** Lime Rock Resources, acquirers and operators of producing oil and gas properties in the United States, announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement to buy oil and gas properties in the Delaware Basin of Texas for $508.3 million from a private seller. The transaction is expected to close on September 30.
** The U.S. Department of Energy announced $60 million for 24 research and development projects aimed at reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from passenger cars and light- and heavy-duty trucks.
** French oil company TotalEnergies SE and Norway’s Equinor ASA decided to quit a key venture in Venezuela, adding to an exodus of foreign firms in recent years as the country’s energy industry has withered.
** TotalEnergies also said on Thursday it would use part of its cash flow for share buybacks worth at least $800 million, as rising oil and gas prices boosted profit, offsetting the hit from selling out of one of its Venezuelan ventures.
** A U.S. federal judge ruled on Wednesday that Native American tribes may join a lawsuit seeking to block Lithium Americas Corp’s proposed Thacker Pass mine in Nevada, the latest attempt to halt development of what could become one of the largest U.S. producers of the electric vehicle battery metal.
** The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 36 billion cubic feet for the week ended July 23.
** A county in Washington state has become the first such jurisdiction in the US to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure, following a lengthy battle over the impact of oil refineries on the local community.
** Severe drought is exacerbating concerns about the construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline across northern Minnesota, with the project moving millions of gallons of water even as river and lake levels sink.
** The United Arab Emirates is building one of the world’s largest waste-to-energy plants to deal with its growing trash load. Dubai is constructing a $1.1 billion facility that will burn garbage to generate power.
** Bureau of Land Management officials believe a burning coal seam may have ignited a Wyoming wildfire that has burned 3,000 acres so far.
** Computer giant Dell will no longer ship some versions of its gaming products to California, Oregon, Hawaii, Washington and Colorado because the PCs do not meet new energy efficiency standards.
** North Dakota regulators approve permits for a pipeline that will transport carbon dioxide emissions from a synthetic fuels plant to an underground storage site.
** More than 40 U.S. ethanol plants pledge to help the Biden administration reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.