** America’s oil demand has soared to new heights in a remarkable turnaround from just a year ago when the pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a tailspin and decimated demand. A rolling average of U.S. total oil products supplied – an indicator of consumption – jumped to the highest seasonal level in government data going back three decades in the week ending July 2.
** North Dakota’s trust fund for oil taxes has higher-than-anticipated revenues based on a rebounding economy and an improved stock market.
** Federal regulators say Berkshire Hathaway’s $1.3 billion deal to buy a natural gas pipeline from Dominion Energy that fell apart this week should have never been attempted because a similar deal drew strong opposition in the past.
** Units of Energy Transfer zoomed 72% during the first half of 2021, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Several factors propelled the energy stock, including improving oil market conditions, positive news on a pipeline lawsuit, another needle-moving deal, and blowout first-quarter results.
** Oil fluctuated as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were said to resolve the standoff that has prevented OPEC+ from satisfying a growing clamor for extra barrels.
** Sempra Energy’s new infrastructure unit has hired former Trump administration official Dan Brouillette, enlisting the onetime cabinet secretary as part of its mission to expand LNG exports and other technology.
** Global refining runs are expected to continue rising in July and August due to increasing vaccination rates and easing social distancing measures around the world, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.
** The Biden administration has appointed a new head of the National Climate Assessment (NCA), a pivotal, congressionally mandated report on how human-caused global warming is affecting the U.S.
** Electrify America, the entity set up by Volkswagen as part of its settlement with U.S. regulators over its diesel emissions cheating scandal, said it will double the number of its electric vehicle fast charging stations in the United States and Canada by the end of 2025.
** U.S. coal production totaled 535 million short tons (MMst) in 2020, a 24% decrease from the 706 MMst mined in 2019 and the lowest level of coal production in the United States in any year since 1965 reported the Energy Information Administration.
** Environmental groups sue Alabama regulators over Alabama Power’s imposition of fees on customers with rooftop or on-site solar panels.