** The National Academy of Sciences is prohibiting White House climate aide Jane Lubchenco from being involved in NAS activities and publications for five years after she violated its code of conduct, the prestigious nonprofit organization said.
** Harriet Hageman, the woman who beat GOP Rep. Liz Chaney in a Republican primary landslide on Tuesday, spent decades as a trial lawyer fighting environmentalists in America’s least populated state and opposing federal rules protecting land, water and endangered species.
The Inflation Reduction Act requires the Biden administration to hold an oil and gas lease sale in the Cook Inlet in Alaska by the end of this year, whether industry is interested or not.
** West Virginia state Senate Energy chair Randy Smith plans to invite U.S. Senate Energy chair Joe Manchin to come before the Legislature to explain his vote on the Inflation Reduction Act.
** The Biden administration said on Tuesday about 20 models will still qualify for electric vehicle tax credits of up to $7,500 through the end of 2022 under legislation signed by President Joe Biden.
** A new Bloomberg report details how billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates was influential in lobbying Senator Joe Manchin (D., W. Va.) to support Democrats’ massive spending bill.
** Global oil and gas companies Santos and Repsol said Tuesday that they will invest $2.6 billion to move ahead with development of a huge oil field on Alaska’s North Slope.
** A major Japanese auto lobby said it was concerned about a new U.S. law that restricts tax credits for electric vehicles to those assembled in North America.
World
** Germany will struggle to have enough natural gas to get through the coming winter, even if reserves are replenished in line with government targets. Refilling gas inventories to 95% full by November would only cover about 2-1/2 months of heating, industrial and power demand if Russia cuts off supplies completely, according to Klaus Mueller, president of the Federal Network Agency, the country’s energy regulator.
** Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday that Venezuela would support Cuba in the reconstruction of its only supertanker port in Matanzas, which was partially destroyed by a fire after lightning struck one of the its crude tanks.
** A visit to Canada by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz next week has stoked speculation about the possibility of LNG exports from the East Coast, despite a new report that suggests Canadian natural gas is not the answer to Europe’s current energy woes.
** Indian oil explorer and producer Oil and Natural Gas Corp said on Wednesday it signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with global petroleum giant ExxonMobil Corp for deepwater exploration in the country’s East and West coasts.
** Russia’s Gazprom said European natural-gas prices could gain another 60% this winter. The state-energy giant has slowed exports and natural-gas flows to Europe amid the Ukraine war.
** A vessel is blocking the Rhine River after suffering a technical fault, yet another glitch for the key waterway that has become difficult to navigate because of drought.
** The energy crunch throttling Europe’s fertilizer output is threatening to force the world’s farmers to use even less of the nutrients crucial for growing food.
