Top News
Suitors eye Pattern Energy as clouds gather over US wind market
Pattern Energy Group Inc., a power producer with wind farms across North America, is fielding takeover interest ahead of a potential market slowdown in the U.S.
Democrats would destroy energy jobs, Trump tells audience at Pa. ethane cracker
President Donald Trump used an Aug. 13 visit to Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC's nearly completed ethane cracker in Beaver County, Pa., as a whistle-stop on his 2020 campaign, telling an audience of mainly union workers that the $6 billion project would "never have happened without me, or us" and announcing that more energy construction projects were coming to the Ohio River Valley.
Sanchez bankruptcy follows efforts to regain footing amid crude price volatility
Despite taking steps to avoid the action, Sanchez Energy Corp. added its name on Aug. 11 to the list of oil companies filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
Metallurgical coal market signals 'flashing caution,' analyst says
Key global metallurgical coal price indicators are still "flashing caution" despite reasons for optimism in the U.S., Seaport Global Securities LLC analyst Mark Levin warned in an Aug. 13 note.
"The EPA's rule rolls back these limits and will have virtually no impact on these emissions, prolonging the nation's reliance on polluting, expensive coal power plants and obstructing progress of states toward clean, renewable, and affordable electricity generation," the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a news release Aug. 13 announcing that the state is leading a coalition of 22 states and seven municipalities launching a legal challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's replacement for the Obama-era Clean Power Plan.
Power
* With a heat wave blanketing much of the state, the Electric Reliability Council Of Texas on Aug. 13 issued an emergency alert calling on consumer conservation as the grid operator continued to see near-record electricity demand.
* Duke Energy Corp. is working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on how to solve heavy-metal contamination found in groundwater at the utility's Crystal River Crystal River Energy Complex, the Citrus County (Fla.) Chronicle reported.
* A new study from the Congressional Research Service outlined ways that the U.S. Congress and federal regulators could craft policies to make cryptocurrency mining and related blockchain technologies more efficient and less energy-intensive.
* The Sacramento Municipal Utility District is considering purchasing the 7-MW Chili Bar Hydroelectric Project from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for $10.4 million, the Sacramento Business Journal reported.
* The Nevada Public Utilities Commission joins regulators in Washington, Oregon and California in signing a framework that addresses climate change through cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.
* The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff approved the sale of Entergy Corp.'s retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station to Holtec International Inc.,
Natural gas
* Pacific Gas and Electric's gas utility moved closer to changing up its rate structure as an administrative law judge recommended updates that would address some of the utility's concerns about changing throughput.
* Environmental groups have petitioned the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to revoke the water quality permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
* A judge blocked the Trump administration from taking the advice of an energy advisory panel, which was criticized by conservationists and others for being "stacked in favor of the energy industry," according to The Associated Press.
* Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc. struck an agreement with North Carolina consumer and industrial groups for a 3% increase in its rates to recover costs for system growth, pipeline safety and infrastructure investments.
* Kinder Morgan Inc. has been ordered to pay another $2.7 million in connection with an eminent domain dispute over its proposed Permian Highway Pipeline, the Houston Chronicle reported.
* Certarus Ltd. has agreed to supply compressed natural gas for the Canadian mining operations of Kirkland Lake Gold.
Oil
* Most of the major unconventional oil and gas plays in the United States continue to set monthly production records, but the latest Drilling Productivity Report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows an area in a multi-month decline.
* Exxon Mobil Corp. is considering its exit in from the British North Sea and has held talks with operators to gauge interest in its assets, Reuters reported, citing three industry sources with knowledge of the matter.
* Royal Bank of Scotland became the latest prominent financial institution to put in place internal limits on financing oil exploration in the Arctic and Antarctic.
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Coal
* Ramaco Resources Inc. reported a second-quarter net income of $10.6 million, or 26 cents per fully diluted share, increasing year over year from $10.2 million, or 25 cents per share.
* Contura Energy Inc. reduced
ChartWatch

The stocks of Appalachia's shale gas producers were crushed
New from RRA
* The Maryland Public Service Commission issued an order affirming a public utility law judge's July 9 proposed order in Potomac Electric Power Co.'s electric rate case. In so doing, the PSC authorized Pepco a $10.3 million electric distribution rate increase premised upon a 9.6% return on equity (50.46% of capital) and a 7.45% return on an average rate base valued at $1.958 billion for a test year ended Jan. 31, 2019.
The day ahead
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* 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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