This segment is from Thursday's edition of 'Digging for Value', in which sector analysts Joel South and Taylor Muckerman discuss energy & materials news with host Alison Southwick. The twice-weekly show can be viewed on Tuesdays & Thursdays. It can also be found on Twitter, along with our extended coverage of the energy & materials sectors @TMFEnergy.

The past year was one to remember when discussing United States energy production. Natural gas and oil production surged across the country, and headlines littered newspapers from most major markets. Several big issues that President Barack Obama and his team had to deal with included TransCanada's (TRP 1.16%) Keystone XL pipeline and liquified natural gas exporters like Dominion Resources (D 2.62%) which was one of the latest companies to gain approval since Cheniere Energy (LNG 0.96%) back in 2011. Find out more regarding the government's actions in 2013 in the video below.