2024-09-26 20:57

ERIE, Pennsylvania Sept 26 (Reuters) - Drillers in energy-rich Pennsylvania this week called on Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to detail her position on natural gas, a fuel the energy industry bills as clean but which climate activists say is a global warming menace. President Joe Biden put a freeze on new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits in January to study its environmental impacts, in an election-year move aimed at making gains with the party's green voting blocks. But it is now Harris squaring off against Republican rival Donald Trump, who has said he would immediately lift the permit freeze if elected. If she wins, she will likely be tasked with unwinding the pause and incorporating any new recommendations from the promised review, which the administration says is expected to land after November's election. Pennsylvania, a must win state for both Harris and Trump, is the nation's second largest producer of natural gas. The state's natural gas is tightly locked in shale rock and requires fracking to extract. "We need more details," said Dave Callahan, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, whose members gathered in northeast Pennsylvania this week for an annual conference. Reuters talked to a dozen natural gas and drilling executives who attended the conference, all of whom said they are still guessing about Harris's energy policy. "I think the public should want to know what her position is on these matters prior to the election, because, ultimately, they are the ones who will be impacted," said Rob Boulware, director of stakeholder relations for Seneca Resources Company, a major Marcellus Shale natural gas producer. A spokesperson for Harris’ campaign acknowledged the industry’s need for clarity, but suggested the details of her approach on LNG need to be guided by the outcome of the review. "The Vice President believes that we need to make decisions informed by the best economic and scientific information -including projected impacts on energy costs, energy security, the environment, and public health,” the campaign aide said. Harris has adopted a plan of what aides call "strategic ambiguity" on energy policy to avoid alienating environmental activists and moderate voters this November. She no longer supports a ban on oil and gas fracking on federal lands, like she did during her 2020 presidential run. The United States is the world's top producer of natural gas, and became the No. 1 exporter of LNG in 2022 as Europe looked to America to wean itself off Russia's vast energy supplies following the invasion of Ukraine. That’s been a boon for U.S. natural gas producers like Devon Energy Corp (DVN.N) , opens new tab and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) , opens new tab. In July, a federal judge blocked Biden's decision to freeze new LNG export permits, ruling the administration overreached its authority. However, the ruling didn't require the administration to issue new permits and it has only issued one since. Toby Rice, CEO of EQT, a major natural gas producer, told a room of natural gas officials at the coalition gathering that political decisions were harming consumers. "How can we have tremendous energy resources under our feet, but energy bills in this country are going up 35%?" he asked. "These bizarre things are happening in energy because political force has overwhelmed market forces." Much of the increase in gas prices in recent years relates to increased global demand for U.S. natural gas since Russia invaded Ukraine. In June, U.S. producers exported 356.4 billion cubic feet of LNG, up from 109 billion cubic feet just four years earlier, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Roughly 40% went to European allies such as Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. North America's LNG export capacity, meanwhile, is projected to more than double by the end of this decade to over 24 billion cubic feet per day, the EIA projects. Currently, gas from Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale flows to the Gulf Coast and Maryland's Cove Point terminal before it is exported. But the industry harbors hopes for an LNG export facility closer to home in the Philadelphia area. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/natural-gas-producers-press-harris-answers-battleground-state-2024-09-26/

2024-09-26 20:57

HOUSTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A Texas commission unanimously on Thursday approved the Permian Basin Reliability Plan, which is designed to expand power grid infrastructure in the United States' largest oilfield to accommodate rapidly growing demand from the oil and gas industry. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) directed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to compile the plan in December last year, two months after ConocoPhillips (COP.N) , opens new tab, ExxonMobil (XOM.N) , opens new tab, Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD.N), Diamondback (FANG.O) , opens new tab, Chevron (CVX.N) , opens new tab and Devon Energy (DVN.N) , opens new tab submitted a report with financial information company S&P Global warning the commission of a significant increase in electric load demand in the Permian basin in the coming years. CONTEXT Electrifying oilfield operations can reduce emissions and eliminate pollution and noise associated with diesel-powered rigs and fracking equipment. The Texas power grid has come under significant strain, with the state home to some of the most energy-intensive industries, including data centers, cryptocurrency mining and oilfield operations. Surging population growth and sweltering heat have also increased stress on Texas' vulnerable electrical grid, last month driving demand to a record high. Around 29% of surveyed respondents who had participated in the latest Dallas Fed Energy Survey said uncertainty about grid access was a top challenge to electrifying their operations. Another quarter of those polled primarily cited grid infrastructure challenges as a hurdle to electrification. BY THE NUMBERS ERCOT, which operates most of the state's power grid for 27 million customers, forecasts electricity demand in the Permian Basin could grow to nearly 27 gigawatts by 2038, equal to almost a third of the current summer demand of the entire ERCOT system, according to ERCOT. ERCOT estimates that the required transmission upgrades to meet the jump in demand could range between $12.95 billion and $15.32 billion. KEY QUOTE “Ensuring the Permian Basin has the reliable electricity it needs to power Texas’ world-leading oil and gas industry is a top priority for the Commission, and we have taken swift action to direct ERCOT to develop a transmission infrastructure plan for the region,” PUCT Commissioner Lori Cobos said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/texas-approves-plan-boost-oil-gas-drillers-power-grid-access-2024-09-26/

2024-09-26 20:56

FTC cracks down on oil megamergers, taking aim at top executives Chevron-Hess deal can go ahead without John Hess board offer HOUSTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust regulators will bar Hess CEO John Hess from taking a board seat as a condition of its go-ahead of oil producer Chevron's (CVX.N) , opens new tab $53 billion purchase of Hess (HES.N) , opens new tab, people close to the matter said. The Federal Trade Commission's consent for the deal will not allow Hess to become a board member, the people said, without explaining why the ban was imposed. Chevron's proposed all-stock acquisition of Hess, first announced in October, was one of a string of multi-billion-dollar U.S. oil and gas industry deals that began with Exxon Mobil's (XOM.N) , opens new tab purchase of Pioneer. In a crackdown on the megamergers, the FTC similarly barred Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield from taking a seat on Exxon board as a condition of its approval earlier this year of their $60 billion merger. It was not immediately clear if Hess would be allowed to take another position at Chevron. He recently joined the board of financial firm Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab. Neither Hess nor Chevron immediately replied to requests for comment. The FTC declined to comment. Hess and Chevron shares each fell 1% in midday trading. The expected go-ahead would leave Exxon's challenge to the Chevron-Hess deal as its final hurdle. Exxon and China's CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK) , opens new tab have filed an arbitration case that could block the deal, claiming the merger is a ploy to gain Hess's lucrative Guyana assets. Hess owns 30% of Guyana's giant Stabroek offshore block, which has been the site of more than 30 oil and gas discoveries since 2015. Exxon, which is the operator of the block owns 45% and CNOOC owns 25%. Bloomberg News earlier reported the FTC would block Hess from taking a board seat on the combined company. In the Exxon merger, the FTC alleged that Sheffield had colluded with other U.S. oil firms and with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries "to keep production artificially low" and increase oil companies' profits. The FTC had pointed to meetings that shale and OPEC officials held over several years, including a series of private dinners at a Houston energy conference. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/chevron-agrees-hess-ceo-will-not-join-board-deal-with-us-regulator-bloomberg-2024-09-26/

2024-09-26 20:49

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Land access to a vital supply port in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince is being closed off after attacks by armed gangs, operator Caribbean Port Services (CPS) said on Thursday. "CPS will shut its barriers to all types of land-based traffic from Sept. 26 to Sept. 29," it said in a statement, saying that the suspension should allow the army and national police to secure the area. A shipping official told Reuters this week that ships were being shot at, preventing them from docking and unloading containers, while authorities have reported the kidnapping of two Filipino crew members from a cargo vessel in the port. Haitian leaders speaking at the United Nations General Assembly this week have warned of worsening insecurity in the Caribbean country despite the partial deployment of a U.N.-backed security force, whose initial mandate expires in less than a week. Powerful gangs, armed with weapons largely trafficked from the United States, have united in the capital under a common alliance and now control most of the city and are expanding to nearby areas. Over 700,000 people have been internally displaced - nearly double the figure from six months ago - many residing in makeshift camps in schools and without a fixed source of income as food becomes increasingly expensive and hunger rates soar. "This situation is not just a humanitarian emergency but it is a threat to the stability of our nation," Haiti's transition council president Edgard Leblanc Fils told the U.N. general assembly earlier on Thursday. "It's never too late to act." Food prices in Haiti rose 42% in July from a year earlier according to the World Food Programme. Leblanc also urged the Security Council to consider converting the under-funded and under-staffed Kenyan-led security force into a formal peacekeeping mission to secure more stable funding, troops and equipment from U.N. member states. Haiti's main seaports and international airport closed for nearly three months earlier this year when violence peaked at the end of February, thousands broke out of prison and the last prime minister resigned. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/haiti-key-port-closed-land-access-after-gang-attacks-2024-09-26/

2024-09-26 20:48

Shares down 1% in extended trading Comparable sales, exc. gasoline, rose 5.4% but fell short of analysts' expectations Sept 26 (Reuters) - Costco Wholesale (COST.O) , opens new tab missed market expectations for fourth-quarter revenue on Thursday hurt by cautious consumer spending on pricier items at its membership-only stores and lower gasoline prices. While ultra-low prices are driving demand for groceries and kitchen staples, consumer spending on furniture, home and sporting goods has been choppy, hurting sales at Costco's warehouses. "There's definitely some signs that the consumer is being very choiceful in how they're spending their dollars," Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said on a post-earnings call. Customers were looking for more deals, and appliances and electronics categories became more promotional over time, Millerchip added. Online shopping is also driving sales for retailers as consumers look for the convenience of choice and delivery. "Shoppers have not run out of steam but are redistributing their spend between various physical and online retailers," said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors. While Costco has worked on drawing more sales through its website and mobile app, its ecommerce sales growth slowed to 18.9% from 20.7% in the previous quarter. The membership warehouse retailer's same-store sales also took a hit from lower gasoline prices. They grew 5.4% in the reported period ended Sept. 1, compared with a 6.6% rise in the third quarter. Costco's fourth-quarter revenue rose nearly 1% to $79.70 billion, falling short of analysts' average estimate of $79.97 billion, as per LSEG data. However, net income of $5.29 per share beat estimates of $5.08 apiece, as gross margins grew by 40 basis points. In July, Costco said it would hike its annual membership fee by $5 to $65 for the "gold star" members, and to $130 from $120 for executive members, effective Sept. 1. Costco's shares fell 1% in extended trading and have gained about 37% so far this year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/costco-wholesale-misses-quarterly-revenue-estimates-2024-09-26/

2024-09-26 20:34

NEW YORK, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Citgo Petroleum shut down its 177,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery at Lemont, Illinois, on Wednesday afternoon due to a power blip by its electricity supplier, the company confirmed on Thursday. The refinery experienced a flaring event during the shutdown process, the company said. "Units were stabilized and we began the restart process after power was restored last night," the company said in an email. "We will continue to raise rates and return to normal operations throughout the day." The refinery manufactures several grades of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and high-quality hydrocarbon solvents, according to the company's website. The cause of the outage is still under investigation, the refinery's power supplier ComEd said on Thursday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/citgos-lemont-illinois-refinery-shuts-down-due-power-outage-2024-09-26/