WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! The House has passed the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act after hardline conservatives pushed for last minute changes to the Senate-passed version that ultimately could not be delivered.
House Minority Speaker Hakeem Jefferies attempted to stall the passing of the bill today as he spoke for a record 8 hours and 44 minutes, the longest House floor speech recorded. However, the stalling could not stop the bill from moving forward. President Donald Trump is set to sign the bill tomorrow on Independence Day.
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We will continue to follow the aftermath of the OBBBA on Daily on Energy. But for now, we hope you all have a great 4th of July and we will be back in your inboxes on Monday!
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.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Walking off the House floor today, Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett spoke to reporters, defending the Republicans One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s energy provisions which aim to prop up the fossil fuel industry.
“It felt like our traditional energy sector, oil, nuclear, gas, and possibly even coal, have been stepped over in the last four years, and that’s homegrown,” Burchett said. “We don’t have to go overseas to get it. And I think Trump understands that, and also, another, what compounded that with me was the economic impact of that being turned loose.”
BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL HEADS TO TRUMP’S DESK: The House officially passed Republican’s “big, beautiful bill” in a 218-214 vote this afternoon after a grueling session that began early yesterday morning.
Several hardline conservatives that rallied against the Senate’s last minute relief on clean energy tax cuts in the package, including Texas Rep. Chip Roy, ultimately backed down from their criticism and voted in favor of the bill. Only two Republicans voted against the package, including Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie.
The bill now heads to President Donald Trump‘s desk to be signed into law. The president is expected to sign the bill tomorrow before 5 p.m.
Things you may have missed: In the last week, most discussions regarding the energy provisions of the bill were focused on clean energy tax credit cuts and carve outs for wind and solar projects. But, there is a lot more than that in the legislation.
If you didn’t get a chance to read through the lengthy package, here are five measures impacting the energy, conservation, and manufacturing industries that you might have missed:
- Mandated Lease Sales: The package calls for two lease sales to be held in the Gulf of Mexico, which has been renamed the Gulf of America, every year for 15 years. It also mandates quarterly lease sales onshore as well as lease sales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, National Petroleum Reserve, and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
- Metallurgical Coal: The bill would allow producers of metallurgical coal to claim advanced manufacturing tax credit.
- Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: The bill repeals the program and rescinds unobligated funds. The EPA is battling in court to repeal promised dollars to the program’s grantees.
- ‘Energy dominance’ financing: While the bill claws back grant money for both the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, it does provide $1 billion for DOE loans for projects that help “maintain or enhance grid reliability or other system adequacy needs.”
- Hydrogen: The bill allows for clean hydrogen production credit until 2027, the Inflation Reduction Act originally had the credit ending in 2033.
You can read more about what made it into the bill, energy or not, here.
OIL EXECUTIVES THROW DOUBT ON ‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’: The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has released their latest quarterly survey among oil and gas executives, and the outlook for new domestic drilling is dim.
The details: Many oil and gas exploration and production firms are now saying they expect to drill fewer wells throughout 2025 than they had originally planned, with 26% of executives believing the number of wells they will drill this year will “decrease significantly.” Roughly 21% said it would “decrease slightly.”
A majority of executives surveyed also noted that if domestic crude benchmark prices stay at around $60 per barrel over the next 12 months, their oil production levels would drop slightly. If prices were to drop to $50 per barrel, the administration’s goal, and remain there until June 2026, 46% of executives said their production levels would decrease significantly.
What’s to blame: In anonymous comments submitted along with the survey, many executives pointed specifically to Trump’s steel tariffs and the administration’s repeated insistence on dropping prices as a hindrance to the market.
“The ‘Liberation Day’ chaos and tariff antics have harmed the domestic energy industry. ‘Drill, baby, drill’ will not happen with this level of volatility,” one exploration and production firm executive said. “Companies will continue to lay down rigs and frack spreads.”
Read more from Callie here.
Plus…the rig count: This afternoon, Baker Hughes released this week’s data on the total number of active drilling rigs in the U.S. one day early, getting ahead of tomorrow’s holiday. And like last week, the numbers are down.
As of today, there were eight less active rigs compared to last week, dropping to a total of 539. This is a whopping 46 less than this time last year. Out of the rigs that were dropped this week, seven of them were oil rigs and one was for natural gas. All of the ones dropped were located on land.
DOJ MOVES TO BLOCK ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS FROM DELAYING ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ : The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division filed in court today to prevent environmental groups from delaying the build out of Florida’s new illegal immigrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Last week, two environmental groups – the Friends of the Everglades Inc. and Center for Biological Diversity – filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and Miami-Dade County to prevent the construction of the immigration center.
The two groups argued that the project failed to undergo an environmental review or provide a public comment period. The groups noted that the facility which is located in the Florida Everglades is home to a series of endangered species.
Florida has since moved ahead with its plans to open the facility early this month. Last night, the first group of detainees were brought to the facility. The detention center is expected to hold at least 3,000 illegal immigrants.
Read more from Maydeen here.
EPA STAFFERS PLACED ON LEAVE AFTER SIGNING A DISSENT LETTER: Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency who signed a dissent letter against the administration’s policies have been placed on leave.
The Hill reports that the EPA has placed 144 staffers on administrative leave as it investigates the letter that became public earlier this week.
“The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,” EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch told The Hill in a statement.
On Monday, more than 150 EPA staffers signed a “declaration of dissent” opposing the Trump administration’s policies and action toward the agency. The staff said the administration’s actions undermine the agency’s mission to “protect human health and the environment.”
The staff listed five categories in which the administration is undermining the agency’s mission. Those areas include undermining public trust by promoting misinformation. The staff said the administration contradicts EPA’s scientific assessment on human health.
They also noted that the administration is reversing the agency’s progress in low-income communities by canceling environmental justice programs. The administration has also dismantled the agency’s research office and has promoted a “culture of fear” with staffers unsure whether they will be terminated.
COMING UP – CHRIS WRIGHT IN WYOMING: Next week, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright will be attending the opening of the first rate earth mine in the U.S. in decades.
The ribbon cutting ceremony is set to take place a week from tomorrow at Ramaco’s iCAM Technology Center in Ranchester, Wyoming, where they will be opening the Brook Mine Carbon Ore Rare Earth project.
Other notable guests include Wyoming’s Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, and the 44th state’s congressional delegation.
Why it matters: The Brook Mine project, Wyoming’s first new coal mine in more than 50 years, has been years in the making since Ramaco first submitted its permit application to mine in 2014. It is also the first rare earth mine in the U.S. in more than 70 years.
It marks the latest effort from the U.S. to challenge China’s dominance over the global supply chain of rare earth and critical minerals. In 2020 and 2023, China made up 70% of U.S. rare earth minerals. The Trump administration has repeatedly emphasized its intention to increase domestic production of these minerals to reduce reliance on China and other foreign nations.
MALAYSIA SECURES MORE US LNG: Malaysian energy company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (also known as Petronas) has come to a 20-year agreement to purchase liquefied natural gas from U.S. based Venture Global.
The details: The company will be obtaining roughly 1 million tonnes per annum of LNG from Venture Global’s third facility in Louisiana, CP2 LNG.
The facility is expected to begin exporting LNG by 2027, and will export up to 3.96 billion cubic feet per day of LNG and upward of 20 million tons each year at its peak. It received export authorization from the Department of Energy in March, and Venture Global has been racing to secure funding for its construction and operations since.
Some background: The project was stalled under the previous administration after then-President Joe Biden issued the controversial pause on approvals for new LNG export authorities. Critics accused the administration of imposing the pause to block the project, given the amount of downstream methane emissions associated with increased LNG exports.
The deal comes as the U.S. saw its exports of LNG drop to its second lowest monthly level of the year in June. The decline was primarily due to seasonal maintenance at some of the largest export facilities in the country.
ICYMI – TESLA Q2 VEHICLE SALES DOWN: Tesla continues to struggle with vehicle sales this year, amidst political backlash against its founder Elon Musk along with its efforts to compete with Chinese EV makers.
Tesla announced yesterday that it delivered 384,122 electric vehicles during the second quarter, which is a drop from Q2 last year when the company delivered 444,000 electric vehicles.
The EV maker in Q1 reported a drop in sales as well with only delivering 336,681 vehicles. At the same time, China’s electric vehicle company BYD sales were up 58% in the first quarter compared to the year before. China EV makers have been dominating the global market by offering cars that charge quicker and can drive at a further distance without needing to be charged.
Musk and Trump have also had a public feud over the administration’s OBBBA, which would slash tax credits and provision to boost clean energy sectors like electric vehicles.
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