Top News
Vistra retail deal part of steady march toward consolidation
Equity analysts view Vistra Energy Corp.'s recent agreement to purchase Ambit Energy Holdings LLC for $475 million as another sign of an increasingly consolidated retail energy market dominated by a duo of independent power producers.
Most top energy pipeline firms lost institutional ownership in Q2
The biggest institutional investors in the North American energy pipeline industry did more selling than buying during the second quarter, an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings shows.
Exxon, Chevron watching for M&A opportunities in the Permian, CEOs say
Oil and gas supermajors Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. are in no rush to acquire new assets or companies in the Permian basin but are still looking for good deals, top executives from both companies said.
Coal sector focuses on shareholder value, benefiting a handful of investors
U.S. coal companies increasingly tout shareholder return initiatives such as share repurchases or dividends, but the universe of investors benefiting from these efforts is contained to just a few investment groups.
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Power
* Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee said his agency could act on a range of big-ticket proceedings this fall despite lacking a full complement of five sitting members.
* The Maine Public Utilities Commission staff affirmed an earlier analysis that the increase in the winter 2017-2018 bills of Central Maine Power Co. customers was due to higher power usage and not because of the utility's billing and metering system, local newspaper Portland Press Herald reported.
* FirstEnergy Solutions Corp. is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to stop a proposed referendum to repeal a state law granting subsidies to two of the company's nuclear power plants.
* Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has signed an executive order strengthening the state's efforts to combat climate change effects. The order directs the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to evaluate pathways to transition to 100% clean energy grid by 2040, among other things.
* The U.S. Energy Department withdrew a rule requiring more efficient light bulbs.
* Ranger Power moved one step closer to realizing its planned 230-MW solar farm in Nebraska after it secured a special permit from the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission, the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star reported
Natural gas
* Natural gas utilities are taking precautions
* Golar LNG Ltd. has dropped out of its partnership with Delfin LNG LLC to develop the Delfin LNG export project off the Louisiana coast.
* Russia's PAO Novatek has decided to move forward with its $21.3 billion Arctic LNG 2 project, which will consist of three liquefaction trains with an overall production capacity of 19.8 million tons per annum.
* Separately, Novatek signed an agreement with Saibu Gas Co. Ltd. to form a joint venture to market LNG and natural gas to end customers and develop the business for bunkering and gas-fired power generation in Japan.
Oil
* A U.S. judge declined a request by Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell PLC to revive a $1.8 billion arbitration award against Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. over a 1993 oil contract dispute, according to Reuters.
* Chevron could be preparing to exit Venezuela in case the U.S. government does not extend its license to continue operating in the country, Bloomberg News reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
* Baker Hughes, a GE company is in the early stages of evaluating its services and equipment offerings to develop an optimal portfolio to compete in the current market and through the energy transition, the company's chief executive said.
* Joe Balash, the former assistant secretary for land and minerals management at the Interior Department, confirmed to The Washington Post that he will be joining Papua New Guinea-based Oil Search, a company expanding operations in Alaska.
* Equinor ASA initiated a share repurchase program for up to $5 billion, as it emphasizes its commitment to return capital to its shareholders.
* Indian state-owned refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp.
* Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy received applications from 33 oil companies during this year's licensing round for the best-known areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
* Conservation groups are suing the Trump administration for approving Hilcorp Alaska LLC's offshore oil and gas drilling project which, they said, would harm Cook Inlet beluga whales and other marine animals.
Coal
* Railroads could face $5 billion in lost revenue as utility coal shipments fall over the next decade, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service.
* U.S. coal exports totaled
* United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts called on Democratic presidential candidates to accommodate coal workers in their climate change plans, according to The Associated Press.
* The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for allegedly failing to protect endangered species from coal mining in Appalachia.
ChartWatch

The performance of Marathon Petroleum Corp. has lagged peers and the broader market since the oil refiner closed on its acquisition of rival Andeavor in October 2018, yet Marathon Petroleum still remains a top pick among analysts as the company pours money into its logistics and storage business.
New from RRA
* As Hurricane Dorian lashes Florida's East Coast on Sept. 4 as a Category 2 hurricane with winds in excess of 100 miles per hour, the state's utilities have been busy restoring minor outages, while thankful that a more direct hit did not occur.
* The EIA 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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