** U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm violated a law that limits the political participation and speech of federal employees during an interview in late 2021, a government watchdog said. The Hatch Act of 1939 limits the political campaigning activities of federal employees, except the president and vice president.
** Global spare capacity is running very low, which will keep oil and gas markets on edge for some time, according to the chief executive of supermajor Shell. “Spare capacity is running very, very low,” Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden said on Wednesday, as carried by Reuters.
** North Dakota officials seek public input on plans to spend $26 million in federal funding for electric vehicle fast-charging stations.
** Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday launched a $1 billion first-of-its-kind pilot program aimed at helping reconnect cities and neighborhoods racially segregated or divided by road projects, pledging wide-ranging help to dozens of communities despite the program’s limited dollars.
** Des Moines, Iowa, officials are set to purchase the city’s first all-electric garbage truck.
** Japan-based mining equipment manufacturer Komatsu opens a new $285 million manufacturing facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
** The U.S. Department of Energy released a report showing energy jobs grew faster than overall employment last year, and Michigan had the highest energy job growth numbers. It gained more than 35,000 energy jobs in 2021, including more than 5,000 new jobs in the low- or zero-carbon vehicles sector.
** A California lawmaker proposes a bill that would require oil refiners to disclose profits on each gallon of gasoline they sell.
World
** Germany’s vice chancellor said Thursday he suspects that Russia may not resume natural gas deliveries to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after planned maintenance work in July, complicating the outlook for this winter.
** Russian oil appears to be increasingly making its way to Saudi Arabia through Egypt, Bloomberg reported. Saudi Arabia is taking 3.2 million barrels of power station fuel from Egypt this month, marking a six-year high.
** The German government has taken control of three liquefied natural gas ships from Russian energy giant Gazprom. US-listed Dynagas LNG Partners said Germany’s energy network regulator assumed control of three vessels “for an indefinite period of time” after Berlin took ownership of Gazprom Germania in April.
