** Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller told the World Petroleum Congress this week in Houston that oil, gas underinvestment is bringing about period of market scarcity.
** Despite the company’s good year so far, Exxon’s coming pay raises for employees will come in below inflation, new reports suggest. Salaries are going to rise about 3.6% for employees who deserve the merit-based raises, reporting from the Seattle Times and Bloomberg says.
** Exxon Mobil says it has a plan for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from its operations in one of the most prolific oilfields in the United States, saying it hopes to achieve its net-zero goal for operations in the Permian Basin by 2030.
** Honda Motor Co’s American unit will pay $6.9 million in a settlement over engines used in equipment including lawn mowers, pressure washers and snow blowers that violated California’s air-quality regulations, a state regulator agency said on Monday.
** Toyota will open a multi-billion dollar battery plant with at least 1,750 employees about an hour’s drive outside the Triangle, according to ABC 11, The News & Observer’s media partner.
** Union Pacific Railroad aims to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but officials say battery-powered long-haul locomotives are not yet ready for deployment.
** Montana awards grants for the construction of electric vehicle charging stations along major highways and at the entrance to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.
** The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will soon operate electric vehicles and install charging stations on its reservation with the help of a $6.7 million federal grant.
World
** The West must send a strong message to Russia to deter the Kremlin from invading Ukraine, including cutting Russia off from the SWIFT payment system, sanctioning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and strengthening NATO’s eastern flank, Latvia said on Tuesday.
** Russia is considering banning foreign vessels from shipping Russian energy cargoes via the Northern Sea Route, as well as from icebreaking and coastal navigation, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Tuesday citing a draft government resolution.
** The benchmark natural gas prices in Europe continued to fall on Monday, for a third trading day in a row, as forecasts of milder weather this week and sufficient LNG deliveries calmed the market.
** A group co-led by BlackRock Inc. will invest $15.5 billion in Saudi Arabia’s natural-gas pipelines as the kingdom opens up more to foreign companies and looks to fund a huge increase in fossil-fuel production.
** Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline, closed since mid-November following record storms that washed out roads and train tracks in British Columbia, returned to service Sunday, the state-owned corporation announced.