• The White House terminated the nomination process for David Hill, the Energy Department’s general counsel under President George W. Bush, to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Hill confirmed to a news outlet. The process was ended following a reported push by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, along with other senior Energy Department officials and coal executives Joe Craft of Alliance Resource Partners LP and Bob Murray of Murray Energy Corp., against Hill’s nomination, because Hill had vocalized disagreement with the administration’s efforts to support coal-fired power plants. (Politico)

• The Energy Department will provide an additional $3.7 billion in federally backed loan guarantees to Atlanta, Ga.-based Southern Co. and other partners in the over-budgeted project to expand the Plant Vogtle nuclear facility in Georgia, according to two sources, on top of $8.3 billion in guarantees the plant already received from the Obama administration. The department is expected to announce the guarantees on Friday, when Perry visits the site. (Bloomberg)

• The fire at the petrochemical facility in Deer Park, Texas, operated by Intercontinental Terminals Co. was extinguished as of 3 a.m. Wednesday, according to the company, though firefighters will keep spraying foam and water on the tanks to prevent reignition. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Harris County have been in court over spills at the facility in past years, according to court records. (CNN)

Trump administration withholds report justifying ‘shock’ auto tariffs
Eliana Johnson and Andrew Restuccia, Politico

A confidential government report has provided President Donald Trump with a legal rationale to impose heavy new tariffs on foreign cars as soon as this spring, a prospect fiercely opposed by White House officials and congressional Republicans alarmed by its enormous economic and political stakes.

Top Interior Press Secretary Spouted Islamophobia, Climate Denial In 2017 Podcast
Chris D’Angelo and Rowaida Abdelaziz, HuffPost

The comments were made during a June 8, 2017, episode of “The Word,” a podcast of the now-defunct right-wing news outlet The Daily Nerv. Vander Voort co-founded The Daily Nerv in early 2017, about a year before she joined the Trump administration, and briefly co-produced and co-hosted the podcast, according to her resume on Interior’s website.

Justices side with tribal firm over state fuel tax
Ellen M. Gilmer, E&E News

A treaty more than 150 years old shields tribal businesses from Washington state’s gas tax, the Supreme Court ruled today. In a case with implications for other tribes and state laws, the high court issued a split opinion siding with tribal gas retailer Cougar Den Inc. over Washington officials.

Amid 19-Year Drought, States Sign Deal to Conserve Colorado River Water
John Schwartz, The New York Times

But any victory may be short-lived. Climate change promises to make the American West increasingly hot and dry, putting further pressure on the Colorado and the 40 million people who depend on its water.

Oil prices firm on supply cuts, but slowing economy drags
Henning Gloystein, Reuters

Oil prices edged up on Wednesday, supported by ongoing supply cuts led by producer club OPEC and U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela, although gains were limited by concerns over economic growth.

How Iran fuel oil exports beat U.S. sanctions in tanker odyssey to Asia
Roslan Khasawneh et al., Reuters

At least two tankers have ferried Iranian fuel oil to Asia in recent months despite U.S. sanctions against such shipments, according to a Reuters analysis of ship-tracking data and port information, as well as interviews with brokers and traders.

Trump grants Iraq a new 90-day sanctions waiver to buy Iranian energy: Source
Natasha Turak, CNBC

The waiver, last issued in December and which expired on the morning of March 19, will allow Iraq to continue buying electricity from its neighbor even as the White House pledges a maximum pressure campaign against Tehran.

Algeria’s Political Turmoil Casts Doubt on Oil and Gas Deals
Benoit Faucon, The Wall Street Journal

In recent weeks, Exxon Mobil Corp. has held off on signing a preliminary deal with Algeria’s state-run Sonatrach, and companies including BP PLC and Norway’s Equinor AS have expressed concern about how Algeria’s political turmoil might affect oil and gas production.

Oil majors rush to dominate U.S. shale as independents scale back
Jennifer Hiller, Reuters

In New Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert, Exxon Mobil Corp is building a massive shale oil project that its executives boast will allow it to ride out the industry’s notorious boom-and-bust cycles.

Permanent offshore oil drilling ban OK’d by Oregon lawmakers
Sarah Zimmerman, The Associated Press

The House voted 47-8 to prohibit drilling and exploration in the state’s marine waters, extending a temporary 10-year ban that was set to expire next year. The measure already passed the Senate and will be sent next to Gov. Kate Brown. Brown, a Democrat, has previously spoken out against offshore oil drilling and has pushed for strong climate protections in the state.

Gulf of Mexico Sale 252 likely to fare modestly well with improved seismic technology, costs: sources
Starr Spencer, S&P Global Platts

With lingering lower oil prices after recent peaks seen in 2018 but renewed interest in the Gulf of Mexico from a few significant operators, the outcome of the upcoming US Gulf Lease Sale 252 could disappoint or exceed expectations, according to sources.

Vitol warns oil demand to peak within 15 years
David Sheppard and Neil Hume, Financial Times

Russell Hardy, chief executive of the privately held company since last year, said on Tuesday that, while the world was not ready to move to renewable energy without denting economic growth, there was a clear inflection point ahead.

Norsk Hydro Is Hit by Ransomware Cyberattack
Alistair MacDonald and Dominic Chopping, The Wall Street Journal

“Let me be clear, the situation for Hydro is quite severe. The entire computer network is down,” said Norsk Hydro finance chief Eivind Kallevik, who noted the virus first surfaced in the company’s U.S. operations.

Big problem facing the Green New Deal: A lack of power lines to deliver wind and solar
Josh Siegel, Washington Examiner

The Green New Deal would require an overhaul of the transmission lines that deliver wind and solar power, a major logistical obstacle to the progressive plan for radically revamping the economy to address climate change.

PJM’s winter 2019 experience reinforces need for reserve pricing reform
Mark Watson, S&P Global Platts

PJM’s Synchronized Reserve Market prices were “at or near zero for 19 of 24 hours” during a late-January cold snap, so a federal regulatory filing is planned “to improve how reserve prices are formulated,” which drew mixed reactions from industry observers.

A utility regulatory process for the 21st century gets a test run in Hawaii
Herman K. Trabish, Utility Dive

Regulation of utilities has always had the formal, legalistic qualities of a courtroom without the drama that high crimes and TV fiction add. But the story is being rewritten and once again Hawaii is setting the pace.

Tesla Staff’s Lost Workdays Triple on Factory Injuries, Illness
Josh Eidelson and Dana Hull, Bloomberg

Tesla Inc. factory employees spent almost three times as many days off the job because of work-related injuries and illness in 2018 as the year before, an indication of just how much strain they were under as they manufactured electric cars at scale for the first time.

BP Explores Buying Solar Energy to Power Operations in the U.S.
Brian Eckhouse and Kelly Gilblom, Bloomberg

The London-based company is in talks with a solar developer it partially owns, Lightsource BP, to buy power in the U.S., according to executives at the renewable company. A contract may be signed within six months, Lightsource BP Chief Commercial Officer Katherine Ryzhaya said.

Congress’ inaction endangers black lung fund
Dylan Lovan, The Associated Press

Amid the turmoil of the government shutdown this winter, a tax on coal that helps pay for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund was cut sharply Jan. 1 and never restored, potentially saving coal operators hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

US signs off on Wyoming uranium mine expansion
Mead Gruver, The Associated Press

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will allow Littleton, Colorado-based Ur-Energy to more than double the surface area of its Lost Creek Mine while tapping deeper deposits underlying the sagebrush country of south-central Wyoming.

SC leaders talked a big game but failed to save the state’s nuclear program from Trump
Emma Dumain, McClatchy DC

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham was furious. Last November, the South Carolina Republican had warned that his now-famous outburst during Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing would pale in comparison to the rage he would inflict on the Trump administration if it shuttered a nuclear project in his home state.

Chief aims for Occidental Petroleum to be ‘carbon neutral’
Ed Crooks, Financial Times

In the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, the racing heart of the US shale oil boom, there is generally not too much soul-searching about the implications for the climate of their production. The availability of truck drivers and pipeline capacity for transporting the oil to market are much more pressing concerns.

Pragmatic Bipartisan Climate Solutions Do Exist
Taite McDonald et al., Morning Consult

The Green New Deal contains impossible objectives that could never be translated into actionable policy solutions. This should surprise no one.

Carbon Taxes Are the Original Green New Deal
Steven Rattner, The New York Times

Yes, of course, we need a Green New Deal to address the world’s most urgent crisis, global warming. Just, please, not the one that a flotilla of liberal politicians, including seven of the top Democratic presidential hopefuls currently in the Senate, are signing up for in droves, like children following the pied piper in the old legend.

Exxon’s Climate Denial Set To Face First Public Scrutiny As Legal Woes Mount
Alexander C. Kaufman, HuffPost

On Thursday, European Parliament members are set to hold a hearing in Brussels that could strip Exxon Mobil of lobbying access and deepen the oil giant’s mounting legal woes.

One-third blame climate change for colder winter temperatures: Gallup
Zack Budryk, The Hill

The survey found that 19 percent of respondents said the 2018-2019 season was colder than usual due to climate change, while 14 percent said climate change made the season warmer than usual.

U.S. fracking industry posts disappointing Q4 results
Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

A cross section of 29 publicly traded, fracking-focused oil and gas companies posted $6.7 billion negative free cash flows in 2018. Said differently, these companies spent $6.7 billion more on drilling than they realized from selling oil and gas.