WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Monday, readers! We’re kicking off another week with a lot of attention on oil, as prices remain in the low $60s, BP made a new discovery off the coast of Louisiana, and Goldman Sachs urged ESG investors to include fossil fuels into their portfolios.
Plus, a number of nuclear and clean energy advocates are asking the Department of Energy to spare its Loan Programs Office from planned cuts. Keep reading to find the link to the letter, first scooped by Callie, below.
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Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
A PLEA TO SPARE THE LOAN PROGRAMS OFFICE: Nuclear and clean energy advocates warned that cuts the Department of Government Efficiency is considering for the Department of Energy‘s Loan Programs Office could backfire on the Trump administration’s energy dominance and artificial intelligence agenda.
The details: In a letter sent to Energy Secretary Chris Wright this morning, 30 policy think tanks, clean energy companies, and nuclear energy firms asked DOE to protect the LPO from mass cuts. The groups said the spending reductions under consideration would damage LPO’s critical role in financing domestic energy projects, including those supporting new nuclear generation, domestic mineral production, and modernizing the grid.
“The office’s ability to underwrite and monitor large-scale energy projects depends on specialized technical staff and institutional capacity,” the letter, first obtained by the Washington Examiner, says. “Without them, the federal government risks slowing or stalling the diverse mix of energy projects that serve national priorities, such as new nuclear energy development for powering AI data centers — undermining investment certainty and weakening American competitiveness.”
Some background: Last week, it was revealed that DOE extended its “fork in the road” deferred resignation program first offered to federal employees in February. While roughly 77,000 federal employees accepted the initial offer, few employees within DOE took the deal, including when it was offered again at the end of March. In an email regarding the resignation program deadline sent to employees on April 8 viewed by the Washington Examiner, Wright encouraged more staffers to opt into the deal.
The secretary warned it was “increasingly likely” DOE would undergo a sweeping reduction in force, aligning with President Donald Trump’s priorities to downsize the federal government. The deadline to opt into the resignation program was extended until last Friday, just before midnight.
Between the resignation program and possible layoffs, reports indicated that the department’s LPO could lose up to half of its staff. Major cuts like this to the office would likely severely hinder its ability to originate new loans and support projects aimed at increasing energy dominance and supporting AI developments, one department employee told the Washington Examiner.
Read more from Callie here.
BP MAKES OIL DISCOVERY OFF THE COAST OF LOUISIANA: British oil major BP announced an oil discovery today made off the coast of Louisiana, in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, which has since been renamed as the Gulf of America by Trump.
The details: The discovery came after BP drilled an exploration well in Green Canyon Block 584, roughly 120 miles off the coast of Louisiana, in water over 4,000 feet deep. The well, owned by BP and Chevron, was drilled to a total depth of around 23,830 feet.
BP revealed that the initial well, as well as a subsequent sidetrack, came across oil “in high quality Miocene reservoirs.” The company said that preliminary data regarding the discovery supports a possible commercial volume of oil from the well.
“This Far South discovery demonstrates that the Gulf of America remains an area of incredible growth and opportunity for bp. Our Gulf of America business is central to bp’s strategy,” senior vice president Andy Krieger said in a statement.
Krieger said the company is looking to boost its production capacity in the Gulf to more than 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030.
Some background: BP is in the process of resetting its priorities in favor of oil and gas development by selling half of its solar assets, scaling back renewable investments, and replacing its green-focused chairman. The oil giant is looking to increase its global production of oil to roughly 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2030, with the potential for more hikes as far out as 2035. Through onshore and offshore drilling in the U.S. alone, BP is expecting to deliver roughly 1 million barrels of oil equivalent every day by 2030.
WHERE OIL STANDS: Oil prices remained far below the low to mid-$70s where they sat at the start of this month, as Trump’s sweeping tariffs and OPEC+’s output acceleration sent prices into the $60s and even below.
The details: Just before 2:30 pm, international and domestic benchmarks remained above the $60 line, seeing small gains in early trading that later reversed by mid-afternoon. Brent Crude dropped by just 0.31% to $64.56 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell by 0.5% to $61.13 per barrel.
Some insight: Last week’s slump to below $60 a barrel defied projections for oil growth for this year, with some traders now saying there will be no demand growth for 2025 as low prices combined with tariffs on steel products incentivize new drilling investments.
Gunvor Group’s Frederic Lasserre told Bloomberg that much of the market overreacted last week, causing more panic around oil pricing.
“Not only on oil, but on equities people were pricing a global recession,” Lasserre said. “I think this was a bit too aggressive, at least for now, and from here I see a bit more upside than downside because I feel there is a better exit than the zero-growth situation.”
ESG INVESTORS SHOULD SET SIGHTS ON OIL AND GAS, GOLDMAN SAYS: Goldman Sachs is now encouraging shareholders who have primarily focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments to broaden their portfolios to include fossil fuels.
The details: Just as ESG investors have become more open to including defense stocks in their portfolios following Russia’s war in Ukraine, Goldman Sachs’ head of EMEA natural resources research Michele Della Vigna said, it may be time to change their mind about oil and gas.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Della Vigna called it a “major mistake” to exclude energy majors’ stocks from modern portfolios. He described these companies as “market makers” and “risk takers,” and said investors need their core business in order to deliver cheap and sustainable energy.
This might be counterintuitive for investors supportive of an accelerated transition to green and carbon-free energy, but Della Vigna warned that transition is going to be longer than anticipated, with peak oil demand hitting in the mid-2030s and peak gas demand expected in the 2050s.
Della Vigna also noted that many of these companies have been leading in low-carbon investments.
Key quote: “Otherwise, we will not have affordable energy, especially for emerging markets, and we will have energy poverty, which I don’t think is acceptable in any ESG framework,” he told the outlet. “I think the energy companies that lead the energy transition should be a cornerstone of ESG funds — not a divestment target.”
CHINA TO SEE NEW COAL FOR SEVERAL MORE YEARS: China is planning to continue building new coal-fired power plants at least through 2027, the government revealed today.
The details: The Chinese government has updated its guidelines on upgrading its coal power system, revealing plans to support new coal generation for the next two years in some regions in order to meet demand, according to Reuters.
It remains unclear how much more coal power the country intends to bring online, as China previously said it would slow its use of coal between 2026 and 2030 as it transitions to cleaner forms of energy, like wind and solar.
More coal generation could put this target in question, though the government reportedly intends to ensure that any new coal plants built in the next two years have up to 20% lower carbon emission per unit of power output than those built and brought online last year.
Some background: China has long led global consumption of coal, using roughly 30% more coal than the rest of the world, according to data compiled by the International Energy Agency. While China has also dominated the buildout of renewable and carbon-free electricity, it consistently burns around a third of all coal in the world. Coal demand in China grew by around 1% last year, reaching a record level of 4.9 billion tonnes of coal. While past reports have predicted global coal demand could plateau by 2027, increased demand and consumption from China could cause coal use to peak as late as 2028.
GAO SAYS AGENCIES OVERSEEING OFFSHORE WIND LACK COORDINATION WITH TRIBES AND FISHERIES: The Government Accountability Office said in a new report that the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement have been inconsistent in engaging with tribes, fisheries, and others when it comes to planning wind energy developments.
BOEM in December 2024 acknowledged there is room for improvement when engaging with Tribes, but GAO noted that there has yet to be an implementation plan.
“[N]early all tribal officials that GAO interviewed said that they do not have sufficient capacity to adequately review documents or meaningfully consult with government officials and developers,” GAO said.
GAO made several recommendations for BOEM and BSEE, one being that the agencies address the inconsistencies in engagement with tribes and consider fisheries’ input. It added that agencies should establish guidance for engaging and resources to oversee developments in the North Atlantic region.
GAO also recommends that lawmakers amend language to address BOEM’s limitations to provide adequate support for capacity building for tribes.
AUSTRALIA COULD PLACE BID TO HOST COP31: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said if he wins reelection, Australia will place a bid to host 31st United Nations Conference of the Parties, also known as COP31, along with Pacific nations.
“It’s an economic boost for wherever it’s held,” Albanese said on a campaign stop, Bloomberg reports. “I can’t think of anywhere better than Adelaide to host that event.”
Australia is holding national elections on May 3rd. Albanese is running against Peter Dutton, who has said he would not bid to hold COP31 in the country. Dutton has called it “madness” to host the conference when there is a cost of living crisis within the country. The climate conference is organized by the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change, which includes almost 200 countries, to discuss their efforts to address climate change.
Turkey may also place bids on hosting the conference in 2026, Bloomberg noted.
ICYMI – CHINA PAUSES EXPORTS OF CRITICAL MINERALS AND MAGNETS: China on Friday paused the shipment of certain critical minerals and magnets as a retaliation move against the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods.
Three sources told Reuters last week that the shipment of seven rare earth elements, previously placed on export controls, has now been grounded at Chinese ports. The shipment of the rare earth elements stopped on April 4, the sources told Reuters, which is the same day China placed a number of key elements on export controls.
Rare earth elements are critical for building products in the defense and energy sector. The U.S. imports the majority of its critical minerals from China.
The pause in shipments also included the export of rare earth magnets, the New York Times noted yesterday, adding that the pause comes as the Chinese government is drafting a new regulatory system for shipment. The outlet said that when a new system in place it could permanently prevent shipments of supplies to companies like U.S. military contractors.
Rare earth magnets are used to combine rare earth elements that can help assemble products like cars and drones. The New York Times said that 90% of rare earth magnets are produced in China.
A LOOK AHEAD:
April 14 – 16 American Clean Power is holding its Siting and Permitting Conference in Seattle, Washington.
April 14 – 17 The Data Center World conference is being held in Washington D.C.
April 15 The American Council on Renewable Energy is holding a webinar breaking down Congress’ budget reconciliation process and what it means for Biden era energy tax credits.
April 15 – 16 The ClimateTech Connect Conference will be held in Washington D.C.
April 16 The Atlantic Council will host Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko on the US role in Ukraine’s energy sector.
April 16 The United States Energy Association is holding a virtual press briefing on the easing of environmental regulations, government spending cuts and other impacts of Trump 2.0 trajectories in the energy sector.
April 17 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is hosting its monthly opening meeting.
April 17 The CATO Institute is holding a briefing on how repealing energy subsidies could fund pro-growth tax reform through reconciliation.
April 18 The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University is holding a panel discussion on the geopolitical dynamics of Russia’s war in Ukraine as energy plays a central role in possible peace talks.
April 20 is Easter Sunday.
RUNDOWN
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