Grid operator PJM faces a new complaint regarding power supply
Consumer advocacy group filed a complaint with PJM Interconnection. They claim that the U.S.'s largest grid operator unfairly awards record-high payments to power plants, driving up electricity prices for households and businesses. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission received a complaint on Monday, the second in recent times regarding PJM Interconnection’s capacity market auction for 2025-2026. This auction set prices that were over 800% higher than those of the previous year.
Elliott Affiliate's Citgo Bid to be Challenged
Companies seeking to claim proceeds from a court auction of shares in a parent of Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum are pressing a U.S. court to lift an exclusivity deal with an affiliate of Elliott Investment Management, which could pave the way for at least two new bids, sources close to the matter said.The auction of shares in the U.S. oil refiner's parent PDV Holding, aimed at paying 18 creditors up to $21.3 billion in awards against Venezuela, has become…
US Extends Protections for CITGO to March 2025
The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday extended a license protecting Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum from bondholders to March 2025, a key decision amid a seven-year-long legal case in which the refiner's parent might be auctioned to pay creditors.Citgo's parent, PDV Holding, was found liable by the court for Venezuela's debts from asset expropriations and debt defaults. The case has opened a route for creditors to fight for a piece of Venezuela's crown jewel - Citgo's 807…
Sources say ConocoPhillips is exploring the sale of Permian Shale assets worth more than $1 billion.
ConocoPhillips has been looking at selling some of its Permian basin shale assets worth more than $1billion, after two unsuccessful years of trying to sell the same assets. Houston-based oil producer, Texas, is preparing to complete its $22.5 billion acquisition of Marathon Oil before the end of the year. As part of the deal it will assume approximately $5.4 billion in debt from Marathon Oil and plans to raise an additional $2 billion by selling assets. Sources…
US Governors push back against PJM following record-high prices for power plants
Five governors urged PJM Interconnection on Tuesday to change its process for determining the price of power plants, after the auction that saw record prices. Prices in the most recent PJM auction were almost 10 times higher than last year. This was largely due to a shrinking supply of electricity and an increasing demand for electricity. Prices were set at levels that raised concern about the cost of electricity for homes and businesses on PJM territory. Environmental groups filed a complaint to PJM over its pricing process.
Citgo creditors attack Elliott bid in auction, seeking rival offers
Creditors of the company said that the key terms of an agreement proposed by a U.S. court with a hedge fund to control Venezuelan oil refiner Citgo Petroleum would lock in its low-ball offer. The reaction to Elliott Investment Management’s Amber Energy, a wholly owned company by Elliott Investment Management, has ended any hope of changing Citgo's ownership this year to satisfy Venezuela's debt defaults or expropriation. Creditors, who were seeking cash proceeds at a court auction and wanted to know if the offer was viable or not, asked that it be re-opened.
Citgo auction at risk as Venezuelan bondholders file parallel claims
Holders of billions in Venezuelan bonds, notes and other securities have emerged in the last minute as protagonists in an American court case that will decide ownership of oil refiner Citgo Petroleum. They threaten to derail a compensation auction for more than a dozen firms to compensate them for unpaid debts or expropriations. Two groups of holders have taken their cases to other U.S. court to enforce them, and are pursuing the Citgo assets which industrial conglomerates, oil companies, and mining firms have pursued for years.
Maguire: Slow rollout of charge points could stall US EV sales momentum
The United States has seen a 140% increase in electric vehicle sales since 2023. However, further growth could be hindered if public charging stations are not rolled out more evenly and at a slower pace. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, U.S. electric vehicle registrations will reach just over 3.5 millions by September 2024. This is up from 1.4m registrations in 2023 and represents the steepest growth rate ever in EV adoption in the country. AFDC…
Maguire: Slow rollout of charge points could stall US EV sales momentum
The United States has seen a 140% increase in electric vehicle sales since 2023. However, further growth could be hindered if public charging stations are not rolled out more evenly and at a slower pace. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center, U.S. electric vehicle registrations will reach just over 3.5 millions by September 2024. This is up from 1.4m registrations in 2023 and represents the steepest growth rate ever in EV adoption in the country. AFDC…
Viper Energy will buy certain Permian minerals assets from Tumbleweed Royalty at $461 million
Viper Energy is a subsidiary owned by oil and gas producer Diamondback Energy. It announced on Wednesday that it had entered into an agreement with Tumbleweed Royalty to purchase mineral and royalty interests from the company for $461,000,000 in cash. According to the agreement, an additional payment of $41 million could be made in the first quarter 2026 based on average U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude prices in 2025. Viper issued an 8.5-million share offering to finance the acquisition. Shares fell over 4% following the close of the market.
Equinor and Dominion win US Central Atlantic Offshore Wind Auction
The Interior Department announced on Tuesday that Equinor, a Norwegian company, and Dominion, a U.S.-based power company, were the successful bidders at an auction by the U.S. Government for two offshore wind areas near the coasts Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The Biden administration's offshore wind lease auction generated bids of less than $93 millions, placing it as one of the least profitable. The U.S. president Joe Biden put offshore wind development at the forefront his climate change agenda.
Exxon reports 59 job losses at Texas agency following the acquisition of Pioneer
Exxon Mobil laid off 59 employees following the acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources for $60 billion, according to an application filed with the Texas Workforce Commission. Exxon has confirmed that more than 1,500 Pioneer workers will be offered new jobs as a result of the merger. Around 2,200 people worked for Pioneer. According to the filing, 39 workers were laid off from Las Colinas in Irving, Texas - a Dallas suburb that was home to Pioneer Natural Resources’ former headquarters.
US Harbor Craft: Measuring Opportunity for Zero Emissions
There are more than 4,000 harbor craft vessels in the U.S. deemed highly suited for zero-emissions operations, according to a recent report produced by CALSTART in partnership with Intelatus Global Partners.The report - “Sizing the U.S. and California Harbor Craft Market” - looked at the U.S. commercial harbor craft and inland and nearshore vessels above 600 kilowatts (kW) or 805 brake horsepower. Approximately 10,000 vessels were counted in total, including crew and supply boats…
Stepping on the Gas: Rochester Researchers Team to tackle Methane Emissions
With global temperatures rising, oceans warming and ice caps melting, carbon dioxide attracts the bulk of the blame throughout media, public discourse and academia. All too many—save some scientists and researchers—neglect methane, the second biggest greenhouse gas that’s influenced by human activity. Often associated with livestock production and ruminant flatulence, methane has both natural and anthropogenic sources and is garnering more attention as science…
U.S. Climate Bill Exempts most of Oil Industry from Methane Fees
The U.S. Senate climate bill’s fee on oil and gas industry methane emissions will cover less than half the sector’s releases of the powerful greenhouse gas, thanks to concessions made to win over party holdout Joe Manchin, according to a review of the legislation and interviews with lawmakers that negotiated it.The reduced scope of the fee is among numerous changes made by Senate Democratic leadership to secure a deal on the hard-won Inflation Reduction Act, which is being hailed as the biggest climate package in U.S.
Upstream Sector Leads O&A M&A in 2019
A latest research revealed that the upstream sector accounted for the bulk of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the global oil and gas industry in 2019, generating some high-value transactions during the process.According to GlobalData's theme report, ‘M&A in Oil and Gas – 2020’, the acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum by Occidental Petroleum in April 2019 for a purchase consideration of US$57bn was the highlight of oil and gas M&A activity last year, says GlobalData…
Fire-Damaged Philadelphia Oil Refinery Heads for Auction
The fate of the largest East Coast oil refinery is set to be decided on Friday in an auction that could determine whether the Philadelphia plant is restarted or used for a different purpose for the first time in over a century.The refinery's owner, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, is scheduled to reveal the winning bidder on Wednesday during a hearing at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, which will need to approve the sale.PES fell into bankruptcy on July 21…
Icahn Sells Nearly a Third of His Oxy Stake
Activist investor Carl Icahn, who has been waging a bitter battle against Occidental Petroleum Corp's board over its $38 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum, cut his holdings in the oil and gas producer by nearly a third, according to an open letter to shareholders released on Friday.Icahn has opposed the deal as "hugely overpriced" and a misplaced bet-the-company gamble on oil prices rising, and urged Occidental's board to instead put the company on the market.Icahn sold 10 million shares and now holds 23 million shares, valued around $900 million, he said.
OP/ED: Offshore Wind
Set to Soar, Taking Offshore Support Industry With it.Offshore energy development is opening a new front in the United States -- the Atlantic seaboard, with strong winds, a shallow continental shelf and a proximity to dense population centers is driving strong interest in offshore wind development. The offshore oil and gas supply chain stands to benefit in a big way from billions in coming investment. In fact, it is already playing a role. Companies in the Gulf of Mexico…
Keenan Leaves Apache Corp
Oil and gas industry veteran Steven Keenan, who was credited with a high-profile shale discovery for Apache Corp, resigned on Wednesday from his position as senior vice president of worldwide exploration, the company said on Friday.Houston-based Apache told Reuters that Keenan's resignation is not connected to the well the company is currently drilling offshore in Suriname.
