** Oil prices moved higher after the Energy Information Administration reported a crude oil inventory draw of 8 million barrels for the week to April 30. The oil inventory figure compared with a weekly draw of 7.688 million barrels estimated by the American Petroleum Institute a day earlier.
** A judge sentences two tree-sitters who defied a court order to block the Mountain Valley Pipeline in western Virginia to a day in jail for every day they spent in the tree, while a second judge adds civil fines and $141,386 for the cost of their extraction.
** The US Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that energy production in the US fell by more than 5% in 2020.
** Exxon Mobil Corp expects up to $200 million in charges this year related to job cuts in an era of cost savings, according to a regulatory filing. The biggest U.S. oil producer has slashed costs, delayed projects and said it could trim an estimated 14,000 employees globally, or 15%, including contractors.
** Ford Motor Co. along with BMW, this week announced their investment in a $130 million funding round for Solid Power, a Denver-area company that is developing sulfide solid-state battery technology.
** U.S. liquefied natural gas company Cheniere Energy Inc said Tuesday it supplied a carbon neutral cargo to Royal Dutch Shell as part of a long-term agreement, joining a list of sellers neutralizing emissions as more buyers commit to environmental targets. The carbon-neutral LNG cargo was supplied from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass facility in Louisiana and delivered to Europe in early April.
** Oil producer ConocoPhillips said all staff were safely evacuated from a drillship that listed and sank off the coast of Malaysia on Tuesday.
** Suspected Islamic State militants blew up two oil wells with bombs near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, killing at least one security officer and setting the oil wells ablaze.
** Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon claims the Biden administration’s limits on new oil and gas drilling on federal land will push investment offshore and only benefit Middle Eastern countries.
** Jobs in the U.S. solar industry fell nearly 7% last year due to work restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic and large gains in labor efficiency, according to an industry report published on Thursday.
** The White House has signaled privately to lawmakers and stakeholders in recent weeks that it supports taxpayer subsidies to keep nuclear facilities from closing and making it harder to meet U.S. climate goals, three sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters.
** The International Energy Agency has warned that high mineral prices could delay a transition to clean energy, owing to the amount of metals needed for batteries, solar panels and wind turbines.
** Five congressmembers from Florida urge the Interior Department to deny oil drilling permits in Big Cypress National Preserve.
