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☆ US offers $12 billion for automakers, suppliers to make advanced vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The United States is making $12 billion available in grants and loans for automakers and suppliers to retrofit their plants to produce electric and other advanced vehicles, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters on Thursday. The Biden administration will also offer $3.5 billion in funding to domestic battery manufacturers, Granholm said. For the advanced vehicles, $2 billion of the funding will come from the Inflation Reduction Act which Democrats passed last year, and $10 billion will come from the Energy Department's Loans Program Office, Granholm said. The automaker has left open the possibility that the factory could get a new product with government aid. Reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Energy Jennifer Granholm, Daniel Yergin, Callaghan O'Hare, Jennifer Granholm, Biden, Granholm, Shawn Fain, Timothy Gardner, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Energy, P Global, REUTERS, Rights, United Auto Workers, UAW, Thomson Locations: Houston , Texas, U.S, United States, Michigan , Ohio , Illinois, Indiana, Belvidere , Illinois, Washington

☆ The EPA Defies the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Chris Horner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Michael Regan, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, speaks at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas, March 9. Photo: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg NewsIn politics, inadvertently telling the truth is called a “gaffe.” Last year Michael Regan , administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, made a remark in passing that gave away the Biden administration’s plans for enforcing its climate agenda through a “suite of rules” imposed under programs lacking any credible connection to climate. A few months later, a Supreme Court opinion transformed Mr. Regan’s indiscretion into justification for wholesale judicial repudiation of the Biden administration’s climate regulatory blitz.

Persons: Michael Regan, Aaron M, Sprecher, Regan’s Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency, Bloomberg, Biden Locations: Houston , Texas

☆ Palantir's A.I. ambitions divide analysts. A bull and bear make their cases
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Alex Karp, chief executive officer of Palantir Technologies Inc., speaks during the 2023 CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, US, on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Palantir Technologies raised its annual revenue target on Monday as it sees an opportunity to commercialize AI, but not all analysts are convinced. On Monday, CEO Alex Karp said Palantir's aim is to make money from AI, instead of merely producing tools that write computer-generated poetry. "We will figure out how to monetize it," Karp said, referring to Palantir's artificial intelligence platform, or AIP. Dan Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, is bullish on Palantir's AI ambitions.

Persons: Alex Karp, Karp, Dan Ives, That's, Ives, Palantir Organizations: Palantir Technologies Inc, P Global, Palantir Technologies, AIP, Wedbush Securities, U.S . Special Operations Command Locations: Houston , Texas, CNBC's

☆ Palantir stock up 10% as company rides A.I. craze
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Palantir, a data analytics company best known for its work with the U.S. government's defense and intelligence agencies, offers a number of AI-powered services for organizations across public and private sectors. Shares of Palantir popped 10% Monday as the company continues to capitalize on investors' hopes for its artificial intelligence software ahead of its earnings report next week. In an interview with CNBC's "The Exchange" Friday, Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, described Palantir as "the [Lionel] Messi of AI," referencing the pro soccer player. Ives said there is a "golden path" for the company to monetize, adding in a note that Palantir has built "an AI fortress that is unmatched." "This is an arms race of a different kind, and it has begun," Karp wrote.

Persons: Alex Karp, CNBC's, Dan Ives, Lionel, Messi, Ives, Palantir, Karp, William Blair, SPACs Organizations: Palantir Technologies Inc, P Global, U.S, Wedbush Securities, New York Times, Palantir Locations: Houston , Texas, A.I, U.S

[1/3] U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm delivers a speech during the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare/File PhotoWASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - The largest U.S. solar power site and other clean energy projects could be built on lands owned by the Department of Energy, including where components for Cold War-era atomic bombs were developed, the agency said on Friday. The administration wants the U.S. grid to run on clean energy by 2035. The event included developers of renewable power and nuclear power, involving participants with experience implementing clean electricity projects generating at least 200 megawatts. Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Laura Sanicola in Washington Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Energy Jennifer Granholm, Callaghan O'Hare, Jennifer Granholm, Granholm, Joe Biden's, Hanford, Timothy Gardner, Laura Sanicola, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Energy, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Department of Energy, DOE, U.S . Energy, Washington , D.C, Idaho National Laboratory, Nevada Nuclear Security, Manhattan, Thomson Locations: Houston , Texas, U.S, Washington ,, Hanford, Richland , Washington, Idaho, Idaho Falls , Idaho, Nye County , Nevada, Savannah, Aiken , South Carolina, Carlsbad , New Mexico, Washington

☆ How to invest in the massive and urgent demand for infrastructure, according to the manager of a $40 billion firm that does just that
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

It's not investing in infrastructure directly," Wahba told CNBC. "All the technology around infrastructure services, I think is an area which is going to grow exponentially," Wahba told CNBC. More infrastructure systems are going to become digitized, which means those systems increasingly become vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks. The danger of hackers with bad intentions getting into infrastructure systems is especially scary. Otherwise, privatizing infrastructure "is a recipe for disaster," Wahba told CNBC.

Persons: Sadek Wahba, Wahba, It's, Burger, Charles, Gaulle Organizations: Squared Capital Advisors, P Global, Bloomberg, Getty, Squared, Biden's, Infrastructure Advisory Council, CNBC, Companies Locations: Houston , Texas, New York City, Manhattan, cybersecurity, United States, United Kingdom, Paris, JFK, U.S

☆ Meet the 33-year-old Canadian chemist and the renowned MIT professor who are building the 'electric vehicle of cement making'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

An electric vehicle replaces a combustion engine with an electric motor, and that's what Sublime Systems does in the cement-making process. So he moved to eastern Canada, where they don't have a lot of rabbis," Ellis told CNBC of her father's move. And I think we both sort of gravitate to things that are challenging," Ellis told CNBC. I think the best way we have to get around fossil fuels is to use electrons," Ellis told CNBC. There will be numerous approaches, all of which have challenges and most of which deserve to be tested," Chiang told CNBC.

Persons: Leah Ellis, Ming Chiang, Ellis, Chiang, Sublime, she's, haven't, It's, Leah Ellis Ellis, it's, Mark Mutter, Mutter, Clay Dumas, Dumas, Katie Rae, Rae, Timothy McCaffery, McCaffery, Scott Carmichael It's, I'm Organizations: Sublime Systems, Sublime, CNBC, Battery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bloomberg, Getty, Jamcem Consulting, LowerCarbon, Siam Cement, SCG, American Society for Testing Locations: Texas, South Africa, Israel, Jerusalem, Canada, Houston , Texas, Europe, Boston, Africa

☆ Williams CEO Alan Armstrong weighs in on energy infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWilliams CEO Alan Armstrong weighs in on energy infrastructureBrian Sullivan sits down with Alan Armstorg, chief executive officer of Williams at S&P Global's CERAWEEK conference in Houston to talk about energy infrastructure and regulatory hurdles to new pipeline construction.

☆ We are the second-largest biodiesel producer in the U.S., says Chevron's Mark Nelson
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe are the second-largest biodiesel producer in the U.S., says Chevron's Mark NelsonBrian Sullivan sits down with Mark Nelson, Chevron vice chair and EVP for strategy, policy and development at S&P Global's CERAWEEK conference in Houston to talk about low carbon investment, California's planned gas car sales ban and China's impact on oil demand.

☆ Clean and Cheap Oil Is a Heavy Lift
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Jinjoo Lee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Darren Woods, Exxon Mobil CEO, says the company is one of the least emissions-intensive producers of fuel. Energy executives are all making the same shiny, new pitch: Let us keep drilling, and we’ll produce cheaper, less carbon-intensive oil and gas. Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Darren Woods said last week at industry conference CERAWeek by S&P Global that the company is one of the least emissions-intensive producers of fuel in the world. As long as there is gasoline and diesel demand, having Exxon make it will be a cleaner option, he said. While he was referring to the company’s refining operations, he touted a similar advantage in the company’s upstream activities, pointing to the Permian Basin as a source of cleaner hydrocarbons.

REUTERS/Nathan Frandino//File PhotoNEW YORK/HOUSTON, March 10 (Reuters) - Corporations and investors have been pouring money into renewable energy projects, seeing an opportunity to grasp the Holy Grail of socially conscious investing: do good while doing well. But sharply higher interest rates have further stressed a model strained by soaring prices for steel and silicon, vital for wind turbines and solar panels. Higher costs have buyers and sellers of renewable power projects recalculating potential returns, hampering fundraising and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). A decade of low interest rates meant borrowers could raise cheap debt to build projects and juice returns. Financial investors traditionally took stakes in operating renewables projects to avoid risks of construction delays and ensure stable returns.

☆ Big Oil Gushes Cash Because It Doesn’t Know Where to Invest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Carol Ryan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Adria Malcolm for The Wall Street JournalA solar panel near a gas lift well site in New Mexico. Oil-and-gas companies are still trying to figure out where to invest for the energy transition. The resulting hiatus makes for great shareholder returns, but not a long-term strategy. The hot topics at CERAWeek by S&P Global , an annual industry gathering in Houston, are the impact on global energy markets of the Ukraine war and new opportunities from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. In a bad sign for the European Union, many executives find the U.S. initiative more appealing, even after Europe sketched the outlines of a rival policy.

☆ U.S. companies need to diversify their energy portfolio, says U.S. Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailU.S. companies need to diversify their energy portfolio, says U.S. Energy Sec. Jennifer GranholmCNBC's Pippa Stevens joins 'Power Lunch" to discuss the U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm's comments from Houston's CERAWeek.

HOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - Billions of dollars in clean energy incentives are poised to speed investment on American soil while putting the European Union's energy transition at risk by luring away money and talent, executives at the CERAWeek energy conference said this week. European energy companies echoed the call for Europe to come up with its own new incentives. Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of French energy giant TotalEnergies told the conference the IRA was an "invitation to accelerate green infrastructure." In Europe, you begin to regulate," he said, adding that Europe and the United States should consider forming a free trade agreement on renewable energy infrastructure. Ken Gilmartin, CEO of British engineering firm Wood Plc, said the IRA would put the United States in first place in the decarbonization race.

☆ U.S. won't reach a new record in oil production 'ever again,' says Pioneer Natural Resources CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Many oil companies have outlined production increases as part of spending plans this year, though oil companies are now in an era of greater fiscal discipline, not shy about signaling they will favor shareholder rewards like stock buybacks over higher production levels. "I think gas prices at the pump are not so bad at this price, so I think it's optimal," she said. The White House has pushed oil companies to use their record profits to ramp up production instead of on buybacks or increasing dividends. Biden said U.S. oil majors invested "too little of that profit" to ramp up domestic production to help keep gas prices down. "Instead, they used those record profits to buy back their own stock, rewarding their CEOs and shareholders."

The five-phase project to integrate gas production, storage, pipeline transportation and liquefaction is key for the South American country to monetize its vast reserves and become an exporter on liquefied natural gas (LNG). A delegation of technicians from Petronas traveled to Argentina in February to plan for the project. Drilling rigs could be imported for the upstream portion of the gas project as Argentina struggles to secure specialized equipment, YPF Chief Executive Officer Pablo Iuliano told journalists at the CERAWeek conference in Houston. If the decision is yes, then construction could begin between late 2023 and early 2024,The gas project with Petronas, the oil terminal and a two-phase gas pipeline connecting Vaca Muerta to the country's Northern region are needed to boost the country's oil and gas output and exports. Oil and gas producers expect the government will send draft legislation for promoting LNG production to Congress in the coming weeks, Iuliano said.

☆ Barclays cuts 2023 oil price forecasts on resilient Russian output
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Barclays PLC FollowMarch 8 (Reuters) - Barclays cut its 2023 oil price forecasts on Wednesday, due in part to more resilient output from Russia than expected, and said the market could flip into a deficit in the second half of the year due to growing demand in China. China's oil demand could increase by 500,000 to 600,000 bpd in 2023, Haitham Al Ghais, the secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said on Tuesday at the CERAWEEK conference, with global oil demand seen rising by 2.3 million bpd in 2023. Barclays, meanwhile, revised its 2023 demand estimate 150,000 bpd higher due in part to a somewhat improved growth outlook for the United States and Europe. It sees a 900,000 bpd increase in Chinese demand this year. The Group of Seven economies, the European Union and Australia agreed a price cap on Russian oil late last year, aiming to deprive Moscow of funds for its war in Ukraine.

HOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - Copper mining giants are scrambling to attract and retain workers, especially in the United States, amid rising global demand for the red metal for the green energy transition. While regulatory push back and water supply have been among the mining industry's historical challenges, access to talent has emerged as another worry. Workers are needed with skills to build and run mines producing lithium, nickel, copper and other metals to feed the green energy transition. We're just trying to make our work as attractive to people as we can," said Adkerson, who has run the company since 2003. Freeport peer Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX)(RIO.L) has more than 4,000 employees in Utah, where the company runs the Kennecott copper mine.

HOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - Enormous challenges remain across global energy markets in the wake of the war in Ukraine, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Wednesday, with continued risks for energy security and the need to mitigate climate change. Russia's invasion of Ukraine led to an energy crisis in Europe as the Russian gas the continent depended on stopped flowing and Western sanctions disrupted Russian oil supplies. U.S. industry had responded to the energy crisis in Europe by producing and exporting more energy to become an indispensable energy partner to allies, Granholm said. Granholm called on executives from the fossil fuels and renewable industry to play their part in the energy transition to a low-carbon economy. Oil and gas would remain part of the energy mix for years to come, she said, and abated fossil fuel use would continue in mid-century.

☆ US senators reintroduce bill to pressure OPEC oil producer group
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) - A group of bipartisan U.S. senators on Wednesday said they have reintroduced legislation to pressure the OPEC oil production group to stop making output cuts. The so-called No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels, or NOPEC, bill was reintroduced by senators Chuck Grassley, a Republican, and Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and others on the Judiciary Committee. The bill passed the committee 17-4 last year after the OPEC+ producer group, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed to cut output by 2 million barrels per day. OPEC has continued with the 2 million bpd cut, setting a floor on global oil prices, with the Brent international benchmark trading around $82.60 per barrel on Wednesday. Reporting by Timothy Gardner in Washington Editing by Mark Porter and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ CERAWEEK-TotalEnergies CEO talk briefly interrupted by protestor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Patrick Pouyanne, the CEO of TotalEnergies, listens to a question from Daniel Yergin, the vice chairman of S&P Global, during the CERAWeek 2023 energy conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 8, 2023. REUTERS/Callaghan O'HareCompanies TotalEnergies SE FollowHOUSTON, March 8 (Reuters) - A protestor briefly interrupted an on-stage discussion with France's TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne at an energy industry conference in Houston on Wednesday. The protestor unfurled a banner and shouted "stop your greenwashing and lies." She was ushered away before the on-stage discussion between Pouyanne and U.S. energy historian Daniel Yergin continued. The CERAWeek energy conference is the biggest annual gathering of oil executives and officials and takes place in Houston, the capital of the U.S. energy industry.

Among methods that produce what is known as green hydrogen are electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using power from renewables. The technology for shipping hydrogen is still in early stages of development, said Chevron's vice president of hydrogen Austin Knight. About 30-35% of the total energy system will need hydrogen to decarbonize, he said. NextEra is working with the U.S. Treasury on rules that govern what can be considered green hydrogen, he said. The process is complicated by the variability of renewable power supply from wind and solar, he said.

But that copper sits below the federally owned Oak Flat Campground, a place some Apache consider home to deities. The mine would create a crater 2 miles (3 km) wide and 1,000 feet (304 m) deep that would destroy that worship site, which the San Carlos Apache tribe strongly opposes. Some other Apache tribes in the area support Rio's project, but the San Carlos Apache have vowed to block it. Rio said it will continue to try to win the San Carlos Apache's approval. Several courts have ruled against the San Carlos Apache and their allies, which have appealed to the full 9th U.S.

☆ CERAWEEK Eni CEO says gas market will be "difficult" for Europe through 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Eni SpA FollowHOUSTON, March 7 (Reuters) - Eni (ENI.MI) CEO Claudio Descalzi said on Tuesday that the natural gas market will be "more difficult" for Europe this winter through 2025 due to a lack of supply from Russia. "This next year, and also in 2024 and 2025, will be more difficult because last year until July we relied on about 80% of the Russian gas," he told the CERAWeek conference in Houston. "Now there's no Russian gas at all." Writing by Richard ValdmanisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The dinner with shale producers and OPEC officials continued a tradition that began around five years ago when they were fierce competitors. It has been held in most recent years during the CERAWeek energy conference in the U.S. oil industry capital. Among the other topics that came up were strong oil demand and what U.S. shale producers could do to meet it given what shareholders want, he said. The event comes at a tumultuous time for global markets with the war in Ukraine disrupting global oil and gas flows while enriching both producer groups. Fewer OPEC officials are present at this year's annual CERAWeek conference, with ministers from key countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iraq, absent from the attendee list.

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