Other energy headlines

** The highly-anticipated debt ceiling package House Republicans and President Biden announced on Sunday includes a provision fast-tracking a massive 303-mile West Virginia-to-Virginia natural gas pipeline project for approval.

** When the U.S. Supreme court recently ruled against the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers in a Waters of the US fight, all but one conservative justice signed off on it. Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not.

** California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state is on track to meet its ambitious clean energy targets — already producing more than half of the state’s electricity from zero-carbon sources.

** A judge denies Montana’s request for summary judgment in a youth climate change lawsuit against the state, allowing the case to proceed to trial starting June 12.

** ConocoPhillips exercised its right to acquire TotalEnergies SE’s 50% stake in the Surmont oil-sands field for as much as $3.33 billion, giving it full control of the Canadian operation and thwarting efforts by Suncor Energy Inc. to buy into the site.

** People notice when Warren Buffett buys big into something and Texas energy spokesmen say Buffett’s heavy investments in Occidental Petroleum bode well for the future of fossil fuels. Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, just bought $201 million in Oxy stock to raise its total investments to $12.7 billion and claim 24.4-percent ownership of the Houston-based company.

 

World

** Four international groups are contending to purchase Exxon Mobil Corp’s (NYSE: XOM) majority stake in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal offshore Italy. BlackRock, Inc (NYSE: BLK), Igneo Infrastructure Partners, German asset manager IKAV, and energy infrastructure group VTTI, linked to commodity trader Vitol and Australian infrastructure fund IFM, have been short-listed to buy the majority stake in the terminal, Reuters cites familiar sources.

** Energy security concerns — worsened by the war in Ukraine — and policy support from rich countries are likely to help investments in clean energy outpace spending on fossil fuels, the International Energy Agency said in a recent report. But investments in coal are on course to rise by about 10% in 2023, nearly six times what the IEA has estimated they should be for the world to end its reliance on fossil fuels and achieve emissions cut goals for countering climate change, it said.

** Colombia is studying the need for more exploration contracts after a report showed oil and gas reserves dropping, according to a senior minister.

** Chevron has launched a sale process for its oil and gas assets in Congo as the U.S. energy giant continues to focus operations on newer and more profitable production, industry sources said.

** Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes will revive a stalled A$30 billion ($20 billion) plan to export solar power from Australia to Singapore after acquiring the assets of the failed Sun Cable project.

** French police threw a security cordon around a shareholders’ meeting in Paris of oil major TotalEnergies on Friday, spraying tear gas and pushing back climate protesters who chanted, “Be gentle, police officers, we’re doing this for your kids!”