** TotalEnergies announces the start of production from the deepwater Ballymore field offshore U.S., in which the Company has a 40% interest alongside operator Chevron (60%). Located 120 kilometers off the Louisiana coast and launched in May 2022, Ballymore has a total daily gross production capacity of 75,000 barrels of oil per day and 50 million cubic feet of gas per day.
** A landfill in Central Washington that was tested for elevated levels of toxic “forever chemicals” could be contaminating the local water supply and endangering residents.
** Researchers are still studying the lingering effects of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, while lawsuits from cleanup workers and residents over its health effects remain stalled.
** The federal Bureau of Land Management indicates it will release an environmental review for the proposed 6,200 MW Esmeralda 7 solar-plus-storage facility in western Nevada this month.
** China officials push back on Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s bid to entice Taiwan to invest in a state-sponsored proposed liquefied natural gas pipeline and export terminal.
** Approximately 50 barrels of crude oil and brine spilled in a wetland in a Michigan state forest from a leaking flowline, though state officials say it has not migrated and does not pose a threat to public health.
** About half of Iowa’s biodiesel plants remain offline because of uncertainty with federal fuel blending standards.
** Records show at least five land-based utility-scale wind projects under development in Louisiana, signaling the wind industry is moving forward despite Trump’s opposition.
World
** Morocco has approved a project worth nearly $1.53 billion to install double-decker electric trains across the country. According to Environment+Energy Leader, Hyundai Rotem will deliver the electric trains to Morocco’s national railway operator, ONCF, with nearly 90 percent of the parts being sourced from the company’s home of South Korea.
** The EV charging wars are heating up — with battery giant CATL unveiling a new battery it says can out-charge BYD and Tesla. CATL launched an updated version of its Shenxing battery on Monday, which it said allows electric vehicles to add 520 km (323 miles) of range in just five minutes of charging.
** India is set to impose a temporary tariff, known locally as safeguard duty, of 12% on steel imports, said a government source with direct knowledge of the matter, to try and curb a surge in cheap imports from China and elsewhere.
