Week in Review

Trump administration

  • President Donald Trump promised not to waive requirements under the Jones Act that call for goods – including natural gas – shipped between U.S. ports to be transported by American-made ships, according to Republican lawmakers following a meeting with Trump on the matter.
  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Trump agreed to put $2 trillion toward U.S. infrastructure, and lawmakers said they would return for further talks in three weeks to determine how to finance the investment.

Congress

  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said his chamber will not vote on the Climate Action Now Act, which cleared the House 231-190. The legislation would prevent the U.S. from spending money to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, as Trump has pledged to do.
  • Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) agreed to end her hold on Department of Energy nominees after Energy Secretary Rick Perry agreed to remove one half metric ton of weapons-grade plutonium from Nevada between 2021 and 2026 and further agreed to prevent future waste shipments from South Carolina.

Oil and gas

  • Anadarko Petroleum Corp. said its board “unanimously determined” that it intends to discuss Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s $55 billion cash-and-stock acquisition offer, talks which are likely to end Anadarko’s previously agreed sale to Chevron Corp. Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. pledged $10 billion toward Occidental’s offer for Anadarko and a warrant to buy as many as 80 million shares if the bid goes through.
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against multiple, unidentified investors for insider trading that begot $2.5 million in “illicit profits” through the purchase of about 1,650 call options in the two months before the announcement of Chevron’s offer for Anadarko.
  • Exxon Mobil Corp. announced a planned $2 billion investment over three years to build a new polymer plant and an olefins plant at its petrochemical complex in Baytown, Texas.

Earnings and finance

  • Oil majors saw a weaker first quarter of 2019, with BP PLC reporting a profit drop of 12 percent in the quarter. Its replacement cost profit – a calculation akin to net income – was $2.1 billion, compared to $2.39 billion for the same quarter in 2018.
  • Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s profit dropped almost 7 percent in the first quarter of 2019 to $5.2 billion from $5.7 billion in the previous quarter, while revenue fell 6.2 percent to $83.74 billion.
  • Tesla Inc. announced in a filing that the automaker intends to raise as much as $1.35 billion in convertible notes and $650 million in new equity, with the offering underwritten by several financial groups, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley.

Agencies

  • The Interior Department issued its final rule to ease requirements on offshore oil and gas drillers by increasing drillers’ safety technology options and removing a requirement to use only pre-approved safety inspectors.
  • Following pushback from the White House and the oil industry, the Environmental Protection Agency has paused work toward publicizing the names of refiners that have received waivers from Renewable Fuel Standard blending requirements, according to four sources.

What’s Ahead

  • The House and Senate are in session this week.
  • Energy Secretary Rick Perry is set to testify at the House Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee’s hearing on the fiscal 2020 budget request for the Energy Department on  Thursday at 10:15 a.m.

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

05/06/2019
Offshore Technology Conference
Solar Energy Industries Association Diversity Challenge Roundtable 10:00 am
05/07/2019
SEIA Oregon Solar Energy Conference
Offshore Technology Conference
NRECA CONNECT Conference
Used Fuel Management Conference
EESI Event on the National Flood Insurance Program: Critical Issues and Needed Reforms 2:00 pm
House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the FY20 Interior Budget 3:00 pm
05/08/2019
SEIA Oregon Solar Energy ConferenceSEIA Oregon Solar Energy Conference
NRECA CONNECT Conference
Used Fuel Management Conference
Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee Hearing on Asbestos 10:00 am
Environment and Public Works Hearing on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works Program 10:00 am
05/09/2019
PwC Digital Utilities of the Future 2 Conference
SEIA Oregon Solar Energy Conference
Water Environment Federation Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Symposium
Offshore Technology Conference
NRECA CONNECT Conference
Used Fuel Management Conference
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s TRAVEL FORWARD Summit 8:00 am
Bipartisan Policy Center Event on Near-Term Policy Opportunities for Carbon Removal with Direct Air Capture 9:30 am
National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Subcommittee hearing on Wildfire Resilient Communities 10:00 am
Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Hearing on the Mining Law of 1872 10:00 am
Energy Secretary Rick Perry Testifies at House Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee Hearing on the FY20 DOE Budget 10:15 am
05/10/2019
PwC Digital Utilities of the Future 2 Conference
Water Environment Federation Stormwater and Green Infrastructure Symposium
Society of Petroleum Resources Economists’ 2019 Petroleum Resources Economics Conference
View full calendar

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