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D A T E L I NE OIL HEAT INDUSTRY UNITES IN A GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT NORA REAUTHORIZATION Oil heat associations, dealers and affiliated industry groups have joined forces to develop SupportNORA.org to raise public awareness of and support for legislation to renew of the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) in the United States Congress. SupportNORA.org provides consumers and community leaders with information about NORA, its mission, initiatives and accomplishments. The site also provides a bill summary; links to NEFI’s Legislative Action Center where visitors can contact their members of Congress by email or phone; pre-written emails and talking points; and a listing of environmental and efficiency groups and trade associations supporting NORA’s reauthorization. Bill insert slips have been created and are available for consumer mailings, and can be ordered at www.supportnora. FEATURED NEWS Oil heat industry supports NORA reauthorization Oil holdings key to public pension fund performance Oil heat industry groups oppose LIHEAP and WAP cuts National Biodiesel Board supports EPA renewable fuels proposal Granby Industries announces acquisition AHRI March-May 2011 data Association of Oil & Energy Service Professionals for the purposes of supporting the NORA program and related legislation. The site was not paid for with NORA funds and is unaffiliated with the NORA program. For more information, please contact Jim Collura at 202-584-0160. “During good economic times – or challenging ones – oil and natural gas investments far outperformed other pub- lic pension holdings,” said Kyle Isakower, API vice president of regulatory and eco- nomic policy. “We already know that a healthy domestic oil and natural gas indus- try is good news for jobs and government revenue, and we now know that it also provides stability to the nest eggs that mil- lions of Americans are counting on for a secure retirement.” While oil and natural gas stocks make up an average of 3.9 percent of holdings in the top public pension funds, they accounted for an average of 10.6 percent of the returns in these funds over the five-year time period, according to the Sonecon study. America’s oil and natural gas companies are owned by tens of millions of Americans, according to a 2007 Sonecon study. “Millions of Americans with a 401k, mutual fund, or pension also rely on the income and capital growth these compa- nies provide for their retirement,” Isakower said. “And all Americans benefit from the job creation and economic growth sup- ported by the more than $2 trillion invested in U.S. capital projects over the past decade, including more than $58 billion in low and zero emitting technologies.” The full report examines the top two org/banners.php or by contacting NEFI at 617-924-1000 to order. In addition, anyone who wishes to link their website to SupportNORA.org is urged to download a banner from the “Resources” section of the website. The site has graphic links at the top, allowing visitors to post a link on popular social networking sites as well. SupportNORA.org was created with support from the National Association for Oilheat Research and Education; New England Fuel Institute; Petroleum Marketers Association of America; Oilheat Manufacturers Association; and National API: STUDY SHOWS OIL AND NATURAL GAS HOLDINGS KEY TO PUBLIC PENSION FUND PERFOR- MANCE IN ILLINOIS State pension fund investments in oil and natural gas companies are providing strong returns for teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public pension retirees in Illinois, according to a Sonecon study released by API. Returns on oil and natural gas assets in the top two state funds averaged 41 cents for each dollar invested compared to just 2 cents for other assets in these funds from 2005 to 2009. public pension funds in 17 states, which collectively represent and cover more than a trillion dollars in assets and covers nearly half (48.1 percent) of all workers in the United States who participate in state and local government pension plans. States analyzed in the report are: California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia. API released an interim report on four of the states in April. API represents more than 470 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a tech- nology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports more than 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers almost $86 million in revenue to our government every day, www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | AUGUST 2011 3