WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Friday, readers! We have officially entered August – hard to believe how fast this summer is flying by. If you haven’t had a chance to visit a National Park yet this season, next Monday just might be the day to go. The National Park Service is offering free entrance to all parks, in celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act signed during President Donald Trump’s first administration.
In today’s edition of Daily on Energy, we take a closer look at where Drill, Baby, Drill stands as production levels rose this spring while the rig count has continued to drop.
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Plus, keep reading to find out how much it will cost to keep a coal plant in Michigan running.
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: Interest in electric vehicles is falling among liberal voters, and one researcher suggested that Elon Musk is to blame.
“We thought that liberals would be pretty stable because EVs are so historically associated with the green movement and that Musk’s rightward turn would bring conservatives on board,” Alexandra Flores, a psychologist with Williams College, told The Guardian this week.
“But the opposite happened – over time conservatives remained relatively steady in their lack of interest in EVs and Tesla, while liberals’ attitudes really dropped. They are now equally unlikely to buy an EV as they are a Tesla,” she said.
‘DRILL, BABY, DRILL’ UPDATE: Crude oil production in the United States grew to record levels during the month of May, hitting approximately 13.49 million barrels per day, according to new data released by the Energy Information Administration.
The previous record was hit in April, when levels were around 13.46 million bpd. The increase in output was seen in the Gulf of Mexico – which has since been renamed the Gulf of America – jumping to around 1.80 million bpd. According to EIA data, this is the highest since last December.
Production also rose onshore with states like Texas increasing output to 5.752 million bpd. Other high oil-producing states, like New Mexico, Alaska, and Colorado, also saw increased output.
Dropping rigs: The record levels of production mark a win for President Donald Trump, who promised to increase drilling and energy production in the U.S. But it remains to be seen if output will continue to rise, as the number of operating rigs has dropped throughout June and most of July.
This afternoon, Baker Hughes released its latest count of the number of rigs operating in the U.S. – both on land and offshore. Per the new data, the number of active rigs has dropped to 540. While this is only two fewer than last week, it is 46 fewer than this time last year. Of the two that were dropped, one was located on land and the other in inland waters.
OPEC+ POISED TO RAISE PRODUCTION AGAIN: The global oil markets could see a substantial increase in production from OPEC+ once again, as new reports indicate the bloc will approve an output hike for September this coming Sunday.
The details: Sources familiar with the talks told Reuters that the eight members of OPEC+ may increase production by as much as 548,000 bpd, which is equivalent to four monthly increments. OPEC+ boosted production by this much for August, marking an increase from the 411,000 additional bpd announced for May, June, and July.
One source told the outlet that there is a chance the bloc pursues a much smaller production hike, such as the increase seen in April (only 138,000 additional bpd). If OPEC+ matches the August hike, it will have fully recovered its previous cuts of 2.2 million bpd.
The impact: Analysts have predicted that OPEC+ will not release any additional oil after September, particularly as Trump moves to increase U.S. supply and foreign exports. A larger hike would be warmly welcomed by the president, as he has previously called on OPEC+ to pump more oil into the market in order to lower prices.
With OPEC+’s decision looming, prices already began to fall this afternoon. Both international and domestic benchmarks were down by nearly 3% as of around 2:30 p.m. ET. Brent Crude had fallen by 2.82% and was priced at $69.68, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 2.80% to $67.32.
EXXON PRESSES TRUMP TO USE TRADE TALKS TO PUSH EUROPEAN ESG RULES: Exxon Mobil is looking to leverage the Trump administration’s trade negotiations with Europe to ease new environmental, social, and governance rules that many U.S. based companies have called a “barrier” to trade.
The details: The oil giant specifically has its eye on the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which requires companies to provide reports on ESG impacts and establish liability over ESG violations starting in 2027. The aim of the rule is to limit harm to the environment and human rights throughout EU and non-EU supply chains. However, Exxon and several other major corporations claim it will lead to extensive delays.
“It is going to tangle them up in more bureaucratic red tape in Europe . . . and subject [companies] to bone-crushing penalties, so that’s a big issue that is yet to be addressed, and hopefully will as part of these [trade] negotiations,” Exxon CEO Darren Woods said this week, according to the Financial Times.
Woods called it “counter” to everything the Trump administration is doing in terms of simplifying regulatory processes and accused the EU of replacing phasing-out climate policies in the U.S. with their own.
MICHIGAN COAL PLANT COST NEARLY $29 MILLION TO REMAIN OPEN: The Department of Energy’s order to continue operations at the J.H. Campbell power plant in Michigan past its planned retirement has come at a cost.
E&E News reported that it cost the utility Consumers Energy $29 million over just five weeks to keep the plant open after its planned retirement, according to its quarterly Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The utility said it plans to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for reimbursements.
The plant was slated to retire on May 3. But the DOE in May ordered the plant to remain operational at least until August 21 in order to meet high energy demands in the region during the summer season.
BLM TO HOLD COAL LEASE BID SALE: The Bureau of Land Management plans to hold a sealed-bid auction in September to lease federal coal at the Freedom Mine in Mercer County, North Dakota.
The lease sale is part of the Trump administration’s wide-ranging effort to revive the coal industry.
The Coteau Properties Company applied to lease about 1,070 acres, which contain an estimated 18.3 million tons of recoverable coal. BLM said if it is approved, it would allow operations to continue through 2045.
“This lease sale reflects the Trump administration’s commitment to expanding domestic energy production and ensuring a stable supply of affordable, reliable power,” Acting BLM Director Bill Groffy said in a news release. “The proposed lease will help maintain operations at one of the nation’s most productive lignite coal mines, supporting local jobs and reinforcing America’s energy security.”
GLOBAL CLIMATE BANKING ALLIANCE SEES YET ANOTHER DEPARTURE: The Net-Zero Banking Alliance continues to shrink, as Barclays announced today its plans to withdraw from the global climate group.
The details: Earlier today, the British multinational bank said it would be exiting the global alliance and indicated that the group was no longer fit for purpose as so many other major firms have left.
“After consideration, we have decided to withdraw from the Net Zero Banking Alliance,” the bank said in a statement. “With the departure of most of the global banks, the organisation no longer has the membership to support our transition.”
Barclays insisted that the institution is still committed to reaching net-zero by 2050, and will continue to finance climate-related tech while also ensuring energy security for customers and clients.
Barclays now joins HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and a number of Canadian banks that have ended their membership with the alliance.
WHITE HOUSE PLANS PRICE GUARANTEES TO BOOST RARE EARTHS: White House officials told rare earth firms that it would set minimum price guarantees for domestic rare earth products, Reuters reported.
Five sources told the outlet that Trump’s trade advisor, Peter Navarro, and David Copley, a National Security Council official, led a meeting last week with rare earth firms. The meeting also included Apple, Microsoft, and Corning.
Navarro and Copley told the firms that agreements similar to the Pentagon’s deal with MP Materials earlier this month, which included a floor price on rare earth products, were in the works.
The sources told Reuters that the White House is seeking to boost U.S. rare earth supply at the speed at which the U.S. developed the COVID-19 vaccines in less than a year.
Navarro confirmed the meeting to Reuters, telling the outlet that the administration plans to “move in ‘Trump Time,’ which is to say as fast as possible while maintaining efficiency” to address weakness in the sector.
RUNDOWN
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