** Republican U.S. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said on Wednesday he is blocking President Joe Biden’s nominees for environmental regulatory positions in a bid to win permission for his state to regulate storage of the primary gas blamed for climate change. It will prevent Senate floor votes on nominees at the Environmental Protection Agency.
** Colgate Energy, a private equity-backed energy explorer in the Permian Basin that’s been preparing to go public, is also considering a sale after getting takeover interest, according to people familiar with the matter.
** Frac sand in the biggest shale play, the Permian, is in short supply, threatening to slow drilling programs at some producers and sending sand prices skyrocketing reported OilPrice.com. This adds further cost pressure to American oil producers, who are already grappling with cost inflation in equipment and labor shortages.
** Colorado coal production was up 14% in 2021 as natural gas prices rose.
** The Hawaii Supreme Court has rejected an “outlandish ” effort to delay a state agency from considering approval of a long-stalled and controversial renewable-energy project on Hawaii island.
** California gasoline prices have never been higher, posing fresh challenges for U.S. President Joe Biden who less than a week ago vowed to “work like the devil” to alleviate pain at the pump for consumers. Average retail prices for regular gasoline in the Golden State rose to $4.719 per gallon on Wednesday, topping the previous record of $4.713 per gallon reached on Nov. 27, according to AAA.
** The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday that domestic natural-gas supplies fell by 190 billion cubic feet for the week ended Feb. 11 to stand at 1.911 trillion cubic feet.
** Student climate groups at Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Vanderbilt, and MIT have filed complaints with attorneys general in their respective states arguing the schools have violated state law by investing in fossil fuels.
World
** The White House said on Wednesday that it dispatched two officials to Saudi Arabia to discuss boosting oil production, as tensions between Russia and Ukraine rise and threaten energy prices.
** China National Offshore Oil Corp. struck $13 billion worth of deals to boost oil and gas supply, as the country aims to avoid a repeat of last year’s energy crunch.