WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Friday, readers! We made it to the end of another week. Kicking off today’s edition of Daily on Energy, we take a look at remarks from Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairman John Boozman, who spoke with Maydeen this week about what needs to be done to pass successful and meaningful permitting reform.
Plus, Callie and Maydeen touch on the secretary of energy’s plans to refill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and how much that might cost.
Meanwhile, OPEC+’s planned output hike is expected to begin in just a few weeks. However, Russian officials have thrown cold water on whether it will actually last.
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: “There’s a good chance that we can actually see some legislation passed that would be meaningful and have an impact,” Republican Arkansas Sen. John Boozman told Maydeen about the recent talks on permitting reform in Congress.
There are “some little things that perhaps need a little bit of compromise,” Boozman said, citing things like permitting “right of ways,” but it’s “not anything we can’t overcome.”
“I don’t see it being a reconciliation issue,” he said. “I think this is something we could actually take the House bill, modify it a little bit, and then get it passed.”
WRIGHT SEEKS $20B TO REFILL OIL RESERVE: Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he would seek $20 billion to refill the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its maximum capacity, Bloomberg reports.
Wright told Bloomberg he would aim to restore holdings “just close to the top” to maintain efficient operating status.
President Donald Trump has vowed to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of his broader plan to boost domestic oil production. The reserve is an emergency supply of crude oil meant to mitigate supply disruptions.
“Ultimately that’s what it was built for — to have the maximum security for the American people,” Wright said.
In 2022, the Biden administration began tapping into the supply when Russia invaded Ukraine to counter rising oil prices. In November, the Biden administration made its final purchase of oil for the reserve as an effort to replenish the supply.
The Energy Department used the last of its funds and Congress would need to approve funding for the department to purchase more oil for the reserve.
U.S. WITHDRAWS FROM UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE DAMAGE FUND: The U.S. is exiting from a United Nations climate damage fund meant to help poor countries that suffer climate disasters.
Reuters reports that Rebecca Lawlor, the U.S. representative on the fund’s board, sent a letter on March 4 to the fund’s co-chair Jean-Christophe Donnellier stating the U.S. withdrawal is “effective immediately.”
“Both the United States Board Member and United States Alternate Board Member will be stepping down, not to be replaced by a U.S. representative,” Lawlor wrote.
At COP28, around 200 countries vowed to launch a fund for developing countries harmed by extreme weather. The climate damage fund is hosted by the World Bank. Reuters reports that, as of January, wealthy countries pledged $741 million to the fund, with the U.S. putting $17.5 million. It is uncertain whether the U.S. will honor the pledge.
The Trump administration has taken action to withdraw the U.S. from various international climate groups and meetings. In his first day in office, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement. Recently, he pulled the U.S. out of the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
JAPAN AND GERMANY TO FILL GAP LEFT BY US EXITING CLEAN ENERGY PARTNERSHIP: Both Japan and Germany have announced their plans to support and lead the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
The details: The Just Energy Transition Partnership, announced in 2021, primarily works to deliver around $45 billion to developing countries — such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and South Africa — in order to facilitate a transition towards clean energy. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that the U.S. would be exiting the partnership, an expected decision given the president’s previous moves stepping away from international climate groups and meetings.
In addition to leaving the partnership, Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, a United Nations climate damage fund, and pulled scientists from attending the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
In February, Germany confirmed it would replace the U.S. as a co-leader of the partnership and help secure around $20 billion for Indonesia’s energy transition, according to Bloomberg. As of Friday, Japan is joining in those efforts.
“The US has withdrawn from its role as co-lead of the JETP with Indonesia,” Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reportedly said. “Japan will continue to support Indonesia’s efforts towards decarbonization and energy transition, while fulfilling its role together with Germany, which has taken on the co-leadership.”
RUSSIA SUGGESTS OPEC+ MAY REVERSE PLANNED OUTPUT HIKE: Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak indicated this morning that OPEC+ may switch gears after increasing its output of oil next month.
The details: In April, the oil producing bloc is poised to gradually increase oil production and ease restriction after months of delays. The group is expected to increase production by around 138,000 barrels per day, according to Reuters. In December, OPEC+ said the gradual increase would extend until September 2026, when production cuts would be fully recovered.
For weeks, there has been continued speculation as to whether OPEC+ will actually go through with the increase in production, given repeated delays and market conditions. Novak insisted today that the output hike will happen. However, the increase may not last long. “If there is an imbalance in the market, we can always play in the other direction,” Novak said, according to Reuters.
The impact: Oil prices rose on Friday following Novak’s remarks, ending the week with notable gains after prices dipped on fears of U.S. tariffs. As of around 12 p.m. EST, International Benchmark Brent Crude was up by around 1.21%, with one barrel priced at roughly $70.30. Similarly, West Texas Intermediate was up by 1.04% at around $67.05 per barrel.
BREAKING – TRUMP TEAM WEIGHS EASING OIL PRICE CAP IF TALKS PROGRESS: Trump administration officials are weighing easing the price cap on Russian oil if there is progress in talks regarding peace in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.
The idea that the U.S. would loosen the price cap, the novel multilateral policy meant to reduce Moscow’s war funding, represents a further break with Western allies regarding Russia.
But Bloomberg’s sources said that the price cap could be eased even as other sanctions were tightened, as suggested by Trump this morning.
GAO SAYS CONGRESS CANNOT REPEAL CALIFORNIA VEHICLE WAIVER: The Government Accountability Office said yesterday that Congress cannot cancel California’s vehicle emission waiver via the Congressional Review Act.
In recent weeks, Republican lawmakers have sought to overturn the Biden administration’s climate and energy policies through the CRA, which allows lawmakers to bypass the filibuster and take simple majority votes in the House and Senate to overturn recently imposed regulations.
On the list of regulations on the Republican chopping block is the California Clean Air Act Waiver granted by the Environmental Protection Agency, which allows the state to implement stricter vehicle emission standards than federal requirements. California has required all new car sales to be zero-emissions by 2035.
Republicans argue the waiver results in higher vehicle prices for consumers and brings manufacturing complexities to automakers. Trump has vowed to slash the waiver.
However, GAO said California’s waiver is not a rule, and thus not subject to cancellation via CRA.
ICYMI — SOME OFFSHORE WIND PROJECTS MAY SEE LENIENCY FROM TRUMP: Not all hope is lost for the offshore wind industry, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum indicated yesterday that some projects may not face as much scrutiny as newly proposed projects.
The details: During a visit to Venture Global’s liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana on Thursday, Burgum confirmed to Bloomberg Television that projects already under construction will face different treatment.
“By executive order, we are looking at all the wind projects that are going on, and existing ones will receive different treatment than those that are proposed,” he told the outlet. “But I won’t be pre-determinant. We are in the process of taking a look at those.”
Burgum continued, criticizing the cost of large offshore wind projects, insisting they would not exist if it weren’t for tax subsidies allocated by previous administrations. “This is not a young or new industry,” he said. “It should be able to stand its own by now.”
A reminder: On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order blocking all lease sales for offshore wind projects and pausing any new approvals, permits, leases, or loans for wind projects both on and offshore. While the order claimed no rights under existing leases will be affected by leasing withdrawals, it gave Burgum the authority to conduct reviews regarding terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases. The executive order also called on Burgum to conduct a comprehensive assessment and review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices, considering environmental and economic impacts, before issuing any permits or approvals for projects onshore and offshore.
RUNDOWN
Bloomberg Skiing’s New Climate Forecast: 30 Feet in June
Inside Climate News In Arizona’s Famed Sky Islands, Trump Administration’s Funding Freeze Stalls Crucial Conservation Work
CNN A striking new visualization looks like a flower in bloom but tells an alarming story about what’s happening to the planet
