** A group of 34 Democrats and 16 Republicans in the U.S. House wrote a letter to President Joe Biden on Thursday expressing their concerns about the administration’s efforts to revive the Iran Nuclear Deal.
** U.S. wholesale gasoline prices fell to their lowest levels since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, suggesting motorists in the world’s largest energy consumer will see lower pump prices in coming weeks.
** A Russian chief engineer who deliberately let about 10,000 gallons of oil-polluted water to leak from his cargo ship off the coast of Louisiana has been jailed after admitting he lied to the US Coast Guard and destroying documents to cover up the incident. He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, and fined $5,000 for discharging oily waste and obstructing justice.
** Days after announcing a ban on the sale of many gasoline powered cars in the state starting in 2035, California is asking residents to avoid charging their electric vehicles during peak usage hours to save energy as a late-summer heatwave grips the Golden State.
** California lawmakers pass a bill requiring oil refiners to disclose per gallon profits for gasoline they sell.
** Wyoming plans to join the federal Bureau of Land Management in defending a June oil and gas lease sale against environmentalists’ legal challenges.
** The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Tuesday upheld a $14.25 million judgment against Exxon Mobil Corp for pollution from its Baytown, Texas, refining and petrochemical complex.
** In June 2022, dry natural gas production increased year over year for the month for the 15th consecutive month. The preliminary level for dry natural gas production in June 2022 was 2,930 billion cubic feet (Bcf), or 97.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). This level was 4.4 Bcf/d (4.8%) higher than June 2021 (93.2 Bcf/d) and the highest level for the month since 1973.
** Construction crews break ground on a planned $2 billion electric vehicle battery factory in Kentucky.
** Exxon Mobil Corp has joined Shell Plc in seeking to divest their Aera joint venture, and the duo are in advanced talks with a buyer for the California oil and gas producer, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
** Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other G-7 finance ministers will discuss a Russian oil price cap at the end of the week.
** General Motors said Wednesday that a new electric vehicle battery plant built in Ohio has started producing cells, which could help customers get federal tax credits.
World
** Russia halted gas supplies via Europe’s key supply route on Wednesday, intensifying an economic battle between Moscow and Brussels and raising the prospects of recession and energy rationing in some of the region’s richest countries.
** Ravil Maganov, chairman of Russia’s second-largest oil producer Lukoil, died on Thursday after falling from a hospital window in Moscow, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters.
** Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller on Wednesday said Western sanctions mean Siemens Energy is unable to carry out regular maintenance on equipment for the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline, Interfax news agency reported.