** The Biden administration quietly entered into a court settlement late Friday with a coalition of environmental groups who have pushed for more wildlife protections from offshore oil development activity. In a stipulated stay agreement filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) agreed to a number of conditions requested by the coalition of four eco groups led by the Sierra Club
** A U.S. court set Oct. 23 as the start date for a long-expected auction of shares in Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum’s parent to pay creditors with judgments against the South American nation. The sale process lays out a schedule that could lead to formal approval of any sale of shares in PDV Holding, a U.S.-based unit of state company Petróleos de Venezuela, a year from now.
** Chevron Corp. reported second-quarter earnings of $6.01 billion, beating analyst estimates. The figures, while down 48% from the same period last year, topped the second-quarter profit of $5.5 billion expected by analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Chevron also said on Sunday it produced 772,000 barrels of oil equivalent at the Permian Basin during the quarter, a record.
** New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham just signed an order requiring that 43% of new vehicles sold in New Mexico by 2027, and 82% by 2032, be zero-emission electric or hydrogen cars or trucks. Only problem is, selection of electric cars at dealerships is limited and there are absolutely no electric trucks at dealerships.
** SpaceX launched 22 Starlink satellites to orbit Sunday night (July 23) and landed the returning rocket on a ship at sea. The company has launched more than 4,850 Starlink craft to LEO in total, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
** New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has yet to sign a first in the country bll called the Birds and Bees Protection Act which would ban the sale of pesticidesthat use neonicontinoids starting in 2027. Farm groups oppose it because it would also ban the sale of corn, soybean or wheat seas coated with the pesticides.
** Canadian pipeline giant TC Energy Corporation is selling a 40 per cent stake in its Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia Gulf Transmission for $5.2 billion to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). TC Energy said in a statement on July 24 that it will continue to operate the systems, but it will jointly invest in annual maintenance, modernization and growth with GIP.
** Federal land managers have formally withdrawn their authorization of a Canadian mining company’s lithium exploration project bordering a national wildlife refuge in southern Nevada after conservationists sought a court order to block it.
** A Republican Florida lawmaker warns against using electric vehicles during hurricane evacuations until more charging stations can be built.
World
** Toyota just unveiled plans for new electric vehicle battery technology that could offer up to 900 miles of driving range, and many are calling it a potential game-changer. Saying it simplified production of the material used to make solid-state batteries, the company plans to roll out a model by 2025 that will extend cruising range by 20%.
** An international team is set to begin siphoning 1.1 million barrels of oil out of the hull of a decrepit tanker moored off the coast of war-torn Yemen this week, a U.N. official said Sunday. It will mark the first concrete step in an operation years in the making aimed at preventing a massive oil spill in the Red Sea.
** A Chinese battery tech giant is looking for its next beanstalks — and they just might be growing in Europe and North America. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) is planning to expand its battery recycling program in those continents soon.
** India rejected Chinese carmaker BYD Co.’s proposal to build a $1 billion electric-vehicle plant in partnership with a local company, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
** Canada on Monday released a framework for eliminating inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, making it the first G20 country to deliver on a 2009 commitment to rationalise and phase out government support for the sector.
** Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been fined for disobeying a police order to leave a climate protest in the Swedish port of Malmö last month. Thunberg, 20, denied the charge, but was found guilty and ordered to pay 2,500 Swedish krona ($240; £187).