Top News
Investors play long game in climate disclosure push
Investors pushing companies to analyze and disclose their climate risks said they believe that those moves have set up a dynamic that will lead to changes in corporate operations.
NJ agency denies Clean Water Act permit for PennEast pipeline
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection denied PennEast Pipeline Co. LLC a freshwater wetlands permit for its 1.1-Bcf/d natural gas pipeline project that would deliver Marcellus Shale gas to East Coast markets.
Coal industry PACs ready campaign funds heading into pivotal midterms
Halfway through the 2018 midterm election cycle, coal sector political action committees are spending to support the president and preserve the GOP's congressional majority and the regulatory rollbacks it has allowed.
Power
* The evaluation process for choosing Eversource Energy's Northern Pass transmission project as the sole winning bid for Massachusetts' clean energy solicitation is coming under increasing attack for a lack of transparency by the Massachusetts attorney general and a group of New Hampshire lawmakers after a New Hampshire agency denied the power line a needed siting permit.
* The Virginia Senate Commerce and Labor Committee advanced a bill that would extend a ban on Dominion Energy Inc.'s coal ash pond closures at four sites until July 1, 2019, and direct the company to issue a request for proposals for recycling the ash, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
* Uncertainty over import tariffs President Donald Trump ultimately put on solar panels, along with a U.S. solar market slump, helped slash about 9,800 net industry jobs in the U.S. in 2017, representing a 4% annual drop, a new report found.
* In siding with Connecticut, U.S. District Court Judge Warren Eginton ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take action on the state's request to force the coal-fired Brunner Island Steam Electric Station to reduce its emissions, The Hill in Washington, D.C., reported.
* The U.S. House and Senate leadership reached an agreement on a federal disaster relief aid that includes $2 billion for rebuilding and improving the energy infrastructure of Puerto Rico, island's Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said in a statement.
* Concentric Power Inc., a California startup, is using the same leasing model employed by solar companies to offer its natural gas-fired generating systems to commercial customers, Bloomberg News reported.
* S&P Global Ratings upgraded TerraForm Global Inc.'s corporate credit rating to BB- from B+ on the company's planned refinancing of $400 million of senior notes due 2026.
Natural gas/Oil
* MEG Energy Corp. agreed to sell a 50% stake in Access Pipeline and 100% interest in Stonefell Terminal to Wolf Midstream Inc. for C$1.61 billion. The company will receive C$1.52 billion in cash at closing, and a credit of C$90 million toward future expansions of the pipeline whereby MEG will not pay incremental tolls to fund such expansions.
* While oil and gas pipeline operators have largely retained investment-grade credit ratings by imposing capital discipline on their balance sheets in the past several quarters, an S&P Global Ratings analyst said the temptation to prematurely grow shareholder payouts could derail that progress.
* Development Capital Resources LLC formed a $750 million joint venture with California Resources Corp. to operate certain existing midstream infrastructure assets of California Resources.
* Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s efforts to reshape U.S. operations around oil production are paying off, with the company reporting better-than-expected earnings and laying out a capital plan to return more cash to investors.
* Ohio's Green City has dropped its legal opposition to Nexus Gas Transmission LLC's planned 1.5-Bcf/d natural gas pipeline project after the city council voted to accept a $7.5 million settlement with Nexus Gas, Fox 8 reported.
* Ascent Resources Marcellus Holdings LLC and its subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to implement a consensual financial restructuring. Ascent Resources was founded by late Aubrey McClendon, the founder of Chesapeake Energy Corp.
* California plans to deny permits for new pipelines or for the use of existing pipelines to transport oil from new leases under the Trump administration's proposed offshore drilling plan, Reuters reported.
* Sanchez Energy Corp. priced an upsized public offering of $500 million of 7.25% senior secured first-lien notes due 2023 to repay borrowings under its revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes.
* Petrobras
* Pacific Traverse Energy Ltd. has applied with Canada's National Energy Board for a 25-year export license for its planned propane export terminal near Kitimat, British Columbia.
Coal
* Peabody Energy Corp. reported $1.49 billion in adjusted EBITDA in 2017, a five-year high for a company that succumbed to bankruptcy reorganization in a recent market downturn.
* The top coal mines in the Illinois Basin increased production 10.4% in 2017, a year in which several producers complained oversupply was keeping a lid on potential price improvement.
Commodities
* After shedding 5.7 cents in the prior session to settle at $2.702/MMBtu, NYMEX March natural gas futures ticked higher in another round of technical buying overnight ahead of the Thursday, Feb. 8, open and the midmorning release of the weekly storage report.
* Price activity for next-day power could be aimed lower Thursday, Feb. 8, in line with generally declining demand forecasts for the close of the workweek.
* PJM Interconnection's planning parameters for the 2021-2022 Base Residual Auction include mixed but ultimately supportive drivers that could result in generally higher clearing prices on the year in May.
* The natural gas inventory report to be released at 10:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 8 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration is expected

New from RRA
* UGI Utilities Inc. has filed with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for a $9.3 million electric base rate increase representing a 10.4% overall revenue increase.
Quoted
"I think if they're not going to have any kind of strategy for a 2-degree future, we might also end up divesting some of these companies," said Peter Damgaard Jensen, CEO of Danish pension fund PKA and chair of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, remarking that his fund could expand its divestment strategy from coal companies to oil and gas companies.
The day ahead
* The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold an oversight hearing at 10 a.m. ET on energy infrastructure.
* New Jersey Resources Corp. will hold its first-quarter fiscal 2018 conference call at 10 a.m. ET.
* The EIA natural gas storage report is due out today.
* Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. equity markets. To view more SNL equity market indexes, click here. To view more SNL Energy commodities prices, click here.
The Daily Dose is updated as of 7:30 a.m. ET. Some links may require registration or a subscription. S&P Global Ratings and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.
