** The American oil industry is on high alert for an escalation of the violence in the Middle East that disrupts the flow of oil out of the region. Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, worries there is a growing chance the crisis will intensify and derail oil supplies.
** A low-carbon $1 billion ammonia production plant using proprietary hydrogen technology is being developed in Texas with the promise to cut carbon at coal-fired power plants, a major source of global carbon dioxide emissions.
** A federal appeals court decided not to revisit its earlier decision to strike down Berkeley, California’s first-in-the-nation gas ban in new buildings. The ruling dealt a blow to the city of Berkeley, which requested a rehearing after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ initial decision in April.
** Tesla has lowered driving-range estimates across its lineup of electric vehicles as a new U.S. government vehicle-testing regulation takes effect with the goal of ensuring that automakers accurately reflect real-world performance.
** The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is developing a product for electric vehicles that it says will help ease something that’s hampered their competitiveness against gas-powered vehicles: tire duration.
** The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Alaska’s bid to revive a proposed copper and gold mine that was blocked by the Environmental Protection Agency.
World
** A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S and Hapag-Lloyd AG denied any pact with Yemen’s Houthi rebels to facilitate the safe movement of vessels through the Red Sea, after shares in shipping companies sunk on a report of deals being struck.
** Farmers blocked highway access roads in parts of Germany Monday and snarled traffic elsewhere with their tractors, launching a week of protests against a government plan to scrap tax breaks on diesel used in agriculture.
** Two Indian state refiners are seeking to boost imports of Saudi crude oil after the kingdom cut the official selling price of its key export grade for February to the lowest in 27 months, company sources said.
** The United Arab Emirates banned ships arriving in its waters that sail under the flag of Cameroon — a move that distances the emirate from risky vessels that have been assembled to transport sanctioned oil.