Trump exempts oil imports from his sweeping tariffs
The White House announced on Wednesday that imports of refined products, oil and gas were exempted by President Donald Trump from his new sweeping tariffs. The exemption is a welcome relief for the U.S. Oil Industry, which was concerned that new taxes could disrupt flow and increase costs of everything from Canadian crude oil to Midwest refineries and European cargoes to the Eastern Seaboard.
US considers cutting funding to four of seven hydrogen hubs
According to a source familiar with the issue, the U.S. Department of Energy has considered cutting funding to four of seven hubs for hydrogen that were chosen under a $7-billion federal program. The hubs are part of the effort by former President Joe Biden to decarbonize U.S. economics. They aim to boost the production of clean hydrogen and the infrastructure required to deliver it to industrial users such as steelmakers and Cement plants.
Trump hosts top US oil executives as trade wars threaten
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, will be hosting top oil executives in the White House this Wednesday to discuss plans for boosting domestic energy production amid falling crude prices and trade wars. This will be Trump's first meeting with oil and gas executives since he returned to the White House in January for his second term. According to a source familiar with planning the event, it will include members of American Petroleum Institute (API)'s executive committee.
Ministers and executives say that if sanctions are eased, Europe will avoid Russian energy.
Ministers and executives at a Houston conference said that European buyers will not return to Russia's Energy Sector if the sanctions are lifted. The bloc has diversified its power mix by using renewable energy and alternative suppliers of gas. According to a joint U.S. and Ukrainian statement released on Tuesday, Ukraine agreed to accept the U.S. proposal of an immediate 30-day truce in order to restore a lasting peace following Russia's invasion.
Sources: Trump wants to refine minerals on Pentagon bases in order to boost US production
U.S. President Donald Trump aims to build metals refining facilities on Pentagon military bases as part of his plan to boost domestic production of critical minerals and offset China's control of the sector, two senior administration officials told . The move is one of several planned for an executive order Trump could sign as soon as Wednesday after he told the U.S. Congress last…
Oil trade group calls for national ethanol policy in the US after EPA approves Midwest expansion
The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, pushed for a national policy on gasoline blends with higher ethanol levels on Monday after President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Friday that it would expand sales of this product in certain Midwestern States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on February 21 that it would support an April 28th implementation…
Trump announces that the US will increase its military sales to India and eventually provide F-35 Jets
Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said that the United States would increase its military sales to India beginning in 2025. It will also eventually provide F-35 jet fighters. "We will increase military sales to India many billions dollars." Trump told reporters that we're also clearing the path to eventually provide India with F-35 stealth aircraft. Trump didn't provide a timetable, but it usually takes years to complete foreign military sales.
Sources say that the US will release a model of clean fuel tax credit that restricts ethanol producers' access to credit.
Three sources with knowledge of the issue said that the U.S. will release a model climate for clean fuel tax credit by the end of next week. This model will drastically reduce the ability for ethanol producers access subsidies to produce sustainable aviation fuel. The climate model has been updated since the last time it was updated. This means that the exclusion of climate-smart agriculture practices, on which the biofuel industry hoped to rely, is a major reversal.
Biden Administration will not finalize the clean fuel tax credit guidelines
Three sources have confirmed that Biden administration officials won't finalize the highly anticipated guidelines for new clean fuel production credits targeted at the airline industry and biofuel industries by the time they depart in January. This casts doubt on the future success of this key part of the U.S. President's climate agenda. The tax credit was to go into effect on Jan. 1 but, due to a lack detailed guidelines from the U.S.
Natural gas producers ask Harris for answers on the battleground state
Drillers from Pennsylvania, an energy-rich state, called on Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris this week to explain her stance on natural gas. The energy industry touts it as a clean fuel but climate activists claim that the fuel is a threat to global warming. In January, President Joe Biden froze new LNG export permits to examine their environmental impact. This was…
Harris' energy strategy is ambiguous from a strategic perspective, say her aides
Since Vice President Kamala Harris joined the White House race 25 days ago, she has been keeping energy executives on their toes. Was she the anti-pollution and climate change warrior Attorney General of California? Or was she the pragmatic number two in the Democratic Biden Administration that oversaw record U.S. production and exports of oil? Seven times in her speeches, she mentioned climate, but never energy, fracking, or oil.
Bids for Small Refinery Waivers Flood into EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has received 37 applications for small refinery waivers for 2018 from the U.S.
Shutdown Risks Delays to US Energy Initiatives
The partial government shutdown is increasing the chances of delays in U.S. energy initiatives from the release of President Donald Trump's proposed offshore drilling plan to allowing higher levels of ethanol in gasoline during summer months, energy industry groups said on Friday.The U.S. Department of Interior had been expected to release its highly anticipated 2019 to 2024 offshore…
Next-wave LNG Race Hits Hurdles in US-China Trade War
The delay of a U.S. Gulf Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project has crystallized fears that the U.S. trade battle with China is hampering efforts to line up buyers needed to move ahead with multi-billion-dollar builds.The United States is positioning itself as the dominant provider of the supercooled fuel as Asian nations shift away from dirtier power sources like coal…
Big Crude Oil Margins Should Boost US Refiner Earnings
U.S. refiners ran full-tilt in the second quarter, fueled by cheap domestic crude and fat margins that should boost earnings, though their heavy activity could eventually saturate the market with gasoline, sapping profits down the road.U.S. independent refiners, including Phillips 66 and Marathon Petroleum Corp, are expected to announce strong results due to the heavy discounts for U.S.
EPA Scraps Plan to Force US Refiners to Blend More Biofuels
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ditched a detailed plan that would have forced refiners to blend more biofuels into their gasoline and diesel in 2019 to compensate for volumes likely to be exempted under the agency's small refinery hardship waiver program, according to newly released EPA documents.The plan would have boosted the renewable fuel blending obligation for the…
ETP Reopens one of two Philadelphia Area Product Pipelines
Energy Transfer Partners LP reopened the smaller of two Philadelphia area pipelines that help carry refined products from the region's refineries to the New York Harbor and Western Pennsylvania but the larger of the two remained shut, the company said in a customer notice seen by Reuters. The two lines, 8-inch and 12-inch in size, were shut on Friday as a precaution after gasoline was discovered in a creek outside of Philadelphia.
Dallas Company Secures Permits to Expand Crude Export Hub at Texas Port
Jupiter MLP LLC, a Dallas-based logistics company, has secured permits to expand a crude export dock at the Port of Brownsville in Texas, the latest in a series of moves made by U.S. companies to tap into booming overseas shipments.The expanded dock space will be able to accommodate Suezmax-size vessels, the company said in a statement Thursday.Privately-held Jupiter has also begun…
US Interior Secretary Sees Little Demand for New Offshore Drilling
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said on Friday that he sees little demand from oil and gas companies for new offshore drilling leases, which could pose problems for his plan to ramp up output from federal waters.The comments come just three months after Zinke had proposed opening nearly all U.S. ocean coastlines to drilling, in a bid to raise domestic oil and gas production.
Pennsylvania says Bankrupt Refiner Owes $3.8 bln in Taxes
The state of Pennsylvania wants a federal judge to halt the bankruptcy of Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), arguing the refiner owes an estimated $3.8 billion in fuel taxes, according to a court filing on Friday. The state's Department of Revenue said the refiner must make several changes to the proposed restructuring plan to ensure the taxes are paid before it can support the plan.
