• U.S. Central Command released a U.S.-captured video showing what it says is an Iranian military patrol boat taking an unexploded mine from a damaged tanker, implicating Iran in the attack, though the president of Kokuka Sangyo Co. Ltd., which owns the tanker, said the damage came from the air rather than a mine. The tanker, which held 225,000 tons of methanol and was en route to Asia, was hit twice in three hours, while another tanker carrying naphtha to Taiwan was also attacked. (Bloomberg)

• National Security Council member William Happer emailed staff at the Heartland Institute, a think tank that publicly casts doubt on climate science, in 2018 and 2019, according to emails obtained by an environmental group through a records request. Happer has advocated for a White House panel to scrutinize scientists’ findings on the causes of climate change. (The Associated Press)

• The International Energy Agency forecast that oil production by those outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will increase to 2.3 million barrels per day from 1.9 million bpd next year, which the agency expects to help prevent price spikes and reduce demand of OPEC oil to 29.3 million bpd in 2020. IEA’s monthly oil market report decreased global oil demand growth to 1.2 million bpd from 1.3 million bpd last month, citing a “vulnerable global economy.” (Financial Times)

Air Force diverted $66M to cover growing chemical cleanup costs
Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill

A new analysis from the Department of Defense shows the Air Force diverted more than $66 million to cover the cleanup costs of harmful “forever chemicals” that have leached into the water supply.

Pence urges spending to repair well-worn U.S. national parks
Ruffin Prevost, Reuters

Against the backdrop of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Geyser, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday urged Congress to dedicate billions of dollars in federal energy revenues for repairs to aging facilities at America’s national parks.

Bayer Dangles $5.6 Billion Olive Branch to Roundup Critics
 Tim Loh and Naomi Kresge, Bloomberg

Bayer AG will pump about 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) of its research and development budget into alternatives to its weedkiller glyphosate over the next decade as it battles more than 13,000 lawsuits claiming the herbicide causes cancer.

House Dems push Trump to fill high-level Interior vacancies
Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill

House Democrats are pushing the president to speed up nominations to the Interior Department on the heels of a complaint the agency is temporarily filling roles with existing staff to avoid seeking Senate confirmation.

Oil slips as demand concerns outweigh Mideast geopolitics
Ahmad Ghaddar, Reuters

Oil prices fell on Friday on fears trade disputes will dent global oil demand, although the attacks this week on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman gave prices a floor.

Exxon-SABIC to start construction on $10B plant near Corpus Christi
Marissa Luck, Houston Chronicle

A day after receiving permitting approvals from state officials, Exxon Mobil said Thursday its joint venture with SABIC, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, would proceed with construction on the $10 billion project. The plant will create 6,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent jobs, according to the companies.

IEA monitoring oil tanker attacks, stands ready to respond: Birol
Meghan Gordon and Takeo Kumagai, S&P Global Platts

The alleged attacks on two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz represent a major concern for global energy security, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said Friday, adding that the agency stands ready to respond.

As Trump Touts Ethanol, Scientists Question the Fuel’s Climate Claims
Georgina Gustin, InsideClimate News

Shortly after touring an ethanol plant in Iowa this week, President Donald Trump stood in front of a crowd of farmers—a group of people who have every right to be upset with him.

Oil tanker companies spooked by Gulf attacks
David Sheppard et al., Financial Times

Tanker companies have sounded a warning about the danger to seaborne oil supplies from the Middle East following the second attack on vessels in the region in as many months. They say that risks to shipping are as high as they have been in more than a decade.

The Highly Dangerous ‘Triton’ Hackers Have Probed the US Grid
Andy Greenberg, Wired

Over the last several months, power grid-focused security analysts at the Electric Information Sharing and Analysis Center. or E-ISAC, and the critical infrastructure security firm Dragos have been tracking a group of sophisticated hackers carrying out broad scans of dozens of US power grid targets, apparently looking for entry points into their networks.

The rise of EVs could overwhelm the grid, but PG&E has a better plan
Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive

The power demand from the 20 million electric vehicles (EVs) expected to be on U.S. roads by 2030, up from today’s 1.1 million, could overwhelm the nation’s grids.

FERC chair: ‘Complex legal challenges’ must be addressed before DER rule can be issued
Robert Walton, Utility Dive

All four Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioners testified before a House subcommittee on Wednesday, taking a wide range of question about the agency’s oversight and action on issues ranging from cybersecurity to state resource mixes.

Hydrogen Is the Fuel of the Future. For Real This Time, IEA Says
Dan Murtaugh, Bloomberg

Governments, automakers and even oil and gas giants are part of a growing coalition pushing a larger role for the fuel as the world seeks to reduce carbon emissions while still providing reliable electricity to a growing population and powering complex industrial processes, the International Energy Agency said in a report released Friday.

Uber, Bird loses bid for U.S. tariff relief on Chinese-made bikes, scooters
David Shepardson, Reuters

The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office rejected Uber Technologies Inc’s request for relief from 25% tariffs imposed on Chinese-made electric bicycles, according to a May 29 letter. The “Jump” bikes that operate in more than a dozen U.S. cities were among $16 billion in Chinese products hit by the Trump administration with new tariffs in August.

SEC official calls for scrutiny of CEOs’ social media use
Robert Armstrong and Robin Wigglesworth, Financial Times

Robert Jackson, one of Securities and Exchange Commission’s four commissioners, said the agency should consider publishing new guidance on chief executives’ use of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, in the wake of controversies involving Tesla founder Elon Musk.

Utility will remove coal ash from pits near Tennessee river
Travis Loller, The Associated Press

The nation’s largest public utility on Thursday agreed to dig up and remove about 12 million cubic yards (9.2 million cubic meters) of coal ash from unlined pits at a Tennessee coal-burning power plant.

Americans Are Paying More Than Ever to Store Deadly Nuclear Waste as Plants Shut Down
Will Wade, Bloomberg

Almost 40 years after Congress decided the U.S., and not private companies, would be responsible for storing radioactive waste, the cost of that effort has grown to $7.5 billion, and it’s about to get even pricier.

Oil, nuclear technology firms visit New Mexico governor
The Associated Press

The office of New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday confirmed recent meetings with executives from Denver-based natural gas and petroleum producer Cimarex Energy and California-based Kairos Power. Kairos is developing a molten-salt cooled reactor.

In Exxon Climate Fraud Case, Judge Rejects Defense Tactic that Attacked the Prosecutor
Staff, InsideClimate News

A ruling on Wednesday by New York Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager prohibits Exxon from raising the claim of prosecutorial misconduct as a defense against allegations by the attorney general that the company engaged in a scheme to deceive investors by providing false or misleading assurances that it was managing economic risks posed by climate change.

Climate Crisis reps examine renewables mix
Wes Wolfe, The Brunswick News

Different technologies work better in different places, and adaption to use of alternatives to fossil fuels is by no means uniform — the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis took a look at these topics and others Thursday in an attempt to facilitate greater expansion of renewable energy use.

Wildfires are ‘burning longer’ and ‘harder to control,’ officials warn
Ellie Kaufman, CNN

US Forest Service and Interior Department officials warned senators Thursday that the upcoming wildfire season would be worse than last year’s, which left dozens of people dead in California, saying that “if we’re lucky, this year will simply be a challenging one.”

Congress must pass permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), The Hill

For more than five decades, the LWCF has funded recreation and conservation projects in every single state – and nearly every county – in the country.

The Trans Mountain pipeline is a disaster – but Trudeau can make it right
Brian Cladoosby et al., The Guardian

The National Energy Board’s findings laid out the potential damage in stark detail. The pipeline will result in a major increase in greenhouse gases, just as a climate emergency is being declared by governments across Canada.

The Democratic front-runners respond to the Green New Deal
The Economist

The Green New Deal, as first proposed, had two problems. The first is that it was only a sketch, with handwaving in lieu of detail on the massive economic reorganisation it envisages.

Oil Market Report: 2020 vision
International Energy Agency

Now, the main focus is on oil demand as economic sentiment weakens. In May, the OECD published an outlook for global GDP growth for 2019 of 3.2%, lower than our previous assumption.