** The Trump administration has approved a Texas port capable of shipping 1 million barrels of oil a day proposed by Sentinel Midstream LLC. The project, first proposed in 2019 and known as the Texas GulfLink Deepwater Port, had been awaiting a final authorization from the Transportation Department’s Maritime Administration.
** General Motors is closing a plant this month in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang as part of the U.S. automaker’s restructuring in China, according to a company source. The plant makes Buick GL8 minivans and the Chevrolet Tracker SUV for the China market.
** South Carolina lawmakers advance a bill that would impose timelines on permitting processes for new power plants, among other measures aimed at responding to anticipated increases in demand.
** Federal regulators seek a $2.4 million fine against an ExxonMobil subsidiary for harassing inspectors sent to examine a carbon dioxide pipeline in Mississippi.
** The once-in-a-lifetime winter storm dazzled north Florida last month, but the awestruck wonder thawed almost as quickly as the snow did when Tallahassee residents received their monthly electric bill. Many said their bills went up by $100 to $200. Some said theirs even doubled.
** Consumer and clean energy advocates in Indiana are calling for a moratorium on new “hyperscale” data centers, which are driving a huge surge in power demand, until state leaders can study their potential impact on the electric grid and utility bills.
World
** OPEC+ producers are not considering delaying a series of monthly oil supply increases that is scheduled to begin in April, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported.
** Local government officials in Zimbabwe are feuding with a Chinese mining company for mismanaging a gold mine that it operates in the African country. Since 2021, Sino Africa Huijin Holdings has operated a mine in Zimbabwe and is now facing scrutiny from the community. Nearby residents have reported that the mine is significantly impacting human and environmental health.
** One of BP’s major investors is pressuring the company to ditch its green energy business, adding to pressure on the oil giant to change course after activist hedge fund Elliott bought a £3.8bn stake in the company.
** A Ukrainian drone strike has hit a pumping station on Kazakhstan’s main oil export pipeline in Russia, its operator said on Monday, reducing flows to the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.
** Russian drone strikes have damaged a thermal power plant in Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine overnight, leaving at least 100,000 people without heating as temperatures plunge below freezing, top Ukrainian officials said on Sunday.
** Britain’s first “micro” nuclear reactors are to be built on the site of a former coal-fired power station in south Wales. Four reactors will be installed at the decommissioned Llynfi power station in Bridgend under the proposals, each generating up to 20 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
