** The five biggest oil majors in the world are expected to report record profits for 2022 in the coming days, for around $200 billion in combined yearly earnings thanks to the jump in oil and gas prices last year.
** Exxon Mobil Corp disclosed on Monday its plan to start operations at its large-scale hydrogen plant in Texas in 2027 or 2028, Exxon’s Low Carbon business president Dan Ammann told Reuters.
** Baker Hughes announced Monday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) to jointly explore potential opportunities for the scale up and adoption of novel technology solutions for green hydrogen, green ammonia and geothermal projects. The companies see new pathways to accelerate the energy transition thanks to their respective expertise and portfolio of technologies on new projects.
** The battery compartment of a Tesla Model S vehicle “spontaneously caught fire” near Sacramento, California on Saturday, slowing traffic. Crews used 6,000 gallons of water to extinguish the fire as two fire engines, a water tender and a ladder truck arrived to find the Tesla engulfed in flames, according to Metro Fire officials.
** Iowa environmental groups and tech giants Google, Facebook and Microsoft, which have questioned MidAmerican Energy’s proposed $4 billion expansion of its renewable energy capacity, have won a fight for the release of two company internal studies that the groups say will provide critical insight on the project.
World
** The European Union’s upcoming ban on Russian oil products could spell more turmoil for the Kremlin. China and India are unlikely to buy refined Russian fuels that were once sold to the EU, which will ban them on February 5.
** Russia’s war in Ukraine will accelerate the shift away from oil and gas as countries around the world prioritize domestic renewable energy sources as a way to increase security of supply while also cutting carbon emissions.
** Lebanon, two international oil giants and state-owned oil and gas company Qatar Energy signed an agreement Sunday that the Qatari firm will join a consortium that will search for gas in the Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon’s coast.
** Italy’s prime minister held talks in Libya on Saturday with officials from the country’s west-based government focusing on energy and migration, top issues for Italy and the European Union. During the visit, the two countries’ oil companies signed a gas deal worth $8 billion — the largest single investment in Libya’s energy sector in more than two decades.
** European natural gas fluctuated as the return of warmer weather keeps a lid on heating demand, even as cheaper fuel brings the possibility of a rebound in industrial consumption.
