2025-07-23 21:54

Rare for states to broker sale of privately-owned infrastructure Closure could increase gasoline prices, already highest in U.S HF Sinclair among those approached; held talks last year for deal NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) - California government officials are trying to find a buyer for Valero Energy's (VLO.N) , opens new tab Benicia refinery near San Francisco, three sources familiar with the matter said, an unusual effort as the clock ticks down on the company's planned closure of the facility in April. The rare attempt by a state government to broker the sale of privately-owned infrastructure reflects its growing concerns over protecting fuel supplies in the most populous U.S. state and keeping a lid on prices, where California's nearly 28 million drivers already pay among the highest prices for gasoline in the country. Sign up here. California's effort to save the refinery from closing also marks a shift from the focus of government policy in recent years to champion green initiatives and restrict fossil fuel usage, that has led to an often tense relationship between the state and oil companies, including the second-largest U.S. refiner by capacity. The state's primary energy and policy planning agency, the California Energy Commission (CEC), has actively sought buyers for the plant, three sources told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The CEC declined to say whether it is engaged directly with buyers for the facility but acknowledged it is working to ensure the facility remains open. "CEC is engaging with market players to explore pathways for the continued operation of in-state refineries," the agency said in an emailed statement. Valero, which reports earnings on Thursday, did not respond to comment requests. Earlier this year, Valero announced its intention to cease operations by April 2026 at the 145,000-barrel-per-day San Francisco-area refinery amid worries about California's declining fuel supplies and high gasoline prices. The San Antonio, Texas-based refiner is also reviewing whether to continue operations at the rest of its refineries in California, including the 91,300-bpd Wilmington plant near Los Angeles. This comes after Phillips 66 (PSX.N) , opens new tab said last October it will shut its Los Angeles-area refinery due to "market dynamics" and begin in October winding down operations at the 139,000-bpd plant. The two refineries, combined, produce roughly 17% of the state's gasoline supply. Their shutting, alongside other closures and refineries converted to produce renewable fuels, like Phillips 66's Rodeo facility last year, will leave California even more dependent on more expensive fuel imports that would further drive up prices. Average regular gasoline prices in California on Wednesday were $4.484 per gallon, the highest in the nation, according to industry group AAA. The average U.S. price was $3.155 per gallon. Studies by the University of California Davis and the University of Southern California said, respectively, the refinery closures could push average prices to $6 and $8 per gallon. BUYER UNIVERSE Industry experts have said getting an agreement in place by the planned April closure of Benicia could be difficult. A thorough sale process, including adequate time for bidders to do due diligence and negotiate an agreeable price, traditionally takes place over several months. Even once an agreement is reached, refinery sales typically take between three to six months to close. "It would be a pretty aggressive timeline to get it done," said Skip York, chief energy strategist at Turner, Mason & Co. Among the parties contacted by CEC about Benicia is HF Sinclair(DINO.N) , opens new tab, a source said. The refiner and fuel distributor was in talks with Valero last summer about acquiring Benicia, but negotiations collapsed over an environmental issue at the plant, two people familiar with the matter said. HF Sinclair did not respond to requests for comment. The CEC has also contacted parties that have owned fuel-producing plants in Europe, a source said. The European Union's strict environmental standards would make them more agreeable to operating in California, multiple sources added. The state government's climate-first agenda has brought California into conflict with American energy companies, which have criticized state policies for creating difficult business conditions and pushing up pump prices. There have also been tensions between California's green agenda and the federal government. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a congressional resolution to the state's landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035. California and 10 other states have sued to the repeal. California's energy regulator last month recommended new rules to encourage more private investment in fuel imports and a pause on refiner profit limits in response to Governor Gavin Newsom's call for reliable fuel supplies and a bid to save the struggling refiners in the state. Newsom's office declined to comment. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/rare-move-california-steps-find-buyer-valero-refinery-avoid-closure-sources-say-2025-07-23/

2025-07-23 21:45

Farmers opposed due to eminent domain petitions Project backed by Invenergy for solar and wind power Clashed with administration's stance on renewables White House previously praised $1.7 billion Invenergy investment Project faced decade-long development before loan termination WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The administration of President Donald Trump on Wednesday axed a loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express transmission project to send power from wind and solar energy projects in Kansas to cities in the Midwest and East. American farmers had opposed the conditional $4.9 billion loan guarantee that was initiated by the administration of former President Joe Biden, mainly due to the Grain Belt filing dozens of eminent domain, or compulsory acquisition, petitions against state landowners. Sign up here. The 800-mile (1,290 km) project by privately held Invenergy was described by the company as the second-longest transmission line in U.S. history and a national "energy security backbone" that would connect four grid regions, including the PJM Interconnection, the largest U.S. grid spanning states from Illinois to New Jersey. The Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office, or LPO, issued the conditional loan guarantee in November. The department said in a release on Wednesday it found the conditions necessary to issue the guarantee were unlikely to be met and "it is not critical for the federal government to have a role in supporting this project." Invenergy said it would finance the project privately. "While we are disappointed about the LPO loan guarantee, a privately financed Grain Belt Express transmission superhighway will advance President Trump’s agenda of American energy and technology dominance while delivering billions of dollars in energy cost savings, strengthening grid reliability and resiliency, and creating thousands of American jobs," a project spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Jigar Shah, who led the office that approved the loan guarantee during the Biden administration, said the cancellation was against the law. "This decision is illegal," Shah said in a post on LinkedIn. "When the Loan Programs Office (LPO) applicant meets all of the requirements that are set for the conditional commitment, then the Department of Energy is obligated to close the loan." The White House on May 9 had praised a $1.7 billion Invenergy investment in the project in a "list of wins" that bolster the U.S. economy and enhance national security. But Grain Belt also jarred with the administration's opposition to renewable energy sources, which it views as unreliable and expensive compared to fossil fuels. Environmental group Sierra Club said the decision would increase electricity costs in a state that is dependent on coal-fired power. "This reeks of desperation to satisfy political interests at the expense of Missouri families and businesses throughout the state that may have to pay higher electric rates because of this decision,” said Gretchen Waddell-Barwick, director of the Sierra Club's Missouri chapter. Trump only tapped the LPO for nuclear power in his first term. The Energy Department has said it is reviewing loans, including the $85 billion in closed loans and conditional commitments LPO made between the day Trump won the election in November to the day he came back into office in January. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/trump-axes-loan-grain-belt-power-transmission-project-2025-07-23/

2025-07-23 21:22

July 23 (Reuters) - Texas state lawmakers met during a special session on Wednesday, to address for the first time the deadly flash floods that hit the Texas Hill Country this month, killing at least 137 people. Senator Charles Perry, chairperson for the joint Senate-House committee investigating the preparation for and response to the flooding, said the committee did not want to assign blame, but sought "constructive policy solutions which will remit future loss of life." Sign up here. Texas Governor Greg Abbott included the investigation on the agenda of a special legislative session that opened on Monday. Abbott said on social media that the death toll from the July 4 flash flooding ticked up to 137, and a man and a girl remained missing. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, was the first person lawmakers called to testify. He described the vast state's emergency response system as fragmented. Under the system, each of 254 counties maintains control over ordering evacuations. Such an order was not given in the hardest hit areas earlier this month. Kidd told lawmakers that to improve preparation for natural disasters, he needed better in-house radar systems, better communications systems to warn local leaders and residents, and more resources for evacuations or to assist residents who shelter in place. The high casualty toll ranked as one of the deadliest U.S. flood events in decades, raising questions about the lack of flash-flood warning sirens in hardest hit Kerr County. Many have expressed concern about vacancies at National Weather Service offices due to staffing cuts under President Donald Trump. The legislative committee investigating the floods will next meet on July 31 in Kerr County. The committee will write a report to be forwarded to the full Texas Senate and House to inform possible legislation during the month-long special session. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/texas-lawmakers-investigate-flash-floods-death-toll-hits-137-2025-07-23/

2025-07-23 21:16

White House taps mining executive for top NSC role, sources say Copley expected to focus on supply chains, critical minerals Trump administration sees rare earths access as key to national security WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The White House has tapped a former mining executive to head an office at the National Security Council focused on strengthening supply chains, three sources said, as a pared-down NSC zeroes in on a few of President Donald Trump's most oft-stated priorities. David Copley, who was chosen earlier in the year to serve as the top mining official at the U.S. National Energy Dominance Council, or NEDC, an interagency body chaired by the interior secretary, is now a senior director at the NSC, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss non-public personnel moves. Sign up here. The shift in roles reflects the White House ramping up its efforts to gain ground against China in a critical minerals arms race that touches a broad swath of global industries. China recently demonstrated its leverage by withholding exports of rare earth magnets, upending global markets and forcing U.S. officials back to the negotiating table, before reversing course. At the NSC, Copley will focus on strengthening U.S. supply chains and boosting U.S. access to the critical minerals that are often vital components of advanced military technology, two of the sources said. A White House official said Copley, who did not respond to a request for comment, will be overseeing the NSC's "international economics" component. Copley's precise title was not immediately clear, nor was it clear if he has formally left the NEDC. The decision to tap a mining expert for a top NSC position offers a window into how national security priorities have shifted under U.S. President Donald Trump. The NSC has been sharply downsized in recent months. Offices overseeing Africa and international organizations have been among those shuttered or downgraded, in line with the administration's skepticism of multilateral institutions. A special forces veteran was recently tapped to head the Latin America office, a move that comes as Trump has openly considered unilateral action against Mexican drug cartels. But Trump's focus on obtaining critical minerals like cobalt and nickel has never waned, and China's near-total control of the critical minerals industry has long rankled the president. In May, Reuters reported that Copley was among a clutch of officials who had been working on plans to pull Greenland deeper into America's sphere of influence, in part to ensure access to the island's vast deposits of rare earths. One of the sources said Copley's remit is, broadly speaking, "geostrategic affairs." Geostrategy is a field of international relations that focuses in part on the interplay of resource wealth and security, a matter of particular relevance for an administration that has made securing access to foreign resources a central element of its foreign policy. In April, the U.S. and Ukraine signed a sprawling deal to give the United States preferential access to Ukrainian minerals. An economist by training, Copley is an intelligence officer with the U.S. Navy Reserve, and he worked on Iraq-related issues for the State Department during Trump's first term. He previously held roles at minerals producer U.S. Silica. Copley consulted for Boston Consulting Group earlier in his career and served as an intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, a component of the U.S. Department of Defense. Copley until recently had worked in a strategic development role for Denver-based Newmont (NEM.N) , opens new tab, the world's largest gold miner by production with a market value of $54 billion. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white-house-taps-mining-expert-head-national-security-office-sources-say-2025-07-23/

2025-07-23 21:06

Fed says politics plays no part in its decisions Bessent's charge of a political Fed echoes Trump's Trump wants Fed to cut rates WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday suggested without evidence that the Federal Reserve's widely followed economic forecasts are motivated by politics, as the Trump administration steps up pressure on the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates. "The Fed publishes something called a summary of economic projections, and it's pretty politically biased," Bessent said, summarizing the projections as forecasts for one to two quarter-point interest-rate cuts this year. President Donald Trump has demanded the Fed deliver an immediate 300 basis-point rate cut. Sign up here. The Fed publishes interest-rate forecasts from each of its 19 policymakers each quarter and does not identify which policymaker made which forecast. In June, eight projected two quarter-point interest-rate cuts this year, seven projected none, two saw one interest rate cut and two saw three. Two of the Fed Board's Trump appointees - Governor Christopher Waller and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman -- have each articulated economic reasons for supporting a rate cut this month. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, also a Trump appointee, has not signaled such support. Fed policymakers universally reject the idea that politics have any role in their monetary policy decisions, and say that to suggest they do undermines the central bank's credibility and its ability to do its job fighting inflation and promoting maximum employment. https://www.reuters.com/business/bessent-says-fed-forecasts-politically-biased-2025-07-23/

2025-07-23 21:03

Dicamba use was halted in 2024 by federal court EPA says chemical poses no significant human health or environmental risk Dicamba can drift and cause damage to nearby plants WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed approvals for three products containing the weedkiller dicamba, whose use was halted by a federal court in 2024, arguing it does not pose a significant human health or environmental risk. Cotton and soybean farmers had sprayed dicamba on crops that were genetically engineered to resist the herbicide, which controls tough weeds. Environmental groups have criticized the chemical because it can drift from where it is sprayed and damage neighboring plants. Sign up here. A 2024 U.S. District Court ruling found the EPA previously violated public input procedures in its approval of three dicamba products, and vacated the product registrations. As a result, farmers were unable to spray dicamba on crops this year. The EPA has received applications from Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) , opens new tab, BASF and Syngenta for new approvals, the agency said in regulatory documents. Bayer, which sold the dicamba herbicide XtendiMax, said it was pleased the EPA opened a public comment period on its proposal to approve dicamba usage. "We are confident that low-volatility dicamba herbicides, when used according to the label, can be used safely and successfully on-target," Bayer said. BASF said it would work with regulators to ensure farmers can use dicamba. Syngenta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An EPA review found no risk to human health from the products, but some risk to certain plants, it said in a release. To mitigate that risk, the agency is proposing restrictions on how much of the chemical can be applied and when, the release said. The top pesticides official at the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Kyle Kunkler, previously worked as a lobbyist for the American Soybean Association, which has supported allowing farmers to spray dicamba on soybeans. The association said it was reviewing the EPA's proposal and that dicamba is a critical tool for farmers. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-epa-moves-approve-dicamba-weedkiller-use-cotton-soybeans-2025-07-23/