Top News
PG&E Corp., Edison International stock prices continue slide as wildfires rage
As wildfires continued to burn out of control in Northern and Southern California, investors dumped stocks of
Powder River Basin Q3 coal output improves from Q2 but down 5% from year ago
Coal mines in the Powder River Basin bounced back from the rain-soaked second quarter, increasing production 18.9% in the third quarter, but still saw year-over-year declines.
Foiled at the ballot box, clean-energy supporters look to statehouses
Six marquee energy-related ballot initiatives decided in the 2018 midterm elections in five Western states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Washington — attracted nearly $300 million in contributions from supporters and opponents, setting records for energy policy by pocketbook.
Permian producers prepared for dip in oil prices to last into 2019
Mindful of the lessons learned during the 2014-2016 oil and gas price collapse, large independent producers in the Permian Basin are shielded from the current U.S. oil price slide, thanks to conservative budgeting, new access to Brent crude pricing at the Houston Ship Channel and greater efficiency.
Gas-related ESG issues added to US utility disclosure template
U.S. gas utilities will have a standardized way of reporting environmental, social and governance metrics, giving investors a similar window into these companies as is available for electric utilities.
Quoted
"We are working very hard with the power team to get a better grounding in our reality," General Electric Co. CEO Lawrence Culp Jr., in an interview with CNBC, in which he said that the industrial giant is urgently selling assets to reduce the company's leverage and that GE's troubled power business is near to bottoming out.
Power
* Wind turbine manufacturers and their suppliers provided a clearer picture on how the U.S. wind sector is proactively navigating President Donald Trump's steel tariffs, though industry players still expect production costs to go up from the duties.
* Governments will drive over 70% of global energy investments, heavily influencing future energy systems, according to the International Energy Agency's "World Energy Outlook 2018."
* Electric customers throughout the U.S., regardless of region, are demanding cleaner energy, and utilities say they are listening while advocating for regulatory support.
* In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Duke Energy Corp. CEO Lynn Good said the company will focus on making "smart investments in the grid and clean energy," and will continue to "closing" coal basins.
* Venture capital funding for battery storage companies grew 39% to $783 million in the first nine months of 2018, compared to $563 million in the same period of 2017, according to a report from Mercom Capital Group.
* Nevada could source 50% of its power from renewable sources without using undisturbed land and instead using old mines and other former industrial sites, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, citing an analysis by the Nature Conservancy and the Rocky Mountain Institute.
* AES Corp. is targeting to reduce its carbon intensity by 70% by 2030, which will be measured in tons of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour from a 2016 baseline.
Natural gas
* The top U.S. natural gas producer EQT Corp. completed the separation of its natural gas upstream and midstream businesses, forming Equitrans Midstream Corp. to control EQT's natural gas gathering and transmission pipelines in the Marcellus and Utica shales.
* The Virginia State Air Pollution Board deferred taking further action on the proposed air permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline's Buckingham Compressor Station. The board said it needed the extra time to evaluate comments and concerns.
* Florida Gas Transmission Co. LLC asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to give it authorization to upgrade a compressor station and install other natural gas mainline facilities that would allow it to provide more firm transportation service to Entergy Louisiana LLC in Washington Parish, La.
* Royal Dutch Shell PLC
* European-based oil and natural gas companies generally are ahead of their peers in the transition to a low-carbon economy, although the plans of the largest companies in the sector still do not fully align with the goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change, according to a pair of recent reports.
* China will emerge as a giant consumer of natural gas, "erasing the talk of a glut," according to the IEA's "World Energy Outlook 2018."
* Hi-Crush Partners LP agreed to supply Northern White frac sand to Chesapeake Energy Corp. under a long-term agreement.
Oil
* December crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled the Nov. 12 trading session down 26 cents at $59.93 per barrel, the lowest settlement since February.
* Texas oil producer Endeavor Energy Resources LP has drawn interest from companies, including Chevron Corp.
* Houston-based oilfield service provider Halliburton Co. said it appointed Lance Loeffler as CFO, replacing Chris Weber, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.
* Citing a technical analysis, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said a reduction of 1 million barrels per day in oil output is needed to balance the market, according to Reuters.
Coal
* California's city of Oakland dealt a blow to developer Phil Tagami's plan to build a marine terminal and export coal with the termination of his Oakland Army Base lease, The Mercury News of San Jose, Calif., reported.
* Indonesian coal producer Banpu PCL reported a net profit of US$76 million for the third quarter, a 39% drop compared to the second quarter due to a US$25 million foreign exchange loss.
* Universal Coal PLC said it completed the acquisition of the North Block Complex, an open cast coal operation in South Africa, from Exxaro Resources Ltd.
ChartWatch

Potentially compromising efforts to combat global warming, more than one-third of America's emissions-free nuclear power plants are either at risk of early closure or already slated for retirement, a new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists warned.
New from RRA
* The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Nov. 8 voted to authorize Minnesota Energy Resources Corp. to increase base gas rates by $3.1 million, or 1.26%. Since the final authorized increase is less than the level of interim rates increase that were implemented during the course of the proceeding, refunds will be required.
The day ahead
* 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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