Energy news in brief

** The bodies of two missing crew members of a dredging boat were found Saturday following an explosion a day earlier in the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.The explosion happened at about 8 a.m. Friday when the vessel struck a submerged pipeline, according to the Coast Guard, and Port of Corpus Christi officials said it was a natural gas pipeline.

** The Trump administration is planning to block the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska early this week, six people familiar with the plans told POLITICO, marking a surprise reversal that could be the death knell for the massive copper and gold project.

** The federal Bureau of Land Management has approved construction of three new corrals to hold more than 8,000 wild horses captured on federal rangeland to accelerate horse roundups slowed by a lack of space in existing holding pens. The bureau issued final decisions on environmental assessments of the plans this week for the pens in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

** Exxon Mobil Corp is limiting output at its flagship offshore project in Guyana to 100,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) due to more issues with the reinjection of natural gas, the South American country’s environmental regulator said on Friday.

** Saudi Arabia’s state oil company has suspended a deal to build a $10 billion refining and petrochemicals complex in China, according to people familiar with the matter, as the company slashes spending to cope with low oil prices.

** Dallas liquefied natural gas company Energy Capital Vietnam has taken a step forward with plans to develop an LNG project in that country.

**  Kinder Morgan Inc asked U.S. energy regulators this week for permission to put in service the 10th and final liquefaction train at its nearly $2 billion Elba Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Georgia. Kinder Morgan said Train 7 would be ready for service on Aug. 27, according to a filing late Thursday with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

** President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey had made a historic discovery of gas in the Black Sea, but would still speed up contentious exploration in the Mediterranean that has pitted it against Greece and the EU. Erdogan said the 320-billion-cubic-metre deep sea find was made at a site Turkish vessel Fatih began exploring last month.

** Pioneer Natural Resources Company in Dallas announced  that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.55 per share on Pioneer’s outstanding common stock. The dividend is payable October 14, 2020, to stockholders of record at the close of business on September 30, 2020.

** Missouri American Water is offering an enhanced installment plan to help customers who have fallen behind on their water and sewer bills. Both residential and non-residential customers are eligible to enroll in the program, which will be available through January 31, 2021.

** North Carolina regulators will consider a petition from environmental groups to decide if Duke Energy and other utilities need state approval before modifying coal plants to burn natural gas.