U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar on Sept. 16 announced he is reforming and restructuring the department’s management of U.S. energy resources, starting with the termination of the Minerals Management Service’s controversial Royalty-in-Kind program that accepts oil and natural gas from producers in lieu of cash royalties.

In testimony to the House Natural Resources Committee, Salazar described administrative actions he is taking to develop a comprehensive energy strategy on U.S. public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf.

He also discussed his recommendations for congressional legislation that can help the department to more effectively manage energy leasing and revenue programs on behalf of American taxpayers.

U.S. petroleum deliveries continued to experience year-to-year declines in August, however at 2.1 percent, the month's drop was the smallest in a year and a half, the American Petroleum Institute reported in its Monthly Statistical Report released last week. Domestic petroleum deliveries, a measure of demand, totaled 18.9 million bbl for the month.

While distillate fuel oil, which includes diesel, heating oil and jet fuel, continued to show year-to-year delivery declines, August gasoline deliveries rose, marking the third consecutive monthly increase. The data showed that diesel fuel and heating oil demand was down 3.3 percent while jet fuel demand tumbled 11.1 percent compared with the previous year.

Prior to the past three months, gasoline delivery declines had persisted for more than a year and a half. Gasoline deliveries for the traditional June through August peak driving season, though up 1.0 percent from a year ago, were still measurably below the peak reached in 2007, and, with the exception of 2008, were the lowest for the season since 2002.