Top News
US EPA rule scrapping legal basis for Obama-era mercury limits nears completion
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has advanced a rule revoking the legal basis for Obama-era mercury controls on coal- and oil-fired power plants in one of the last steps before a final regulation is issued.
State fires National Grid auditor for plagiarism, 'pervasive lack' of analysis
New York regulators removed the consulting company selected to audit three National Grid USA utilities, alleging portions of its draft audit were plagiarized and provided little independent analysis.
Exxon could look to sell Asia Pacific assets to meet $15B divestment target
As Exxon Mobil Corp. ramps up efforts to sell $15 billion in assets by 2021, the U.S. supermajor could look to dispose of various noncore holdings across Asia Pacific in 2020 to meet that target, according to Wood Mackenzie analysts.
US BLM amends PRB coal management plans, limiting acreage available for leasing
Two U.S. Bureau of Land Management field offices recently released prepared final supplemental environmental impact statements and amended resource management plans pertaining to federally owned coal acres in the Powder River Basin, with options including more limited federal acreage available for coal leasing.
Quoted
"The majors have more than US$70 billion of assets up for sale, so there is clearly no shortage of supply for potential buyers," Wood Mackenzie research director Andrew Harwood said on efforts to dispose of noncore holdings across Asia Pacific by Exxon Mobil, which like many of its peers is looking to high-grade its portfolio and shed aging assets to focus on investments in more prolific production areas around the world.
Power
* Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
* Alabama Power Co.'s proposed $1.1 billion increase in capital spending and the outcome of two Southern Co. subsidiaries' rate cases at Georgia's utility commission are expected to give Southern a small lift in its financial performance, according to Mizuho Securities USA LLC.
* The U.S. Supreme Court rejected San Diego Gas & Electric Co.'s appeal to recover $379 million in wildfire costs from its ratepayers, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
* NextEra Energy Inc. and Duke Energy Corp. are participating in Florida municipal utility JEA's request for proposals for new ownership structures, including privatization, the two utilities confirmed Oct. 7.
* Energy Secretary Rick Perry denied recent media reports that he was planning to resign in November, The Hill in Washington, D.C., reported.
* Boston Mayor Marty Walsh plans to unveil today an updated climate action plan that would focus on reducing carbon emissions from buildings, according to The Associated Press.
* Virginia regulators will consider Dominion Energy Virginia's $2.8 billion grid transformation project plan in a January 2020 hearing. The plan includes full deployment of advanced metering infrastructure across the utility's service territory over the next six years.
* Three initiative petitions have been filed with the Oregon Secretary of State's Office to transition the state to a carbon-free economy by 2050, after lawmakers failed to pass a climate policy, according to the Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Natural gas
* The U.S. Supreme Court denied an attempt by landowners to fight a lower court ruling that allowed the EQM Midstream Partners LP-led Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC to quickly exercise the eminent domain authority of a Natural Gas Act certificate to take land for its 2-Bcf/d natural gas pipeline project.
* Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. is among the potential suitors for TC Energy Corp.'s Coastal GasLink project, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
* PennEast Pipeline Co. LLC is turning to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to help overcome
* Lawrence, Mass., Mayor Daniel Rivera and four state lawmakers want to change a $143 million settlement tied the September gas explosion, the AP reported. The officials are instead proposing a new payout plan which, Columbia Gas said, is unrelated to the most recent leak.
* Natural gas flaring and venting in the Permian Basin stabilized in the range of 600 MMcf/d to 650 MMcf/d, according to energy research firm Rystad Energy.
Oil
* Even with independent producers tightening their budgets and investors punishing companies who acquire new assets, M&A activity in the upstream oil and gas segment still managed to stay in line with recent averages in the third quarter.
* Occidental Petroleum Corp. tentatively charted an oil supertanker for the potential shipment of U.S. crude to South Korea in November, Reuters reported, citing three shipping sources familiar with the matter. The tentative booking is valued at $13.25 million.
* ConocoPhillips raised its quarterly dividend by 38% to 42 cents per share and said it would buy back $3 billion of its shares in 2020.
* Qatar Petroleum has assumed management of the Idd El-Shargi North Dome and Idd El-Shargi South Dome offshore oil fields, following the expiry of the development and production sharing agreements with Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd.
Coal
* A federal appellate court denied a coal company's petition for review in an anti-discrimination case that determined that the coal producer suspended a worker for engaging in activities protected under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act.
* Bankrupt Blackhawk Mining LLC received court approval to access a $35 million debtor-in-possession loan, Bloomberg Law reported.
* Japan may be left to deal with US$71 billion in stranded coal assets due to the falling price of renewable energy, a new report from The Carbon Tracker Initiative found.
ChartWatch

U.S. oil and gas producers will probably see their lines of credit, or revolvers, clipped 10% after banks redetermine their credit limits this fall, according to a recently released survey of lenders and producers.
New from RRA
* Pinnacle West Capital Corp. subsidiary Arizona Public Service Co. notified the Arizona Corporation Commission of its intent to file a rate case by Oct. 31. The rate case will rely on a test year ended June 30, 2019, and is being initiated pursuant to a June commission directive.
The day ahead
* 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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