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☆ US House committee votes to repeal Biden solar panel policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Solar panels are set up in the solar farm at the University of California, Merced, in Merced, California, U.S. August 17, 2022. Biden suspended tariffs last June as part of a key pillar of his clean energy policy. The resolution passed the House Ways and Means committee 26 to 13. "The Ways and Means Committee just took a hammer to business certainty and American energy independence," Solar Energy Industries Association President Abigail Ross Hopper said in a statement. Months later, Commerce issued a preliminary decision to extend existing tariffs on Chinese solar products to goods from those nations.

The GOP’s plan for a one-year debt limit increase, said McCarthy, would roll back domestic, non-defense spending to 2022 levels. Through his speech, McCarthy urged Wall Street to pressure the Biden administration to accept spending cuts. He also said that he wasn’t monitoring stock market conditions as he headed into debt ceiling negotiations. McCarthy expressed concern over these developments on Monday but said the Republican debt ceiling plan could solve some of those problems. “You can utilize the debt ceiling as the opportunity to do it,” he added.

☆ 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."

☆ Meet the GOP leaders in charge of critical House environmental committees
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Westerman, a representative for Arkansas's fourth congressional district, has a background in engineering and is a licensed forester. He's also introduced legislation to plant 1 trillion trees globally by 2050 in order to pull carbon out of the atmosphere. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of House Committee on Energy and CommerceRep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) during a House Energy and Commerce Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on April 2, 2019 in Washington, DC. "We'll be focusing on promoting innovative technologies to facilitate our clean energy transition," Lucas told CNBC. Lucas said the committee would also conduct "robust oversight" of the spending being distributed to advance the country's clean energy sector.

☆ ExxonMobil, Chevron's big cash shows cheap gas isn’t coming back
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Big oil sees political pushback on buybacksFuel prices at a Chevron gas station in Menlo Park, California, on Thursday, June 9, 2022. In the market, and at the oil companies headquarters, it seems the opinions issued from the White House aren't much of a factor in setting financial priorities. The benchmark now is to spend roughly a third of operating cash flow on capital investment, a third on dividends and a third on stock buybacks. Exxon made $76.8 billion in operating cash flow, invested $18 billion back into the business, spent $14.9 billion on dividends and $15.2 billion in stock purchases, according to its cash flow statement. Oil production is increasing

☆ U.S. House backs bill limiting drawdowns from oil reserve
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday limiting the ability of the energy secretary to tap the strategic oil reserve without developing plans to increase the amount of public lands available for oil and gas drilling. The bill is expected to face an uphill battle in the Senate, which unlike the House, is controlled by Biden's fellow Democrats. "The SPR should be used as a tool of ‘last resort,'" said Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and co-sponsor of the bill. The Biden administration has said it sold the oil to counter gasoline prices that had risen to $5.00 a gallon that helped fuel inflation to the highest in decades. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told reporters at the White House this week that Biden "will not allow the American people to suffer because of the backwards agenda that House Republicans are advancing."

☆ Trinidad offers to pay for Venezuelan gas with humanitarian supplies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Curtis Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday issued a license allowing Trinidad to co-develop the Dragon gas field, which holds 4.2 trillion cubic feet of reserves on the Venezuelan side of the maritime border with Trinidad. The project would have Trinidad import the gas and turn it into exportable liquefied natural gas (LNG). So we buy the gas and we pay for it in a variety of ways," Rowley told journalists late on Tuesday. Venezuela has resorted to swaps to make its economy work amid stiff U.S. sanctions prohibiting financial transactions or the use of dollars to pay Venezuela or the country's state companies. Shell (SHEL.L), which operates the neighboring Hibiscus field in Trinidad, ideally could become the operator, said Trinidad's Rowley.

People communicate with each other at the Congress Center for the World Economic Forum WEF Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2023. DAVOS, Switzerland – U.S. lawmakers quietly took part in a private ritzy lunch atop the World Economic Forum on Monday featuring dozens of influential business leaders, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Chris Coons, D-Del., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. and a few members of the House of Representatives, these people explained. Coons, Manchin, Sinema and Kemp are among the U.S.-based officials scheduled to participate in panel sessions at this year's conference. These private events on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum often serve as meet-and-greets between CEOs, billionaires and government officials.

☆ Oil Prices Are Likely to Stay Steady This Year—With a Couple of Big Ifs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Collin Eaton | Benoît Morenne | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Oil prices generally aren’t expected to change dramatically this year, but two big questions loom over that outlook: Will China have the workers needed to rev up its economy as the country loosens its Covid restrictions? And will American energy companies focused on fracking stick to their recent reluctance to bankroll another expensive oil boom? Brent, the international oil standard, peaked above $127 a barrel last year but has since tumbled, trading around $84 a barrel Thursday. Around two-thirds of energy executives surveyed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas late last year expected West Texas Intermediate oil prices—which tend to fluctuate a few dollars a barrel below Brent—to end 2023 between $70 and $90 per barrel. The forecast is based largely on the fact that analysts expect global oil supply to outpace demand this year as economic growth slows.

REUTERS/Jorge Silva/HOUSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Venezuela's oil exports last year declined due to infrastructure outages, U.S. sanctions and rising competition in its key Asia market despite assistance from ally Iran, according to shipping data and documents. Iran expanded its role in Venezuela last year, sending supplies to boost exports and technicians to repair a refinery. Venezuela's crude production averaged some 721,000 bpd according to a preliminary data for December and OPEC reports. A U.S. license granted to Chevron Corp (CVX.N) to recover output and exports in Venezuela will take effect this year. A global appetite for fuel alternatives boosted its oil byproducts exports, which added millions of dollars last year.

☆ Republicans went after BlackRock and sustainable investing in 2022. Meet 12 officials crusading against 'woke capitalism.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A group of vocal conservative officials are criticizing aspects of ESG investing. Players in the ESG ecosystem, like S&P Global and BlackRock, the world's largest money manager and an influential proponent of ESG investing, are often the subject of their critiques. Instead, officials often paint large financial firms' ESG strategies as functions of left-leaning agendas. Here are key GOP players who are taking aim at ESG investing. Abbott, who is seeking reelection in November, was early to denouncing ESG investing.

The lawmakers are co-sponsors of the National Development Strategy and Coordination Act. That's why we've joined forces to jumpstart a national project to restore American manufacturing leadership. This committee would be charged with developing a National Development Strategy, recommending investments to improve national security, strengthen domestic manufacturing, create good-paying jobs and develop new technologies. Second, our proposal — the National Development Strategy and Coordination Act — would give this committee the authority to direct the Department of Treasury's Federal Financing Bank to achieve its goals. This would bring overdue strategic coordination to our federal loan system and inject much-needed long-term capital into critical industries.

☆ U.S. poised to become net exporter of crude oil in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The United States is also the leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, where growth is expected to soar in coming years. But the United States consumes 20 million barrels of crude a day, the most in the world, and its output has never exceeded 13 million bpd. Last month, U.S. government data showed net U.S. crude oil imports fell to 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd), the lowest since record keeping began in 2001. To become a net exporter of crude, the United States needs either to boost production or curtail consumption. The U.S. exported an average of 3.1 million bpd of fuels through September this year, EIA data showed, down from the 3.2 million bpd in the same period in 2019.

☆ Meet 12 Republican officials crusading against BlackRock and ESG investing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

☆ Biden's Inflation Reduction Act makes green hydrogen profitable at scale, Goldman Sachs says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Angel Garcia | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe United States' Inflation Reduction Act represents a "turning point" when it comes to the economics of technologies such as renewables and hydrogen, according to Goldman Sachs . "The exception — and I think this is where there could be green shoot[s] — is the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S.," he added. "It finally makes technologies like green hydrogen, local green battery production [and] carbon capture, profitable in large scale," he added. If the electricity used in this process comes from a renewable source such as wind or solar then some call it "green" or "renewable" hydrogen. The vast majority of hydrogen generation is still based on fossil fuels, but there is a huge amount of interest in the role green hydrogen could play going forward.

POLITICAL TALKSFollowing oil sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, Chevron received an exemption to trade its Venezuelan crude to recoup pending debts. Chevron's four PDVSA joint ventures produced about 200,000 barrels per day of crude oil and exported the crude around the world prior to the sanctions. It also allows the U.S. company to import supplies to help process the country's crude oil into exportable grades. That limits any wider expansion of Venezuelan oil production. Chevron and other U.S. oil refiners could benefit from supplies of Venezuela's heavy crude flowing to their U.S. Gulf Coast processing plants.

The decision allows Chevron to revive existing oil projects in the U.S.-sanctioned country and bring new oil supplies to refiners in the United States. However, it restricts cash payments to Venezuela, which could reduce the amount of oil available to Chevron. License terms are designed to prevent Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA from receiving proceeds from Chevron's Venezuelan petroleum sales, U.S. officials said. A Chevron spokesperson said the company was reviewing the license terms and declined immediate comment. Proceeds due Venezuela from Chevron's oil sales would go into a humanitarian fund rather than to PDVSA.

☆ Josh Hawley proclaims the 'old' GOP is dead after a disappointing midterms for Republicans: 'Time to bury it'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Josh Hawley thinks the "old" GOP is dead. Build something new," Hawley tweeted on Saturday. "The old party is dead. The old party is dead. Hawley is, per Politico, in the process of forging his own path in the Senate with other Trump Republicans.

The Biden administration on Friday announced plans to significantly tighten regulations against methane emissions from domestic oil and gas drilling. The Environmental Protection Agency said the proposed standards would reduce methane from the oil and gas sector by 87% below 2005 levels. In the United States, oil and natural gas operations are the nation’s biggest industrial source of methane, according to the EPA. The Biden administration announced its plan to reduce methane emissions in November 2021 at the last U.N. Last year, the U.S. and the European Union launched the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce the world’s methane emissions by 30 percent by the end of the decade.

How Putin and Friends Stalled Climate Progress A handful of powerful world leaders rallied around Russia and undercut global cooperation. Mr. Putin has gained from this as the increasingly autocratic Mr. Xi finds common cause with the Kremlin. “Much depends on whether authoritarian leaders perceive climate action to be in their self-interest.”Though their actions help Mr. Putin, their track records on climate are mixed. Mr. Xi called Mr. Putin his “best friend.”He was returning the favor from a year earlier, when Mr. Putin hosted Mr. Xi at the Grand Kremlin Palace and awarded him one of Russia’s highest medals for foreign dignitaries. At a news conference with Mr. Putin, Mr. Bolsonaro thanked his “dear friend,” saying that Mr. Putin had offered him support when other world leaders were criticizing his Amazon policy.

☆ Fetterman slams Big Oil for surging profits and failure to invest in new supply
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Democrat John Fetterman scolded the oil industry on Thursday for reaping massive profits and argued companies are rewarding shareholders instead of aggressively investing in new supply. “Big Oil just made another round of record profits by gouging Americans at the gas pump,” Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. The oil industry is a notoriously boom-to-bust business. Gas prices climbed to a record high of $5.07 a gallon in June. Fetterman’s campaign called out his opponent’s ties to the oil industry, pointing to campaign donations from oil and gas companies to Dr. Mehmet Oz’s campaign.

☆ Arizona, Texas join multi-state probe into big banks over net-zero pledge
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A combination file photo shows Wells Fargo, Citigbank, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs from Reuters archive. The investigation is targeting JPMorgan Chase & Co , Goldman Sachs Group Inc , Bank of America Corp , Citigroup Inc , Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N). "American banks should never put political agendas ahead of the secure retirement of their clients," Arizona AG Mark Brnovich said in a statement. "The last thing Americans need right now are corporate activists helping the left bankrupt our fossil fuel industry," Texas AG Ken Paxton said, adding that the banks practices potentially violate consumer protection laws. JPMorgan declined to comment, while the other five banks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

☆ Biden tries again to lower gas prices — and slams oil companies for raking in record profits 'while a war is raging'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ben Winck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

President Joe Biden will release 15 million more barrels of oil from the country's reserves to lower gas prices. Biden also urged oil companies to invest in more production, and not their own stocks. "Gas prices hit almost every family in this country and they squeeze their family budgets. The president also castigated oil companies for pocketing larger profits instead of tamping down prices for consumers. Replenishing the SPR should provide security for the oil companies sitting on their profit windfalls.

☆ Biden says oil companies should ramp up production and cut prices at the pump instead of buying back stock, paying dividends
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden said oil companies need to use their record profits to ramp up production rather than to enrich shareholders. "My message to the American energy companies is this: You should not be using your profits to buy back stock or for dividends. "So far American companies are using that windfall of profits to buy back their own stock, passing that money on to their shareholders, not to consumers," he said. Biden also officially announced the release of 15 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. "My message to oil companies is this: You're sitting on record profits and we're giving you more certainty so you can act now to increase oil production now," he said.

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - A production cut by the OPEC+ oil cartel is reigniting U.S. voters' No. The move late in the campaign season unsettled a growing consensus that Biden's Democrats could stem their losses in the U.S. House of Representatives -- though they are still expected to lose their narrow majority. Republicans have hammered Democrats all year over inflation, which has reached four-decade highs as gasoline prices surged with Russia's March invasion of Ukraine. Moscow is also a member of OPEC+ and played a role in the cartel's decision this week to cut output. Forecasters do not expect gasoline prices to surge back to summertime highs.

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