Headlines of other energy stories

** Sen. Joe Manchin says EV tax credit bonus is gone from spending bill. Senate Democrats have scrapped a $4,500 bonus tax credit for electric vehicles made with domestic union labor that was opposed by Manchin as they seek to wrap up negotiations on a spending deal.

** Chevron Corp on Wednesday signaled its move into the booming U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export market with two agreements designed to increase sales of its shale gas to global markets. Chevron agreed to buy 2 million tonnes per annum  of LNG each from units of Cheniere Energy Inc and Venture Global LNG.

** Ford said on Wednesday it will start producing electric vehicles (EV) in Spain later this decade but that would imply “significant” job cuts at its Spanish factory and another one in Germany amid its ambitious electrification push in Europe.

** Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM is in discussions with the United States government to proceed faster with the Golden Pass liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) expansion project in Sabine Pass, per a report by S&P Global.

** FedEx Corp has received its first 150 electric delivery vehicles from BrightDrop, the technology startup from General Motors Co decarbonizing last-mile delivery. The move marks a crucial milestone for FedEx, which plans to transform its entire parcel pickup and delivery (PUD) fleet to all-electric, zero tailpipe emissions by 2040.

**  A group of U.S. solar energy project developers on Tuesday said they would jointly spend about $6 billion to support expansion of the domestic solar panel supply chain. The U.S. Solar Buyer Consortium, which includes developers AES Corporation, Clearway Energy Group, Cypress Creek Renewables and DE Shaw Renewable Investments, said in a statement that the funds would address current supply chain issues.

World

** A fire erupted on Wednesday at an oil refinery in a southern Russian region close to Ukraine after two drones hit the facility, Russia says. Operations at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in the southern Russian region of Rostov were suspended after an apparent drone attack.

** Russia may cut off gas to Europe entirely as it seeks to bolster its political leverage amid the Ukraine crisis, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, adding Europe needed to prepare now.

** Brazilian state-controlled oil company Petrobras has bought its first cargo of Guyanese crude for refining domestically, the company told Reuters, as South America’s newest producer expands its market reach.

** Heat trapping carbon dioxide emissions from making cement, a less talked about but major source of carbon pollution, have doubled in the last 20 years, new global data shows.

** Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess has said that Germany’s shift away from Russian energy is not happening fast enough to account for a major disruption of Russian gas.

** The Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain oil pipeline is no longer profitable after cost over-runs and delays to its expansion project, the country’s parliamentary budget officer (PBO) said on Wednesday.