.) There’s also Android Automotive, which embeds Google’s operating system and apps directly into cars (it has signed the likes of Volvo and Audi as partners).

Google’s gobs of mapping data have also helped it become one of the leaders in self-driving cars, which brings us to the next big way that Alphabet’s investing in transportation:

The ‘Other Bets’

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving business unit, is one of the few of its many subsidiary companies that analysts and investors are particularly bullish about.

Waymo plans to launch its self-driving car taxi service in Arizona before the end of the year and is widely seen as having an early lead in the space.

Another Other Bet, Sidewalk Labs, is also thinking about the future of urban transportation. The company’s overall goal is to reinvent cities through technology, which includes a centralized mobility platform called Coord that Sidewalk spun-out and invested in.

The founders have pet projects, too

Because all that apparently isn’t enough, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have both made their own personal investments in the future of transportation, too.

Kitty Hawk, Page's company, is creating flying cars that look like a cross between a pontoon plane and a drone, while Brin is reportedly building a high-tech blimp.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/03/alphabet-transportation-investments-projects-overview.html

Agricultural Transportation Bills Garnering Bipartisan Support

An organization representing Indiana’s beef farmers says it’s in favor of a pair of U.S. Senate bills that would rollback regulations for truck drivers hauling livestock.

One bill would require the Secretary of Transportation to head and establish a working group to address current laws that govern the transport of animals. The other loosens restrictions that could keep animals on trailers for long periods of times.

Joe Moore is Executive Vice President of the Indiana Beef Cattle Association. He says members support the legislation.

“They raise these animals, and so the welfare of them is their upmost concern,” Moore says. “Not only from a financial standpoint, but from a humane standpoint. Nobody wants these animals to suffer.”

He says under current regulations, animals are not treated much differently than other cargo, and there are no rules dictating how they can be kept inside a trailer.

“Well as we all know how hot trailers can get in the summer or if we’re in the middle of winter and it’s ten below zero, that livestock’s mortality rate can increase incrementally,” Moore says.

Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) is co-sponsoring one bill, and Moore says several Indiana Republicans support the House version.

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) did not respond to a request to clarify his position on either bill.

https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/agricultural-transportation-bills-garnering-bipartisan-support-150132/

New investment models are needed to boost MENA oil and gas sector

New investment models will encourage optimal development in the oil and gas sector, Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum told OPEC ministers and industry leaders at the OPEC Seminar in Vienna. The private sector in MENA can be an important partner in oil and gas development, helping boost competitiveness in the industry, he added.

"We need new investment models that will create the right incentives for upstream investment in exploration in new areas, enhanced recovery from mature fields, and gas development, where the region continues to lag despite growing demand from the regional power and industry," Mr Jafar said.

Mr Jafar, who leads the Middle East's oldest private oil and gas company and serves as Vice-Chairman of the Crescent Group of companies, was speaking at the 7th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, Austria. More than 750 participants, including ministers, industry leaders and experts gathered at the Imperial Hofburg Palace in Vienna to discuss the global energy outlook, market stability, oil investments, technology, and the state of the world economy.

"The region needs at least $320 billion in investment over the next five years, and the private sector can be an important partner in this effort. The Middle East has over half the world's proven oil & gas reserves but represents only a third of the oil market and a sixth of the gas market today, so we have yet to fulfill our potential as a region" Mr Jafar said, speaking on the panel entitled "Investment in the Oil Industry", along with the oil ministers of Iraq and Kuwait, and international industry leaders from the public and private sectors.

"Our industry worldwide must also do better at explaining how responsible development and utilization of oil and gas can support the transition to a more sustainable economy," he said. "The switch from coal to gas-fired power generation, which emits half the volume of CO2, may have the greatest impact on lowering carbon footprint. "That is why we firmly believe that the oil & gas sectors will continue to play a vital role in meeting world's energy needs for transportation and power generation going forward, complementing renewables and other energy sources," he added.

Among numerous UAE Ministers and industry leaders attending the forum include: HE Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry and current President of the OPEC Conference; HE Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Group CEO of ADNOC; and Musabbeh Al Kaabi, CEO of Mubadala Petroleum and Petrochemicals.

Commenting on his participation, Mr Jafar said: "I'm honored to have joined industry leaders and experts as we debated the greatest challenges facing the energy sector and the regional economy. The Middle East is a major source of the world's proven gas reserves and is also becoming a key consumer of both oil and gas. Our prosperity is incumbent upon our ability to anticipate and respond to the dramatic changes in world energy demand."

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/energy/new-investment-models-are-needed-to-boost-mena-oil-and-gas