** Any attempt by U.S. shale and other oil producers to boost output this year will backfire and lead to lower prices, according to the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates reported Bloomberg.
** Almost one in three workers in the oil and gas industry faced pay cuts in 2020, a worldwide survey showed on Tuesday, as the coronavirus crisis drove down fuel demand and prices reported Reuters.
** The top Democrat in Florida’s state senate files a bill to ban fracking reported WFOR.
** Reuters reported U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell 10.3% in 2020, the largest drop in emissions in the post-World War II era, as the coronavirus crippled the economy, according to a report released Tuesday by the Rhodium Group.
** The Environmental Protection Agency has skirted the customary waiting period of at least 30 days for new regulations to take effect and put several into force immediately. Bloomberg calls it a new twist on midnight rulemaking that undercuts the ability of Biden to freeze regulations his first day in office.
** Norway on Tuesday announced it was starting preparations for an environmental impact study needed to open areas of its seabed mineral exploration and production instead of oil exploration.
** Automotive News reported that General Motors is launching a commercial electric vehicle business and has locked in FedEx as the first customer of a delivery van.
** Saudi Aramco is lining up a loan of about $7.5 billion for potential investors in its oil pipelines, according to people familiar with the matter.
** Reports indicate that wind power surpassed coal as the second largest source of generation in Texas in 2020. Wind turbines were responsible for nearly a quarter of the state’s electrical power compared to coal’s 18%.
** Texas becomes Duke Energy’s largest solar market, followed by California and North Carolina, after it invests in its fifth solar plant in the Lone Star State reports the Charlotte Business Journal.
** The failed move last year by a Massachusetts city to ban natural gas from new building construction has turned into a statewide effort with new tactics to overcome legal objections according to S&P Global.
** Officials in Des Moines, Iowa, pass a resolution calling for 100% carbon-free electricity community-wide by 2035 and reducing carbon emissions 45% over the next decade reported Radio Iowa.