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Week in Review
Oil and gas
- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies formally agreed to oil production cuts of an additional 500,000 barrels per day through March 2020.
- After almost four years since it publicized its intention for an initial public offering, the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. had the largest IPO on record, bringing in $25.6 billion and breaking Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba’s record flotation from 2014. The share sales give Aramco a valuation of $1.7 trillion, shy of the $2 trillion goal of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump administration
- In a vote of 70-15, the Senate confirmed deputy energy secretary and former Ford Motor Co. lobbyist Dan Brouillette to the secretary post, after Rick Perry officially stepped down amid investigations into Perry’s role in the Trump administration’s Ukraine controversy.
- The Nuclear Fuel Working Group recommended that President Donald Trump call on the federal government to purchase more uranium from U.S. producers and possibly create a new national uranium reserve, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Interior Department
- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) placed a hold on Katharine MacGregor’s confirmation as deputy Interior secretary, over the department’s work on a new five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program, according to the senator’s office.
- The Bureau of Land Management is likely to lose most of its Washington, D.C.-based staff under the agency’s westward relocation effort, according to sources within and outside of BLM, who said some employees have asked for extensions on a 30-day window to decide whether to move.
Environmental Protection Agency
- The Environmental Protection Agency formally issued a pair of guidance documents modifying the agency’s implementation of the New Source Review program. Under the changes, the EPA narrowed its interpretation of “adjacent” for permitting purposes and will allow state and federal permitting agencies not to require monitoring of the air near emitting facilities if their owners prevent the public from accessing their properties.
- EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told biofuel industry representatives that the agency intends to issue its final 2020 biofuel blending quotas by Dec. 20, according to three people familiar with the matter.
PG&E Corp.
- A California Public Utilities Commission investigation into the 2018 Camp Fire found that PG&E Corp. violated state regulations for deferring maintenance and inspection on its transmission lines for years.
- PG&E was said to be nearing an agreement over a $13.5 billion compensation package for those impacted by wildfires sparked by the utility’s power lines, according to people familiar with the issue.
Solar
- The U.S. Court of International Trade imposed a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s withdrawal of the tariff exemption for bifacial solar panels, meaning the exclusion might stay in place for months until a court challenge against the withdrawal is resolved.
- Amazon.com Inc. said it will build solar projects in Virginia, Illinois and Spain, with the three facilities producing almost 700,000 megawatt hours of electricity with a combined capacity of about 329 megawatts.
COP25
- Annual international climate talks kicked off at the United Nations’ 25th Climate Change Conference in Madrid, where countries are negotiating how to meet the targets of the Paris climate agreement and hold global warming to 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial temperatures. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) arranged a 15-person delegation to attend the talks.
- Hundreds of companies agreed to meet science-based targets for lower emissions — a commitment that could beget a projected $18 billion in climate mitigation funding and 90 terawatt hours of renewable generation each year, according to the group of firms.
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What’s Ahead
- Both the House and Senate are in session this week.
- The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has scheduled an oversight hearing for Tuesday at 10 a.m. on the International Maritime Organization standards entering into effect next year.
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Events Calendar (All Times Local)
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Morning Consult Energy Top Reads
1) Natural gas companies call for carbon tax
James Osborne, Houston Chronicle
2) Climate crisis: what is COP and can it save the world?
Fiona Harvey, The Guardian
3) Faded Texas Oil Field Offers Austerity Lesson for U.S. Shale
Kevin Crowley, Bloomberg
4) Under pressure, 2 utilities ditch pro-coal trade group
Benjamin Storrow, E&E News
5) See How the World’s Most Polluted Air Compares With Your City’s
Nadja Popovich et al., The New York Times
6) BLM to suffer major staff losses in move West
Scott Streater, E&E News
7) Senate Confirms Dan Brouillette to Lead Energy Department
Lisa Friedman, The New York Times
8) Larry Kudlow Honing Latest Plan to Buttress Biofuel Mandates
Jennifer Jacobs et al., Bloomberg
9) U.S. coal plant retirements linked to plants with higher operating costs
U.S. Energy Information Administration
10) Carbon Trading, Warming Urgency on Tap for Madrid Climate Talks
Bobby Magill, Bloomberg Environment
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