Other energy headlines

** The Biden administration is considering following Canada in barring Russian ships from U.S. ports, a government official said this week. A White House spokeswoman said no decision has been made.

** Biden administration officials pressured some Democratic senators not to support bipartisan legislation by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would ban oil and gas imports from Russia, Senate Democratic aides told Axios.

** Exxon Mobil Corp filed a suit against the U.S. seeking a partial refund of $2.1 billion in taxes and penalties tied to a Middle East gas project in Qatar, according to a filing on Friday in U.S. district court in Dallas.

** Xcel Energy’s biggest power plant in Colorado remains offline after five weeks with no certain timeline for repair.

** A Chevron Corp. executive says that Iowa biofuels producer Renewable Energy Group has a “very bright future” as the oil giant’s choice for its renewable fuels headquarters. Chevron acquired REG for $3.15 billion in Ames.

** SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told Starlink users in Ukraine to turn on the system only when required. Starlink users may be tracked via satellite signals and targeted, a security researcher told CNN.

** A Hawaii refinery says it is suspending petroleum purchases from Russia, which supplies about 25% of the state’s crude oil.

** Berkshire Hathaway disclosed the purchase of nearly 30 million shares of Occidental Petroleum. The move could have been initiated by Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett.

World

** Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent energy prices surging, but the oil-rich Gulf monarchies have so far resisted Western pressure to raise output, prioritising their own strategic and economic interests.

** Two oil tankers owned and managed by Sovcomflot, the Russian maritime and freight shipping company that the United States blacklisted last week, are rerouting from their Canadian destinations, while another is returning to Russia after discharging, according to tracking data and marine sources.

** Shell Plc, Europe’s largest oil company, bought a cargo of Russia’s flagship crude at a record discount, underscoring the company’s decision to keep buying supplies from the country after its invasion of Ukraine.

** Russia has stopped selling rocket engines to the US in response to sanctionsDmitry Rogozin, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos said, Reuters reported.

** Major cities in Taiwan were hit by a massive blackout Thursday morning, throwing rush-hour commute into chaos as sirens fill the air, local media reported. An estimated five million households are affected, per reports.

** A group of environmental organisations has filed a lawsuit in France against the country’s largest energy company TotalEnergies, accusing it of misleading consumers about its efforts to fight climate change.

** An updated comprehensive report, endorsed by 195 countries through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, shows climate change will continue its devastation of land, air and water and take a rising toll on humankind.