Top News
EPA proposes rollback of Obama-era methane emissions rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved to roll back an Obama-era rule aimed at capturing fugitive methane from oil and gas operations, arguing the prior administration made errors in its attempt to regulate emissions of the planet-warming greenhouse gas.
FERC saves Constitution pipeline from 'life support' with waiver of NY authority
A united FERC found that a New York agency had waived its Clean Water Act authority over the Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC when it improperly extended a statutory deadline, removing a permitting obstacle that has held up the 650-MMcf/d natural gas pipeline project for over three years.
US coal employment, production slide as market poised to get even tougher
In the second quarter of 2019, average quarterly U.S. coal mining employment declined to the lowest level since the first quarter of Donald Trump's presidency as production in the first half remains significantly lower than the first or second half of 2018.
Icahn letter to Occidental shareholders says leadership dodging accountability
Activist investor Carl Icahn has fired a new salvo at the leadership of Occidental Petroleum Corp., accusing CEO Vicki Hollub and the company's board of directors of being unconcerned by the destruction of shareholder value through the acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
Severe weather impacts highlight coal's own susceptibility to climate change
U.S. coal companies are often scrutinized for the climate impacts of burning the fuel, but the sector has also proven vulnerable to the sort of severe weather that scientists predict will be increasingly more likely due to rising global temperatures.
Quoted
"In the area of a major gas utility or a major electric utility in New York ... it's been not in our lifetime basically — which doesn't mean it's impossible. It just means by and large the process of regulating the major utilities and the discipline of the marketplace means that they don't behave in a manner that unleashes the maximum sort of remedies," said Richard Berkley, executive director of the Public Utility Law Project, on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's threat to strip National Grid USA of its right to deliver natural gas in parts of New York following reports that the utility had improperly shut off service to existing customers.
Power
* Ten U.S. senators urged federal regulators not to enact policy limiting the participation of state-supported clean energy in the PJM Interconnection's capacity market that could exclude 14 GW of renewable energy resources and increase consumer costs by $5.7 billion/year, citing a clean energy consultant's estimate.
* Illinois-based private developer Indeck Energy Services Inc. is set to break ground on the proposed 1,085-MW Indeck Niles Energy Center in Michigan on Sept. 4. The natural gas-fired plant, which was first proposed nearly two decades ago, is estimated to cost about $1 billion, the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune reported.
* Two homeowners from Massachusetts and Maryland reported fires from rooftop solar panels installed by Tesla Inc. unit SolarCity, according to Bloomberg News reported. Tesla, which is being blamed by Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Inc. and two home insurance companies for negligence over fires, is now urging homeowners across the U.S. for preventive maintenance.
* A federal appeals court Aug. 28 upheld the U.S. EPA's move to postpone certain deadlines associated with Obama-era effluent limitations guidelines aimed at coal-fired power plants.
* El Paso Electric Co. customers set a new peak demand of approximately 1,986 MW on Aug. 26, 2.9% or 57 MW higher than the peak established on June 26, 2017. "The region experienced unseasonably hot weather this late in the summer, which increased energy demand and electricity usage," the utility said.
* Alliant Energy Corp. completed the implosion of the Sutherland coal plant as part of the company's efforts to transition away from coal generation. The facility stopped commercial operations in June 2017 following the construction of the 706-MW Marshalltown Generating Station.
Natural gas
* Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC has properly addressed compliance concerns, FERC said Aug. 28, despite environmental group allegations that the builder had failed to follow conditions of its certificate authorizing the natural gas project.
* The Texas oil and gas industry supported 365,511 direct jobs in the state during the first half of the year, representing an increase of nearly 10,000 jobs over the previous year, given record levels of oil and natural gas production, according to a the "State of Energy" report by the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association.
* The conservation group Cowpasture River Preservation Association asked the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss petitions from the Dominion Energy Inc.-led Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC and from the U.S. Department of Justice that seek to overturn a federal appeals court decision that hindered the developer's ability to build its 1.5-Bcf/d natural gas pipeline project.
* The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued two penalties to Sunoco Pipeline LP totaling $319,461 for violations resulting from construction activities on the Mariner East 2 pipeline project.
* Earthjustice plans to sue the Trump administration for proposing to roll back Obama-era rule to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas companies.
Oil
* Executives of Canadian oil and gas companies Cenovus Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. have suggested the companies produce fewer emissions than the global industry average and, therefore, their products should be part of the solution to tackling climate change. But environmental groups and data from Trucost paint a different picture.
* A group of more than 140 investors, who represent more than $5.5 trillion in assets, urged oil companies to ignore and publicly oppose the Trump administration's proposal to roll back the Obama-era methane emissions rule, Bloomberg News reported.
* Saudi Arabian Oil Co. is planning to split its long-anticipated record-breaking IPO into two stages, debuting a portion of its shares on the country's stock exchange later this year ahead of an international offering in 2020 or 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
* Philadelphia Energy Solutions LLC retained PJT Partners to help to solicit interest from potential buyers for the company or its assets, Reuters reported.
* Hess Corp. announced that Guyana's first oil production vessel called the "Liza Destiny" has arrived at the Stabroek Block after a 42-day expedition from Singapore. The Liza Phase 1 development is on schedule to begin by the first quarter of 2020 and is expected to produce up to 120,000 gross barrels of oil per day.
Coal
* A federal bankruptcy court approved Blackhawk Mining LLC's modified Chapter 11 reorganization plan and disclosure statement shortly after the coal producer wrote in court filings that it is on schedule to emerge without impairing its general unsecured claims.
* Total U.S. coal production for the week ended Aug. 24 declined 9.9% year over year to 13.9 million tons from 15.5 million tons, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
ChartWatch

Coal industry employment and production is already weakening in 2019 and could go lower as the market is expected to be tougher in the second half of 2019 and beyond.
New from RRA
* Broad markets outperformed utility stocks this week, ending a four-week run of utility outperformance. Through midday Thursday, the Dow Jones Utility Average rose 1.3%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gained 2.8% and 2.9%, respectively.
The day ahead
* The Baker-Hughes rig count report is due out today.
* Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher 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.

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