** The CEO of Diamondback Energy, Travis D. Stice, warned that tumbling oil prices will depress US crude output, predicting that American onshore production has peaked. Prices hit a four-year low on Monday, with WTI crude trading below $60 a barrel since the start of May.
** The Trump administration has denied federal assistance for federal assistance for tornadoes in Arkansas, flooding in West Virginia, and extended relief after Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, with officials calling on states to take a more active role instead.
** Ford is hiking the sticker prices for the three US models it imports from Mexico by up to $2,000 each, just days after executives said they didn’t expect significant increases in industrywide car prices this year.
** Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont join a national coalition suing the Trump administration for blocking billions of dollars designated for building EV charging stations.
** Amid soaring demand projections, a Texas lawmaker carries a bill to place more requirements on large businesses to better help the state grid operator forecast its electricity needs, though some critics say the measure is too heavy-handed.
** Republican Congress members consider ending tax credits passed during the Biden administration that Exxon Mobil and Chevron want to use for investments in clean hydrogen and carbon storage.
World
** OPEC oil output edged lower in April despite a scheduled output hike taking effect, a Reuters survey found, led by a cut in Venezuelan supply on renewed U.S. attempts to curb the flows and smaller drops in Iraq and Libya.
** With a frost covering Europe’s energy relations with Russia, officials from Washington and Moscow have held discussions about the U.S. helping to revive Russian gas sales to the continent, eight sources familiar with the talks have told Reuters.
** The European Union has vowed to end all imports of Russian energy by 2027 in a push to make Vladimir Putin “pay” for his war in Ukraine. Policymakers in Brussels said the bloc will end all purchases of Russian oil, gas and nuclear energy over the next two years, stepping up attempts to sever ties with the Kremlin following its invasion in 2022.
** Toyota Motor forecast a 21% profit decline for the current financial year on Thursday, as the strain from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and an appreciating yen take some of the shine off strong demand for hybrid vehicles. The world’s top-selling automaker expects operating income to total 3.8 trillion yen ($26 billion) in the year to March 2026, versus 4.8 trillion yen in the financial year that just ended.
** The Australian government was all set to build a hydrogen plant in South Australia with Geneva-based company Trafigura, but it will not move forward with the project. According to Reuters, a Trafigura spokesperson announced on March 25 that the company had abandoned the $471.2 million “green hydrogen plant at its Port Pirie,” with no explanation given.
** Ontario is set to double the amount of battery storage on its electrical grid this month as the Oneida Energy Project launches operations. The roughly $800-million battery project, jointly developed by Toronto-based Northland Power Inc., Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corp. and other public and private partners, started construction two years ago and finished on time and budget, according to project proponents.
** Tesla’s country head for India has resigned after nine years at the company and ahead of the U.S. EV maker’s planned entry into the world’s third-largest car market, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
