Energy news in brief

** Devon Energy Corp.  announced Wednesday that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend on Devon’s common stock for the third quarter of 2020. The dividend is payable on Sept. 30, 2020, at a rate of $0.11 per share based on a record date of Sept. 14, 2020.

** China’s state planner has given the initial go-ahead for a $20 billion refinery and petrochemical project to be built on the country’s east coast in Shandong province.

** The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday has sanctioned four shipping firms for transporting Venezuelan oil, the latest escalation in Washington’s effort to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro by cutting off the OPEC nation’s crude exports. Marshall Islands-based Afranav Maritime Ltd, Adamant Maritime Ltd and Sanibel Shiptrade Ltd, as well as Greece-based Seacomber Ltd, all own tankers that lifted Venezuelan oil between February and April of this year, the Treasury Department said.

** Some Texas landowners say they’re concerned about the spread of COVID-19 as pipeline workers continue to build Kinder Morgan’s Permian Highway Pipeline on their properties during the pandemic. 

** An Australian company backed out of buying a LNG project in Louisiana in late May before another company stepped in to buy it for $2 million. 

**  Federal appeals court judges question whether they can overturn a 2019 Texas law giving utilities priority in constructing electric transmission lines

** Midland oilfield service company ProPetro plans to exercise a contract clause that obliges Irving oil company Pioneer Natural Resources to pay millions of dollars in fees for idling hydraulic fracturing fleets in the Permian Basin. ProPetro notified investors about the plan in a late Monday afternoon filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Midland-based service company bought Pioneer’s hydraulic fracturing and coiled tubing fleets for $110 million in a Nov. 2018 deal.

** Electric vehicle startup Rivian has laid off about 40 employees at its engineering and design center in Plymouth, Michigan.

** Climate change denier and outspoken racist Steve King, who has represented northwest Iowa in Congress for two decades, is defeated by a Republican primary challenger.

** Youngstown, Ohio, activists appeal a federal judge’s ruling against their claim that state and local elections officials violated their constitutional rights by preventing voters from deciding on a local fracking ban.

** Enbridge is likely to miss prime construction season for its proposed Line 3 pipeline replacement again as Minnesota regulators continue to evaluate the project.

** Wyoming lawmakers are considering dedicating extra funding to expedite the cleanup of orphaned wells in a bid to create jobs and stimulate economic development.

**  Some New Mexico oil and gas industry advocates are cautioning the state against adding rules and expenses to an industry in recovery mode. 

** An information provider predicts Colorado will have some of the largest employment losses of any state by early 2021 because of the coronavirus crisis, particularly in the oil and gas industry.

** A Wyoming-based carbon technology firm announces a partnership with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to explore the conversion of coal to high-value advanced carbon products and materials.