WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Monday, readers! We hope you had a restful weekend. We’ve got a lot of good items in today’s Daily on Energy to read as we await the reconciliation legislative text from the Finance Committee, including a look at where oil prices stand following the escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
We also discuss how China is maintaining a strong grip over rare earths, despite U.S. and China trade officials striking a deal last week in London. Read on to learn which animal the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list as an endangered species.
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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.
OIL PRICES RESTRAINED DESPITE ISRAEL-IRAN HOSTILITIES: Oil prices are down today despite the conflict between Israel and Iran playing out over the weekend and both sides targeting each other’s energy infrastructure.
Where do oil prices stand? Oil prices dropped this morning but recovered in the afternoon. Brent crude was down 1.5% to $72.70 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude was down 1.8% to $71.14 per barrel as of midafternoon.
Part of the price relief was attributable to a report from the Wall Street Journal that Iran was seeking to deescalate hostilities and negotiate with Israel.
Also, the attacks so far have mostly spared critical oil infrastructure and shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, at least to a sufficient extent to reassure traders, Bloomberg reports.
Still, energy infrastructure has been hit. Early this morning, Iranian missiles struck areas near an oil refinery in Israeli coastal city of Haifa.
Israel has also targeted Iran’s energy facilities. On Saturday night, Israel attacked the South Pars natural gas field, which is the world’s largest. Then, another attack ignited a fire at Tehran’s fuel and gasoline depot.
G7 SUMMIT KICKS OFF: Leaders from the U.S., Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, and Britain will be meeting today for the G7 Summit.
The seven countries will be discussing a range of issues, including trade, wildfires, and geopolitical conflicts. The summit will be taking place in Canada and will be the first international meeting for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
The conflict between Iran and Israel will be at the top of the agenda. Still, leaders will not issue the typical joint communiqué at the end of the summit due to differences between the U.S. and others on the Ukraine conflict and climate change, Bloomberg reported. Instead, they will likely release separate statements.
In addition, the seven leaders are expected to discuss other issues, such as global trade and the economy. Trump will also be discussing issues like migration, critical minerals, and security with the seven leaders. The president has set up one-on-one meetings with each global leader.
Canada’s priorities include addressing critical minerals supply chains and the country’s wildfires.
UNRESOLVED U.S.-CHINA RARE EARTH ISSUE: China’s stronghold over rare earths is the major issue left unresolved following the deal struck by the Trump administration last week.
Two people briefed on the talks told Reuters that China has not agreed to relax its export restrictions on rare earth magnets, which are essential for the U.S. defense sector. Chinese negotiators have connected their export limitations on rare earths to the U.S. export restrictions on advanced artificial intelligence chips to Beijing, which the U.S. continues to maintain.
China dominates the rare earths industry, being the world’s leading producer. Rare earths are essential not only to the defense space, but also the energy sector, as they are used in building wind turbines, electric vehicles, and other renewable energy technologies.
As a result of these restrictions on rare earths, major U.S. automakers are seeking to relocate auto parts manufacturing to China.
SCOTUS TO HEAR CHEVRON AND EXXON MOBIL WATER POLLUTION LAWSUIT: The Supreme Court said today it will hear a lawsuit brought by Louisiana localities claiming that Chevron and Exxon Mobil damaged the state’s coast, Reuters reports.
The lawsuits against the oil and gas companies began in 2013. Six Louisiana parishes filed 42 lawsuits against the companies for violating the state’s permitting law through dredging and pipeline construction as they fulfilled contracts with the federal government during World War Two. The first of the 42 cases to go to trial ruled in April that Chevron must pay Plaquemines Parish $744.6 million.
The companies appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, as well as a similar case brought by Cameron Parish. The high court will hear the case in the next term in October.
Chevron lawyer Paul Clement told Reuters “Chevron is pleased that the Supreme Court has decided to grant review in these cases, and we look forward to presenting our arguments to the court.”
TRUMP FIRES NRC COMMISSIONER CHRIS HANSON: Chris Hanson, who has been a Democratic member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission since 2020, said today that he was fired by Trump.
He’s the first commissioner to be fired since the NRC was created in 1975, according to NOTUS.
A White House spokesperson told the publication that “All organizations are more effective when leaders are rowing in the same direction.”
The action follows a recent executive order from Trump faulting the NRC for failing to get commercial reactors approved and calling for its overhaul.
Hanson, in a statement, said that his “focus over the last five years has been to prepare the agency for anticipated change in the energy sector, while preserving the independence, integrity, and bipartisan nature of the world’s gold standard nuclear safety institution.”
FIVE DEAD IN WEST VIRGINIA FLOODS: Five people died in floods in northern West Virginia over the weekend, and others were missing.
Torrential rains in Wheeling and Ohio County led creeks to swell, sweeping away vehicles and damaging infrastructure.
Ohio County emergency management director told the Associated Press that “It happened so quickly and so fast. … I’ve been doing this for 35 years. I’ve seen major floods here in the city and the county. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTIONS PROPOSED FOR PANGOLINS: Pangolins, the small nocturnal mammal with scales, should receive protections under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said today. The proposed rule now goes to public comment.
Pangolins, thought to be the most trafficked mammal in the world, are native to Asia and Africa. Part of the logic in granting them federal protections would be to make it easier to pressure China to limit trafficking.
“Being a leader in absolutely closing our domestic market as we’re asking China to close their domestic market sure seems wise,” Sarah Uhlemann, international program director with the Center for Biological Diversity, told the New York Times.
A historical note: Pangolins were last in the news in 2020, when it was suggested that they might have been the host for the coronavirus that allowed it to jump to humans.
A LOOK AHEAD:
June 16 President and CEO of Occidental Vicki Hollub will speak at the Economic Club of Washington D.C.
June 17 Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions will hold a webinar on “Unpacking Climate Change ‘Superfund’ Legislation”
June 17 Brookings Metro and Economic Architecture will host a virtual event on the intersection of housing, climate resilience, and equitable development.
June 17 The American Clean Power will host “Powering AI: Energy Strategies for a Secure Future”
June 17 The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Federation of American Scientists will host a forum on how federal policies can bolster resilience to extreme heat at the state and community level.
June 17 -18 The Atlantic Council will host its Global Energy Summit.
June 18 Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to hold a hearing on the Department of Energy Fiscal Year 2026 Budget.
June 18 The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host its 2025 Business Delivers Innovation Summit.
June 18 The Electrification Coalition will hold a webinar on how to electrify the federal transit fleet.
June 19 Juneteenth
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