** Oil and gas companies operating in Colorado begin donating to Democratic state lawmakers — the majority in the legislature — in a bid to influence fossil fuel-related bills.
** Advocates push back against Montana legislation that would require nonprofits to pay business taxes when suing the state on environmental or natural resource grounds, saying it would quash efforts to hold oil and coal companies accountable.
** California electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian struggles to meet production targets due to supply chain constraints.
** The Biden administration announces $450 million in competitive grants for clean energy projects located on former coal mining land, as well as additional tax credits for developers siting projects in communities historically dependent on energy.
** South Dakota is among four states that will reject $3 million in federal funding to craft a statewide emission-reduction plan.
** A federal court rejects a permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross waterways in West Virginia, with a judge citing the project’s history of erosion and sedimentation control violations.
** A Louisiana order of nuns complains New Orleans’ poorly devised regulations have hampered investment in solar gardens that will make up its community solar program.
** Exxon Mobil Corp’s Low Carbon business has the potential to generate hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue and outperform the company’s traditional oil and gas as soon as a decade from now, CEO Darren Woods said.
World
** Soaring oil prices on the heels of this week’s announcement by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners sent analysts scrambling to hike their estimates for the rest of 2023. The move by OPEC+ to firm up prices comes as China attempts to catch up to the state of post-COVID reopening in North America and Europe, according to Andrew Botterill, Canada’s national leader of energy and chemicals at Deloitte.
** Lawyers for Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela argued to New York state’s highest court that the company’s bonds backed by a majority stake in refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp are not valid. Venezuela’s opposition has controlled PDVSA’s U.S. assets including Citgo since 2019, due to sanctions on President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government.
** China’s recovery from the pandemic and strong demand in India will drive strong economic growth in Asia this year, the Asian Development Bank said in a report issued Tuesday. The Manila, Philippines-based ADB’s latest update forecasts an expansion of 4.8% in this year and the next, up from 4.2% in 2022. It said inflation would likely cool slightly this year and fall further in 2024.
** QatarEnergy, the Gulf country’s state-run petroleum firm, said Wednesday it has agreed to buy a 25% stake in a massive gas project in Iraq, marking the rare entry of a major producer into a market that Western firms have pulled back from in recent years.