Top News
PG&E starts blackouts for nearly 800,000 customers as wildfire risk surges
Facing extreme risks that its power lines could ignite wildfires in hot, dry and windy weather conditions, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. early on Oct. 9 commenced the first wave of precautionary blackouts to nearly 800,000 customers across 34 counties in northern and central California, the PG&E Corp. utility subsidiary confirmed.
Investigation into deadly Texas Eastern gas pipeline blast takes shape
The National Transportation Safety Board issued its first preliminary report on the deadly gas pipeline blast along the Texas Eastern Transmission LP system that rocked Lincoln County, Ky., in August.
Market cap of oil majors declined more than $92B in Q3
The market capitalization of the world's five-largest publicly traded oil and gas companies declined by US$92.07 billion in the third quarter, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
EIA projects 17% YOY coal output decline in Q4 amid bankruptcies, falling demand
The U.S. Energy Information Administration is forecasting a 17% decline in fourth-quarter coal production from the year-ago period.
Quoted
"Too often, the dialogue is going towards gas vs. renewables. No, it's gas plus renewables ... there is no way around it," former U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said during an Oct. 7 forum on New Orleans' energy future, arguing that gas-fired generation with wind and solar power remains a "complementary combination" until the industry achieves further innovation with batteries and storage.
Power
* In its latest "Short-Term Energy Outlook," the U.S. Energy Information Administration's projections of the U.S. generation fuel mix for 2019 and 2020 are largely the same as those in its September report.
* The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality signed an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to encourage companies to self-report environmental problems at power plants, oil and gas sites and waste facilities, The Bismarck (N.D.) Tribune reported.
* Some of Europe's largest utilities say the clock has not run out on gas-fired power generation yet, although in many cases burning the fuel will only stay economically viable with some kind of regulatory support.
* Clean Power Alliance signed a long-term agreement with NextEra Energy Resources LLC to purchase 300 MW from the White Hills wind project, located near Hoover Dam in Arizona.
* Bigger turbines and more of them: the momentum in the European wind sector is set to continue for the next few years, according to a new industry report. But the market faces uncertainties: growth is not universal, and beyond 2023, expansion could slow.
Natural gas
* The Alaska-run company that is developing a massive LNG terminal to export North Slope natural gas argued that federal regulators "overstated" many of the potential environmental impacts.
* A lawsuit accusing Loews Corp. of tanking Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP stock price to buy it out at a discount is getting a second chance after a Delaware judge denied the companies' request to throw out claims that they acted in bad faith and breached a key agreement.
* A tanker carrying Russian gas is scheduled to arrive in Puerto Rico on Oct. 30, according to Bloomberg News. The Jones Act prevents Puerto Rico from importing LNG from the lower 48 U.S. states because there are no tankers with an American flag.
* Conservation groups filed a lawsuit to require the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to conduct a climate risk analysis of an oil and gas extraction plan covering 935,600 acres of public lands and minerals in western Colorado.
* Halcón Resources Corp. has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, eliminating more than $750 million in debt and more than $40 million of annual interest expense. The company also appointed Daniel Rohling, who was most recently asset vice president at Ajax Resources LLC, as its new COO.
Oil
* ConocoPhillips' announcement that it will hike its quarterly dividend by a massive 38% could work to attract investors but could also damage the company's credit quality in the long term, analysts said.
* Continental Resources Inc. is considering the sale of a noncontrolling interest in its water-infrastructure business, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The potential deal could value the unit at $1 billion or more.
* Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s determination to acquire Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has done enough damage
* Amid protests, Ecuador's Petroamazonas EP
Coal
* U.S. Department of Energy officials' attempts to prop up coal-fired power plants has yet to materialize in any policy form, but the agency continues to push for innovations in technology that could support building a new coal-fired power plant in the U.S.
* The federal government was investigating Blackjewel LLC for potential violations of the False Claims Act and had issued a subpoena to the company, according to court documents.
ChartWatch

Worker salaries increased at 16 of the top 20 publicly traded U.S. oil and gas companies in 2018 as the compensation gap between top executives and median employees narrowed for several independent producers, refiners and pipeline operators.
New from RRA
* Staff of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission and other intervenors filed testimony in Avista Corp.'s pending rate cases on Oct. 3, with the staff supporting two-step electric and gas rate increases totaling $24.8 million and $9.4 million, respectively.
The day ahead
* The U.S. Energy Information Administration petroleum status 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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