** The United States partially lifted sanctions against the Nicolas Maduro government on Wednesday, following a deal the socialist regime reached the day before with the Venezuelan opposition setting a roadmap for holding freer presidential elections next year.
** An Alaska state agency on Wednesday sued the Biden administration over its decision to cancel oil and gas leases in the state’s North Slope, one of the country’s largest reserves of pristine federal land.
** The world’s largest fertilizer plant, the Donaldsonville Nitrogen Complex spans 1,400 acres along the west bank of the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana and is being expanded by CF Industries. The company plans t.o build three new ammonia plants nearby.
** A coalition of Republican attorneys general on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to stay the federal “Good Neighbor” interstate smog rule while they appeal a lower court ruling.
** Tesla’s net income slumped in the third quarter versus a year earlier, as price reductions helped drive strong sales growth but also ate into the automaker’s profit margins.
** Most Americans don’t intend to buy an electric car in the near future, according to a new study. In a recent poll conducted by Yahoo Finance and Ipsos, 57% of respondents said they were not likely to choose an EV when they buy their next car.
** Elon Musk said that Tesla “dug its own grave” with the Cybertruck, as he warned that it would take years for the company to ramp up production of the electric pickup.
** California Gov. (D) will travel next week to China, where he plans to explore potential climate partnerships and visit five different regions — with stops ranging from Hong Kong to Tesla’s factory in Shanghai.
World
** OPEC is not planning to hold an extraordinary meeting or take any immediate action after Iran’s foreign minister called on members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to impose an oil embargo and other sanctions on Israel, four sources from the producer group told Reuters.
** A team of international scientists collected fish samples from a port town near Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday, seeking to assess the impact of the plant’s recent release of treated radioactive water into the sea.
** Shell Plc agreed to buy liquefied natural gas from Qatar for 27 years to the Netherlands, marking the Gulf nation’s second major contract to supply fossil fuel to Europe beyond 2050 despite the bloc’s green goals.
** The rollback of American sanctions on Venezuelan oil could rob Chinese buyers of one of their cheapest sources of crude. Venezuela’s Merey crude is currently being delivered to China at a discount of as much as $20 a barrel compared to Brent, according to traders.
** Sweden should abandon a national target for reducing emissions from the transport sector and align the country’s climate ambitions with goals set by the European Union, a government-appointed inquiry proposed on Wednesday.