** BP became the latest energy company to announce huge profits on Tuesday (August 2). The company said it made a second quarter profit of just under $8.5 billion – its highest in 14 years.
** A deal has been secured for Congress to pass and President Joe Biden sign a permitting package to speed up the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., made the announcement Monday, saying he has secured a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, and Biden that the package will be passed by the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30, and allow the MVP to be “quickly completed.”
** Senate Democrats’ climate package would require federal officials to reinstate a Gulf of Mexico lease sale that was blocked this year by a federal judge.
** The developer of a geothermal power plant facing legal challenges in Nevada agreed Monday to suspend construction just hours after a U.S. appeals court had refused to halt the project that opponents say would harm an endangered toad and destroy sacred hot springs.
** A long-anticipated health study commissioned by Pennsylvania environmental officials examined the practice of spreading wastewater from conventional gas- and oil-drilling on thousands of miles of rural dirt roads in the state. Researchers concluded that the practice doesn’t control dust effectively and poses dangers to the environment and human health.
** Denver-based oil and gas company Sitio Royalties continued to up its presence in the Permian Basin, buying up more land in the U.S.’ busiest oilfield as energy markets continue to grow amid renewed demand following the COVID-19 pandemic.
** Climate activists call on the Chicago Transit Authority to cancel plans to buy 500 diesel-powered buses and instead aim for a fully electric fleet by 2040.
** Mississippi officials announce 421,000 Entergy customers in the state can receive an $80 refund after a $300 million settlement.
World
** Russia said it is essentially helpless in terms of the repairs it says the Nord Stream gas pipeline needs. Natural gas flows to Europe dwindled to almost nothing as Russia repeatedly cites equipment hold-ups.
** A major affiliate of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp falsified emissions data on some engines going back to at least 2003, more than a decade earlier than previously indicated, a company-commissioned probe showed on Tuesday.
