** The nation’s largest electric grid operator PJM Interconnection is so clogged with requests from energy developers seeking connections to its regional transmission network in the eastern United States that it is proposing a two-year pause on reviewing more than 1,200 energy projects, most of them solar power.
** The Biden administration is considering a Chevron Corp proposal to allow the U.S. oil major to accept and trade Venezuelan oil cargoes to recoup unpaid debt, four people close to the discussions said.
** Crude oil prices have eased off fresh seven-year highs reached earlier Monday morning, but it could be another wild week. The International Energy Agency’s monthly outlook arrives Friday. OPEC’s latest monthly report comes Thursday, while the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s monthly pulse-taking comes tomorrow.
** The natural gas market has been hit hard since Wednesday even as a massive storm battered much of the country from Texas to York, cutting gas output to its lowest level since 2021’s February freeze. On Friday, March Natural Gas futures settled at $4.572, down $0.316 or -$6.46%.
** House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has spent over $500,000 on private jets since 2020 despite repeatedly describing climate change as an “existential” threat the U.S. has a “moral” obligation to address.
** The U.S. Department of Agriculture will invest $1 billion in pilot projects that promote farming, ranching and forestry practices that cut greenhouse gas emissions or capture and store climate-warming carbon, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters.
World
** At least three people died in Nigeria when the oil storage and production vessel, FPSO Trinity Spirit, exploded last week and four crew are still missing, the operating company said on Monday.
** As Europe finds itself on the verge of a full-blown energy crisis, French natural gas pipeline operator GRTgaz has warned its French gas stockpiles are much lower at this point in the year than they have been during years past – and as a result, they run the risk of potentially being depleted before the winter is up.