Despite Big Oil's recent run of record profits, they're still very concerned with the diminishing state the industry's image. The Wall Street Journal ran this article (subscription required) which reports that the American Petroleum Institute (API) is engaging in a "full-fledged, open-ended [advertising] campaign" and has turned to Harris Interactive, the same company that is entrusted to keep America's milk consumption on the ups. API president Red Cavaney has said that they "will spend what's necessary to achieve the objective."

The API says the campaign is an effort to inform consumer and policy makers about how the energy industry works which can most likely be read as, "it's not our fault gas prices soared" and "please let us drill where we want." The article's author, Jeffrey Ball, says that we can expect the call for new drilling to be embedded in a "softer endorsement of steps to address the energy crunch, from efficiency to alternative fuels." He then quotes Harris Interactive senior vice president Jean Statler who's working on the campaign at an oil conference in Dallas as saying, "I know and you all know that you're in the oil and gas business... but the fact of the matter is there is just a driving, overwhelming desire for the industry to start diversifying."

This is more than likely a brilliant move for the oil industry as they'll soon be wading in a sea of Democrats who may very well seek increased taxes and limit drilling.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

OK, you've got American Petroleum Institute CEO Red Cavaney and ethanol venture capitalist Vinod Khosla both speaking at the Advancing Renewable Energy Conference last week in St. Louis. Guess who said which of the following:

1. "I suggest that the real market [for E85] is much, much larger if we let an E85 future happen."
2. "It seems obvious that ethanol is a better value for most consumers as a gasoline additive than as E85."

All right, that was pretty easy. The petroleum industry guy wants us to use a product that's 90 percent dinojuice and ten percent renewable. The ethanol guy says the percentage should (basically) be flipped around. I know who I agree with more. You can read and listen to the speeches over at Domestic Fuel.

[Source: Domestic Fuel]