Energy news in brief

** The U.S. government has agreed to sell crude oil from the nation’s emergency reserve to eight companies including Exxon, Chevron and Valero, under a scheduled auction to raise money for the U.S. budget, the Department of Energy said.

** U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, a New Mexico Democrat, introduces a bill that would provide $5 billion to fossil fuel communities to aid their transitions away from fossil fuels.

** California’s oil-heavy Kern County sues Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop what it calls a de-facto ban on hydraulic fracturing.

** Secretary of State Antony Blinken pointedly declined Tuesday to answer whether he has been interviewed recently by FBI agents investigating Hunter Biden’s and associates’ contacts at the State Department in connection with a Ukraine natural gas company. During congressional testimony Tuesday afternoon over the Biden administration’s bungled Afghan withdrawal, Blinken awkwardly batted away several direct questions from Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., about possible interactions with the FBI.

** Wyoming GOP Sen. John Barrasso, a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources called the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s markup of the Democrats spending bill a “reckless tax and spending blowout” that will impose punishing fees and also raise energy costs.

** Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $1.2 billion principal amount of Senior Notes due 2032.

** Iowa regulators begin overseeing dozens of public meetings on a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline that would cross 30 Iowa counties. 

** Porsche and its international partners have started building the factory that will produce a new synthetic fuel starting in 2022. Located in southern Chile, the plant will make fuel for race cars, sports cars like the 911, and classic cars.

** More than a dozen liquefied natural gas tankers are waiting their turn to fill up at Qatar’s port of Ras Laffan in a clear sign of how tight the global gas market has become.

** Iraq cut the price of its banner crude for U.S. customers sharply, a bold deviation from what Saudi Arabia chose to do with its own barrels just a few days ago. The nation’s Basrah Light barrels will be sold at a discount of $1.15 per barrel to a regional benchmark in October for buyers in the Americas.

** Global crude inventories that ballooned during the pandemic have shrunk to the lowest level in 20 months as an economic rebound in top consumers China and the U.S. drive a robust recovery in fuel demand.