** The Trump administration’s unprecedented auction of Arctic drilling rights Wednesday netted just $14.4 million from three bidders, with major oil companies steering clear of the sale.
** The U.S. didn’t import any Saudi crude last week for the first time in 35 years, a reversal from just months ago when the Kingdom threatened to upend the American energy industry by unleashing a tsunami of exports into a market decimated by the pandemic reported Bloomberg.
** Several oil refiners in Asia were taken aback by Saudi Arabia’s pledge to curb 1 million barrels a day of supplies from next month even as they planned for maintenance that will trim demand reported Bloomberg.
** The Houston Chronicle reports Houston leads the nation in lost construction jobs, 22,500 or 9% of construction jobs from November 2019 to November 2020, more than any other metro in the country. New York City lost 16,700 while Midland, Texas reported the loss of 9,800 jobs.
** Fishing groups in Maine are skeptical of the state’s commitment to work with them as plans are devised to develop an array of floating offshore wind turbines.
** The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has finalized revisions to its Nationwide Permits, a program for utility stream crossings that has been criticized by environmentalists, which analysts say could cause problems for oil and natural gas pipelines.
** Reuters reported Canada’s oil sands production hit a record high in November, according to the latest regulatory data, and will likely continue to rise as producers ramp up output following the end of provincial government production curtailments in Alberta.
** The Associated Press reported a gigantic nuclear waste treatment plant in eastern Washington state that has been under construction for 18 years is largely completed. It soon will be ready to start processing radioactive wastes left over from the construction of the nation’s nuclear arsenal, the U.S. Department of Energy said Wednesday.
** Murphy Oil Corporation will host a conference call and webcast beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Thursday, January 28, 2021 to discuss fourth quarter 2020 earnings.