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Judge allows rival PG&E bankruptcy plan to proceed; Blackhawk to close mines

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Judge allows rival PG&E bankruptcy plan to proceed; Blackhawk to close mines

Top News

PG&E restructuring pivots to parallel plans in 'fair shake' for wildfire victims

On the same day Pacific Gas and Electric Co. initiated an unprecedented precautionary blackout across northern and central California to prevent its power lines from sparking the kind of wildfires that landed the utility and its parent company, PG&E Corp., in Chapter 11 restructuring, a federal bankruptcy judge blew the joint cases wide open.

Ceres official says some oil, gas companies will need to mull exit strategy

Some oil and gas companies will not survive the deep decarbonization transition needed to combat global warming and will need to consider an exit strategy, a staffer with environmental shareholder advocacy group Ceres suggested Oct. 8.

Franklin funds are now biggest stakeholder in Chesapeake Energy

Franklin Resources Inc., the manager of the $693 billion Franklin Templeton family of funds, is now Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s largest stakeholder, according to an Oct. 8 SEC filing.

Coal producer Blackhawk to close W.Va. mines and plants, lay off 342 workers

Blackhawk Mining LLC announced it will close three underground mines and two preparation plants in West Virginia, resulting in the loss of 342 positions by early December, according to an Oct. 8 company release

Quoted

"There can be no doubt: the renewal rate of nuclear power plants is too slow to guarantee the survival of the technology," Nuclear consultant Mycle Schneider said in a news release for the publication of the 2019 World Nuclear Industry Status Report, which argues that nuclear power plants are too slow and too costly to build, and the world would be better off investing in renewable energy.

Power

* The states of Delaware and Maryland told a federal appeals court on Oct. 8 that a recent ruling by the same court supports their position in a legal battle over smog-forming emissions from upwind coal plants that drift across state lines.

* Exelon Corp. and Commonwealth Edison Co. received another grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois in connection on information concerning lobbying activities in the state. The second subpoena requires production of records of any communications with certain individuals and entities, including state Sen. Martin Sandoval.

* The New York Supreme Court in Albany County has struck down a lawsuit challenging the state's clean air subsidy for three uneconomic nuclear power plants.

* The U.S. Commerce Department confirmed to The Hill that the Smart Grid Advisory Committee was terminated Sept. 30.

Natural gas

* State regulators have barred Columbia Gas of Massachusetts from performing most construction work within its service territory until it receives explicit approval, placing new restrictions on the NiSource Inc. subsidiary after the company discovered deficiencies in its Merrimack Valley disaster restoration project.

* The Washington Department of Ecology halted its review of the Kalama methanol project after finding the application for a shoreline conditional use permit incomplete.

* National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. received another extension from federal regulators to finish expanding its pipeline system in Pennsylvania through a project that would allow it to deliver an additional 133,000 Dth/d of natural gas to a petrochemical facility.

* Nonprofit Colorado Rising is asking a district court judge to stop the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from issuing new oil and gas permits until rules are complete, The Associated Press reported.

* A group of First Nations signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in the promotion of British Columbia natural gas to replace coal-fired generation, the Calgary Herald reported.

* The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection suspended Xtreme Energy Co.'s well permits for failing to pay impact fees for calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Oil

* The upstream oil and gas M&A market is largely quiet at the moment, but SunTrust Robinson Humphrey believes a section of one of the world's top-producing basins is ripe for consolidation.

* The Saudi Arabian government is set to make a formal announcement in late October on the initial public offering of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco, Bloomberg News reported.

* Integrated energy companies such as France's Total SA need not become "dinosaurs" in the transition from fossil fuels and will adapt to slowing oil demand by investing in natural gas, LNG, electricity and renewables alongside low-cost oil, CEO Patrick Pouyanne said.

* U.S. crude oil production dropped by 276,000 barrels per day in July due to Hurricane Barry, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The drop was the largest decline in monthly crude oil production in more than a decade.

* U.S. West Coast refiners have the most exposure to Ecuador oil exports, according to Bloomberg News. State-owned oil company Petroecuador has declared a force majeure on its crude exports.

* Chinese oil refiner Jiangsu Eastern Shenghong Co. Ltd. issued $140.6 million worth of green bonds to help fund a major petrochemical complex, according to Reuters.

Coal

* As a case works to determine whether an Obama-era fossil fuel valuation rule on federal lands will be cast aside, a federal court shielded coal producers from those valuations on coal mined from federal and Native American lands but left them in place for oil and gas producers.

* The Appalachian Regional Commission announced a $44.4 million investment package to diversify the economy in coal-impacted communities.

* A proposal by several Democratic presidential hopefuls and environmental groups aimed at helping rural electric cooperatives transition away from coal-fired plants to renewable generation sounds relatively straightforward but, in reality, faces a number of challenges that put the viability of such an option in question.

ChartWatch

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In reaction to cratering natural gas and liquids prices, Ohio drillers pulled half the number of permits for new wells in September as they did in August, a 28% drop when compared to September 2018, the latest state data said Oct. 8.

New from RRA

Oil and gas producers in Texas, New Mexico and North Dakota collectively flared approximately 453 Bcf of natural gas in 2018 — 51% above the roughly 300 Bcf burned in these states in 2017, as measured by satellite. Total natural gas flaring in the U.S. was estimated to be 495 Bcf. Wells located in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico accounted for over 207 Bcf, or about 42%, of gas flared.

The day ahead

* The American Petroleum Institute will hold a joint press call to discuss proposed changes to the renewable fuel standard at 10 a.m. ET.

* The U.S. Energy Information Administration 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.

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Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.

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