** The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, officials told Reuters on Sunday, in what would be the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than a week.
** A second oil tanker was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday off the coast of Venezuela in international waters of the Caribbean Sea. This is the second sanctioned vessel seized by the United States.
** The Trump administration’s escalating crackdown on Venezuela’s sanctioned oil shipments has thrust Chevron into an unusually precarious position. As the last U.S. oil company left in Venezuela, Chevron is operating in the high-tension space between Washington’s pressure campaign and the world’s largest oil reserves.
** Amid taking a $19.5 billion hit, primarily tied to its sinking electric-vehicle (EV) business, on Dec. 15, auto giant Ford , in addition to refocusing on manufacturing gas-powered and hybrid vehicles, announced a new venture into the energy storage business.
** A group of independent power producers have urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reverse the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s roughly $280 million ongoing “settlement adjustment” of its most recent capacity auction, reported Utility Dive.
World
** Ukrainian drones hit a Russian “shadow fleet” tanker in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time. A Ukrainian security source said that the attack was carried out over 1,200 miles away. It marks a major expansion of Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign against Russia’s vast energy sector.
** United States forces have killed five more people on board vessels in the Pacific Ocean, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration’s military campaign against alleged seaborne drug traffickers to at least 104 since September.
** Reuters reported that Tesla’s UK car registrations dropped 19% in November, according to early data from research group New AutoMotive. The numbers suggest it is quickly losing ground to BYD, whose affordable EV models are increasingly popular in European markets.
** A powerful storm in São Paulo left around 1.3 million locals without electricity and canceled nearly 400 flights, prompting frustration and blame upon a utility company and local officials. The AP reported on the storm that Utility Enel said featured winds reaching 100 kilometers (around 62 miles) per hour that took down trees and power lines.