Top Stories

  • Global oil supply could increase by 700,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2020, even if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries makes good on its intended cuts of 2.1 million bpd, according to the International Energy Agency’s monthly oil market report. IEA said the additional cuts from OPEC and its allies would reduce global production by just 532,000 bpd. (Bloomberg)
  • Shares of the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. again hit the 10 percent maximum increase during its second day of trading, taking Aramco’s valuation past $2 trillion. Many of the shares are held by retail investors who are incentivized to hold onto the stock, meaning that even small new purchases of the shares can quickly increase the company’s valuation. (Financial Times)
  • The Senate voted 53-41 yesterday to hold a final vote today on Aurelia Skipwith’s nomination to lead the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Skipwith is currently the Interior Department’s deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks. (Bloomberg Environment)

Chart Review

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

12/12/2019
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting
gridCONNEXT Event
Resources for the Future Event on Implementing Changes to the ESA: What Happens Next? 9:30 am
Senate Energy and Natural Resources business meeting on pending legislation 10:00 am
12/13/2019
American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting
Organization of American States and Department of Energy Event on Investing in Natural Gas: Options for Resilient and Flexible Power Systems 9:30 am
NCAC-USAEE Career Perspectives Lunch 12:00 pm
12/14/2019
University of Maryland College Park Event – Rebuild Maryland: Climate Action Summit 9:00 am
12/16/2019
World Resources Institute Event on Market Designs for the Clean Energy Transition: Proposed Forward Clean Energy Markets 8:00 am
12/17/2019
Alliance to Save Energy et al. Energy Efficiency Impact Report Launch Event 9:00 am
Resources for the Future Event on Healthy Soils for a Healthier Planet 9:30 am
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Briefing on Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Employment, and Small Business 10:00 am
View full calendar

New Report: White Claw, DoorDash, Impossible Foods Top 2019’s Fastest Growing Brands

Morning Consult’s Fastest Growing Brands of 2019 is the definitive measure of brand growth for both emerging and established brands, showcasing a wide range of companies and products that have accelerated their consumer appeal and awareness in 2019.

Download the full report.

General

How California and Quebec are trying to Trump-proof their climate effort
Jeremy B. White and Andy Blatchford, Politico

But California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Quebec Premier François Legault aren’t national leaders, and they’ll be meeting not in Washington or Ottawa but in Sacramento — the California capital that has championed states defiantly going their own way on climate change, the Trump administration’s opposition notwithstanding.

State Department, Nuclear Regulatory Commission ranked the worst agencies on IT issues
Maggie Miller, The Hill

Version 9.0 of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) scorecard, released twice a year by the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations, awarded D- grades to both the State Department and the NRC for IT modernization issues. 

Elizabeth Warren revises income disclosure from controversial coal case
Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times

The disclosures provide new information about a controversial case Warren handled in the 1990s, indicating that she earned more from that case than she had previously revealed. The case involved a Supreme Court appeal that Warren helped handle on behalf of LTV Steel, which was fighting in court over its liability to a health insurance fund for retired coal miners.

Washington GOP House Member Eyes Milestones With Energy Post
Tiffany Stecker, Bloomberg Environment

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has already had several unique achievements: She was the 200th woman elected to the House in 2004.

‘We are deeply concerned’: House Science Committee seeks investigation of how 5G could hurt weather forecasting
Andrew Freedman, The Washington Post

The bipartisan leaders of the House Science Committee have requested government investigators examine why federal agencies disagree so starkly about the risks 5G communications technology poses to weather forecasting.

Carlos Ghosn Prepares for the Trial of His Life
Matthew Campbell et al., Bloomberg Businessweek

After two decades spent logging more air miles than virtually any other corporate leader, these days Carlos Ghosn rarely leaves a small slice of central Tokyo. 

Oil Rebounds Though Outlook Remains Clouded by Oversupply
Ann Koh and Grant Smith, Bloomberg

Futures added 0.6% to trade near $59 a barrel. American gasoline inventories surged the most since January as demand slumped to a three-year low, and crude stockpiles unexpectedly increased, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

Oil and Natural Gas

Continental Resources founder Hamm to step down as CEO
Jennifer Hiller et al., Reuters

Legendary U.S. oilman Harold Hamm, who once called the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries a “toothless tiger,” will step down as chief executive of Continental Resources and become its executive chairman, the company said on Wednesday.

Armstrong-led company spends big, snags million acres in NPR-A
Elwood Brehmer, Anchorage Daily News

The state’s lease sales for near-shore Beaufort Sea acreage and broader onshore North Slope areas together garnered 69 bids from four groups totaling about $7.8 million in bonus bids, according to Division of Oil and Gas Director Tom Stokes.

U.S. Senate committee backs Russia energy bills, delays vote on sanctions ‘from hell’
Patricia Zengerle and Kirsti Knolle, Reuters

Underscoring U.S. lawmakers’ continuing unhappiness with Russia, a Senate committee on Wednesday advanced legislation seeking to hamper Russian energy pipelines and boosting NATO but delayed voting on a measure nicknamed the “sanctions bill from hell” that would punish Moscow for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

After Exxon victory, oil sector faces lengthy climate fight
James Osborne, Houston Chronicle

But it was only the first hurdle in what is likely to be a years-long — if not multi-decade-long — fight for the oil and gas industry in its legal battle over climate change

BP, Others Tell Court Climate Case Aims to ‘Punish’ Industry
Ellen M. Gilmer, Bloomberg Environment

BP Plc and other companies faced off with Baltimore lawyers Dec. 11 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va., the latest showdown in a multifront legal campaign to get companies to pay up for greenhouse gases spewed from fossil fuel combustion.

Natural Gas Boom Fizzles as a U.S. Glut Sinks Profits
Clifford Krauss, The New York Times

A glut of cheap natural gas is wreaking havoc on the energy industry, and companies are shutting down drilling rigs, filing for bankruptcy protection and slashing the value of shale fields they had acquired in recent years.

Utilities and Infrastructure

Junkyards Get Greener With a Shift to Recycled Steel
Jacquelyn Melinek, Bloomberg Businessweek

The junkyard system of getting rid of damaged and end-of-life vehicles is shifting away from the mom and pop operations of the past and, in the process, offering a lift for the environment.

Renewables

Oil Company Baker Hughes Commits to 100% Clean Power in Texas
Chris Martin and David Wethe, Bloomberg

Baker Hughes Co., one of the world’s largest oil-services companies, is pledging to power all its Texas operations with wind and solar.

Large Southern California solar project gets green light
The Associated Press

Officials have approved plans for a large solar energy facility in unincorporated desert communities of inland Southern California despite opposition from some residents.

World’s First Liquid Hydrogen Ship Debuts in Green Economy Boost
Dan Murtaugh, Bloomberg

The ship will be used for technology demonstration to establish an international hydrogen energy supply chain, Kawasaki said in a press release, by shipping the fuel from Australia to Japan.

Coal

Tennessee Valley Authority addresses coal ash leaks
The Associated Press

Coal ash is leaking from a dump complex at the largest coal-fired plant owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the utility is monitoring whether it’s affecting public water supplies.

Nuclear

Easterners demand funding and nuclear power to support EU climate deal
Michel Rose and Marton Dunai, Reuters

Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic set out demands on Thursday that could block agreement on the European Union’s new push for climate neutrality by 2050, trumpeted by the bloc’s new chief executive as Europe’s “man on the moon” moment.

Climate

Shipping industry sails into unknown with new pollution rules
Jonathan Saul, Reuters

To reduce emissions of toxic sulphur that cause premature deaths, shipowners who have long relied on the dirtiest residues of oil extraction will have to either switch to low-sulphur fuel or install exhaust gas cleaning systems from Jan. 1.

Greenwashing Concerns Soar as Companies Vow to Clean Emissions
Laura Millan Lombrana and Jeremy Hodges, Bloomberg

Last week, the European Union’s biggest business leaders said they would support measures to zero out emissions by the middle of the century. 

Splits over climate policy threaten to derail UN summit in Madrid
Leslie Hook, Financial Times

Disagreement on global carbon trading market could stall a deal at COP25 gathering.

Opinions, Editorials and Perspectives

Big Change May Be Coming to American Railroads
Rob Benedict, Morning Consult

The fuel and petrochemical industries have long relied on the pioneering U.S. railroad system, which in many respects is emblematic of the American spirit of enterprise and vision. Rail transportation is equally crucial to manufacturers and customers downstream who depend on our products.

Fighting the climate crisis isn’t optional
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), The Hill

For months, House Democrats have been taking bold climate action, promoting bills that will reduce pollution, create clean energy jobs and move us toward a sustainable future.

The Stealth Plan to Erode Public Control of Public Lands
Bob Abbey and Jim Caswell, Politico

We are former directors of the BLM, from Republican and Democratic administrations, and we are united in our concern about the future of our public lands — specifically, a below-the-radar effort by political appointees in the Department of the Interior to functionally dismantle the organization.

Research Reports

Solar Market Insight Report 2019 Q4
Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables 

In Q3 2019, the U.S. solar market installed 2.6 GWdc of solar PV, representing a 45% increase from Q3 2018 and a 25% increase from Q2 2019.

Morning Consult