** Vaquero Midstream, a natural gas gathering and processing midstream company operating in the Delaware Basin, announced plans for two major system expansion projects – a new 70-mile 24-inch high-pressure pipeline loop and a 200 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) cryogenic processing plant to increase Vaquero’s gathering capabilities from the state line area down to its expanded processing complex near the Waha Hub area in Texas.
** New Era Helium, Inc. , an exploration and production (E&P) company sourcing helium from natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin, announced it will commence its infrastructure buildout within the Pecos Slope Field within the next two weeks as it has secured approval for approximately 120 miles of Rights-of-Way (ROW) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Pecos District Office.
** General Motors is recalling 721,000 SUVs and trucks worldwide due to engine issues that could lead to a loss of power and boost the risk of a crash, the company announced.
** More than 280,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles are being recalled by Ford, according to two recall notices posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
** The head of Equinor, which is behind the halted Empire Wind project, calls the Trump administration’s order to stop work on the project “unlawful” and says the company is “considering our legal options.”
** A pipeline set to transport natural gas from Pennsylvania into West Virginia nears completion, months after inspectors discovered a drilling fluid spill had contaminated nearby wetlands.
** The Maryland Supreme Court will take up the question of whether lawsuits filed by the state against fossil fuel companies for climate damages can continue in state courts or whether they need to be removed to federal court.
World
** Spain’s grid operator warned about the risk of power cuts because of a surge in renewable energy demand two months prior to Monday’s nationwide blackout. The warning came two months before Spain and Portugal saw the worst blackout in their history on Monday. The sudden outage had seen the equivalent of 60% of demand in Spain drop in five seconds at about midday on Monday.
** As Puerto Rico’s power grid continues to fail and put the lives of residents in the U.S. territory at risk, a pro-energy nonprofit organization is calling on the island’s governor to take action to resist “left wing extremists” who the group believes are weaponizing courts to push a disruptive climate change agenda.
** The chief architect of BP’s green energy strategy has been forced out and will not be replaced as the oil giant turns its attention back to fossil fuels. Giulia Chierchia, who heads up BP’s sustainability division, will leave on June 1, the company said on Tuesday, just days after it emerged that the activist hedge fund Elliott Management was pushing for her replacement.