** Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its oil price forecasts, as tariffs reduce the outlook for US growth while OPEC and its allies boost output. The move follows a drop in crude prices from this year’s high in January on plentiful supply, a weak demand outlook from top importer China and an escalating international trade war.
** Partners Group Holding AG, a Switzerland-based private equity firm, agreed to acquire a portfolio of 11 natural gas power plants in California from Avenue Capital Group.
** The U.S. Energy Department and NOAA begin hiring back fired probationary employees, though they’ll remain on administrative leave as court cases play out.
** Conservative environmental groups and business leaders join Republicans who are lobbying the Trump administration and Congress to preserve clean energy tax credits.
** The Trump administration pauses negotiations with Canada over the Columbia River Treaty, which governs some hydropower operations in the Northwest.
World
** Ontario has agreed not to impose a surcharge on electricity exports to U.S. states in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian imports. The surcharge was expected to cost up to $400,000 per day and impact 1.5 million homes and businesses across the affected states.
** As part of the ongoing trade war, China has ceased importing U.S. LNG, after Beijing put a 15% tariff on shipments on Feb. 10. The country has gone 40 days without a shipment of U.S. LNG, the longest gap since 2023, according to a report from Bloomberg.
** Woodside Energy Group Ltd. has signed an agreement with China Resources Gas International to send liquefied natural gas to the Asian country, the first binding supply deal for the fuel between Chinese and Australian companies in years.
** Chevron Corp. bought nearly 5% of Hess Corp. in an unusual move designed to show confidence that it will win the arbitration battle with Exxon Mobil Corp. that has delayed its planned takeover of Hess for more than a year.
** The owners of an oil tanker involved in a collision with a cargo ship in the North Sea have praised the “heroic action” of crew for limiting the damage.
** Shares of BYD, the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles (EVs), surged on Tuesday after the company unveiled a new charging and battery system that it said could power up EVs as quickly as refuelling a petrol-powered car.
