WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Friday, readers! We made it to the end of the week. 

This week we’ve been keeping an eye on the race for chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee. On Tuesday, Callie sat down with Rep. Bob Latta of Ohio in his office – decked out in mounted deer heads from hunting trips in Texas – to discuss his campaign for the leading seat. Keep reading to find out what the Republican would prioritize if selected to chair the committee in the next Congress. Plus, Maydeen has taken a deep dive into where Trump DOE pick Chris Wright stands on energy and climate.

With Thanksgiving only days away, be advised that Daily on Energy will be off for the latter half of next week. For any tips, events, and the like that may fall on the Friday and weekend after the holiday, be sure to flag it for us before then. 

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: This week, New Delhi has endured severe pollution, forcing schools to close and leading authorities to set restrictions on vehicle movement. Air pollution levels in India’s capital on Monday were 60 times the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum. 

In response to the air quality, Rahul Gandhi, a member of India’s parliament, said on X: “The poorest among us suffer the most, unable to escape the toxic air that surrounds them. Families are gasping for clean air, children are falling sick, and millions of lives are being cut short. Tourism is declining and our global reputation is crumbling.” 

COP29 – DEVELOPED COUNTRIES TO PAY $250B A YEAR IN A DRAFT CLIMATE PLAN: This morning, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) released a draft finance deal requiring wealthier nations to pay $250 billion per year until 2035 for developing countries to address climate change impacts. 

Today marks the final day of the two-week conference that started on Nov. 11 in Azerbaijan. Global leaders’ goal this year was to strike a deal on climate finance to help underdeveloped countries tackle impact from climate change and transition toward renewable energy. 

But the draft deal released today divided negotiators with some calling the funding unsuitable, including Ali Mohamed, Kenya’s special envoy for chair of the African Group of Negotiators, who called it “totally unacceptable and inadequate,” the Guardian reports.

The countries that would lead in the financing include the U.S., the European Union, Canada, Japan, and others. The draft also stated that developing countries could voluntarily contribute to the financing. 

Global leaders are expected to continue negotiations into the weekend. 

Read more by Maydeen here. 

BOB LATTA SITS DOWN TO DISCUSS ENERGY & COMMERCE PRIORITIES: Longtime Rep. Bob Latta is vowing to prioritize permitting reform and domestic energy production as he vies to be chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, one of the most coveted energy leadership positions in the House.

The details: Latta, the most senior Republican on the committee, sat down with Callie this week to discuss why he believes he is fit to serve as chairman of the key energy panel. The Ohio congressman is going up against Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky. 

With his sights set on getting as much legislation passed as possible, Latta is keeping his focus on priorities in both chambers. With the new Trump administration expected to usher in a “Made in America” and national security agenda, much of his focus is on permitting reform and boosting domestic energy independence. 

“It’s making sure that we’re out there producing as much energy as possible,” Latta said, blasting regulations that make it more difficult to support U.S. energy. “Here we are sitting on these massive reserves across the country in oil and natural gas. We have to make sure that we’re writing the legislation and the regulations following that we can do it.”

Anyone’s race: Sources say the race for E&C chair could really go either way in the coming weeks. A senior GOP staffer said that some members of the steering committee who previously thought Guthrie was leading in the race are now changing their tune. “We really feel like it’s a live ball, and it’s the one leadership race that if you have any bet on leadership races today, it’s the one leadership race that I don’t know whose side I would put money on,” the staffer said. 

Some background: Since 2010, Latta has served on all six subcommittees under the Energy and Commerce Committee, chairing both the Communications and Technology Subcommittee and the Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee. Latta first joined Congress in 2007, and has seen around 33 bills and provisions signed into law, boosting domestic nuclear programs, grid security, consumer protections, and more. 

Read more from Callie here. 

LAWMAKERS DISCUSS HOW TO ADVANCE PERMITTING BILL IN LAME-DUCK SESSION: The authors of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, Sens. Joe Manchin and John Barrasso, met with House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman earlier this week on how to advance the bill in the lame duck session, Politico reports.  

“We went through why it’s important we get it done now [in the lame duck session],” Barrasso told Daily on Energy alum Josh Siegel. “So, we are trying to figure out a vehicle for passing it.” 

Barrasso added that he and Manchin are speaking with Westerman about adding provisions to the bill to broaden NEPA reforms. Westerman has recently said he would only ask House Speaker Mike Johnson to take up the permitting bill if it included NEPA provisions backed by Democrats. 

TRUMP’S DOE PICK CHRIS WRIGHT’S STANCE ON ENERGY SOURCES: President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for energy secretary, Chris Wright, will play a vital role in the incoming administration’s goal of increasing oil production and lowering energy costs for people.

Wright, the founder and CEO of Liberty Energy, an oilfield service firm, has been praised by those in the oil industry. But, he has met opposition from environmentalists, who have called him a “climate denier” and claim he will prevent the economy from transitioning toward clean energy.

However, Wright does not oppose all renewable energy sources. 

For example, Wright has expressed support for nuclear energy. He currently serves on the board of Oklo, a small modular reactor developer.

In a debate last year with Julio Friedmann, a former Energy Department official in the Obama administration, Wright said he is a “huge nuclear fan.” He argued that nuclear power can work in any weather condition and generate significant power without taking up much land.

“Nuclear can provide high temperature process heat,” he said. “It’s the most important thing we get from energy, because it’s from high-temperature process heat that we can make steel, and cement, and plastics, and fertilizer, and all the materials you need to make everything else. We can’t make wind turbines or solar panels without high-temperature process heat.”

Maydeen has a full rundown of Wright’s views on different energy sources here. 

OIL PRICES SET FOR WEEKLY GAIN: The price of oil was headed toward weekly gains Friday afternoon, as banks have begun to predict where prices will average out for the end of this year and next. 

At around 1 p.m., international benchmark Brent Crude was trading at around $75.13 per barrel, a 1.21% increase while West Texas Intermediate saw a 1.48% increase and was priced at $71.15 per barrel. 

While oil prices have primarily stayed below $80 in recent months, even dipping into the $60s a few times this fall, Goldman Sachs has revealed it believes prices of Brent will average at around $80 per barrel for 2024. 

“Our base case is that Brent stays in a $70-85 range, with high spare capacity limiting price upside, and the price elasticity of OPEC and shale supply limiting price downside. However, the risks of breaking out are growing,” the bank said, according to Reuters. 

Thanks to Russia’s war on Ukraine and ongoing tensions in the Middle East, prices could continue to rise into early 2025, particularly as demand is projected to keep rising. Still, the incoming Trump administration is expected to support increased oil production, which would put downward pressure on prices.

On Friday, J.P. Morgan said in a note that it believes Brent will average $73 per barrel in 2025 and even drop below $60 by the end of 2026, per Reuters. 

“Trump’s energy agenda presents downside risks to oil prices from deregulation and increased U.S. production, while also posing upside risks by exerting pressure on Iran, Venezuela, and possibly Russia to limit their oil exports and revenues,” the bank said. 

RUSSIA TO LIFT GASOLINE EXPORT BANS: Russia is reportedly getting ready to end its ban on gasoline exports as its war on Ukraine continues to escalate. 

The details: Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak revealed on Friday that the Kremlin is preparing paperwork to lift its restrictions on gas exports, according to Reuters. The ban was last extended in August through the end of the year in an effort to ensure market stability amid increased demand and scheduled refinery work. 

Novak did not provide an exact date, but indicated that the documents needed to lift the restrictions should be completed in the coming days. 

Last year, Russia exported around 5.76 million tons of gasoline – primarily to African countries such as Nigeria, Libya, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. Roughly 13% of Russia’s gasoline production is exported, as the country produced around 43.9 million metric tons in 2023, according to Reuters. 

Some background: News of the gasoline restrictions being lifted comes as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensifies. On Thursday, the Ukrainian government said a barrage of eight missiles – which included what is thought to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) – struck the city of Dnipro. While U.S. officials have disputed that an ICBM was launched at the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin later took credit for the strike, saying his military had used a new missile system. 

A SIGN OF GOP SUPPORT FOR CARBON CAPTURE SUBSIDIES: Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski has joined Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet to introduce bipartisan legislation to support expanded tax credits for carbon removal projects — a sign that carbon capture subsidies will remain on the table in the Republican-controlled Congress.

The details: The bill, known as the Carbon Dioxide Removal Investment Act, was introduced on Wednesday. It would expand on existing federal incentives for carbon capture and sequestration by establishing a “technology-neutral” credit for carbon dioxide removal projects – particularly those ready to be deployed immediately. 

The bill would provide a credit of $250 per metric ton of carbon removed for qualifying carbon removal projects, except for those targeting carbon from biomass. These projects would see a credit of  $110 per metric ton of carbon removed.

In order to be eligible for the credit, projects must be able to store removed carbon for at least 1,000 years, provide net carbon dioxide removal based on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions assessment, and have a high confidence interval for removing carbon based on public demonstrations and field trials. Additional requirements apply for biomass and marine-based carbon dioxide removal projects. 

Read more from Callie here. 

RUNDOWN 

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