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TRUMP REUPS ATTACKS ON OPEC: President Trump is blaming the Saudis and OPEC for high oil prices for the second time.

• ‘Not good’: “Oil prices are too high, OPEC is at it again. Not good!” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning.

• Twitter-based oil diplomacy: Trump had tweeted a few weeks ago that oil prices were too high amid a rise in the price of gasoline.

• But why? Trump’s most recent complaint comes as the price of oil has fallen from a three-year high after the Trump administration pressed Saudi Arabia to cut output.

• Falling prices: Saudi Arabia approved new production increases on Wednesday. U.S. crude oil future contracts dropped to $66 per barrel Wednesday from $73 last month.

Fed oil data: The Department of Energy will release its This Week in Petroleum analysis later Wednesday, providing the latest federal assessment on fuel prices.

$800 BILLION SHIFT AWAY FROM OIL TO SELF-DRIVING CARS: Self-driving cars will have a big impact on reducing pain at the pump and U.S. susceptibility to high oil prices, which, despite the U.S. shale oil boom, is still set by foreign companies and cartels.

Securing America’s Future Energy, a group made up of industry CEOs and former military chiefs, released a report Wednesday morning that provides an extensive evaluation of the benefits of transitioning to autonomous vehicles.

• Trump asks for help: President Trump’s reaching out to the Saudis to lower the price of crude oil is indicative of how dependent the transportation system is on foreign oil producers, Robbie Diamond, the CEO of the energy security group, said at a Wednesday morning event to release the report.

• Fuel savings: “Significant economic benefits from the widespread adoption of AVs could lead to nearly $800 billion in annual social and economic benefits by 2050, mostly from reducing the toll of vehicle crashes, but also from giving productive time back to commuters, improving energy security by reducing dependence on oil, and providing environmental benefits,” according to the executive summary.

• Cut ties with OPEC: The report points out that although the U.S. has become an oil-producing powerhouse in the last decade, the price of oil is still driven by overseas factors such as OPEC, the cartel of national oil companies.

• Electric cars and national security: Since most self-driving cars are expected to be electric vehicles, they can be fueled using a domestic resource that is not tied to the global oil market.

Welcome to Daily on Energy, compiled by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers John Siciliano (@JohnDSiciliano) and Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe). Email [email protected] 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.

REPORT: PRUITT USED EPA STAFF IN JOB HUNT FOR WIFE: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt had a top aide contact Republican backers last year to find his wife a job, according to a new report.

The aide’s efforts landed Marlyn Pruit a job with a conservative political group that had been a supporter of Pruitt for years, the Washington Post reported Wednesday morning.

The report cited multiple individuals familiar with the matter.

• A chick off the old block: The report follows another last week that Pruitt tapped a former top aide, Sydney Hupp, to arrange a call with Chick-fil-A to discuss his wife becoming a franchise owner. That report spurred Democrats to ask the FBI to examine the potential for criminal charges in using federal resources for personal enrichment.  

• Policy chief used as personal HR: The new report shows that Pruitt tasked Samantha Dravis, who was serving as associate administrator for the EPA’s Office of Policy, to find work for his wife.

• Conflict of interest: Doug Deason, a Trump donor, said he could not hire Marlyn Pruitt because of a conflict of interest. But Pruitt continued to press him for his help in finding other opportunities, the newspaper reported.

• Pruitt’s temp service: Marlyn eventually found a temporary gig with the Judicial Crisis Network, a spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

• Short-term gig: The group approved the onetime school nurse “temporarily as an independent contractor,” the newspaper reported. However, it did not disclose via email how long she worked there or how much she was paid.

• Federalist ties: The spokesman said the position was a result of the group receiving her resume from Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society, which has financial ties with the group.

PRUITT APPROVES NEW SUPER FUEL FOR USE IN CARS: Pruitt announced Tuesday that he approved the use of the renewable fuel biobutanol for commercial use in gasoline.

He made the announcement at an ethanol plant in Kansas. Biobutanol is considered much more energy dense than corn-based ethanol, and could one day replace it, as it can be blended in the gasoline supply at much higher levels without changes to fuel infrastructure.

John wrote a piece on the fuel’s potential in the Washington Examiner magazine last week. Check it out.  

SENATE APPROPRIATORS SAY NO TO TRUMP, AGAIN: Senate appropriators reversed Trump-proposed cuts to the EPA and Energy Department budgets on Tuesday to advance a $35.85 billion spending bill.

The Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on EPA and related agencies rejected many of the fiscal 2019 budget proposals put forth by the president with wide-ranging cuts that neither GOP and Democrats could support.

• Up, up, up: The proposed funding level that the subcommittee passed is 26.7 percent higher than what was proposed. The funding represents about a $600 million increase from the funding Congress approved for fiscal 2018.

• Trump’s ‘unwarranted decreases’: The bill admonished the “unwarranted decreases proposed in the budget and [makes] investments in our highest priorities, especially infrastructure investment for the land management agencies, Indian country and wastewater and drinking water improvements,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the chairwoman of the appropriations subcommittee.

POLL: MOST AMERICANS SUPPORT TRUMP COAL BAILOUT: A majority of Americans support the U.S. government taking action to support coal and nuclear power plants, according to a new poll conducted by Morning Consult for the pro-coal National Mining Association.

• America likes Trump’s plan: The results were released Wednesday morning, with the coal group touting the results that showed 55 percent American support the plan.

Trump recently ordered Energy Secretary Rick Perry to form a plan to save money-losing coal and nuclear plants from closing prematurely.

• Industry doesn’t like: The plan is controversial and is being opposed by a broad cross-section of industry.

• FERC doesn’t like it, either: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission members told a Senate panel Tuesday that the plan is not warranted.  

ZINKE GETS FUNNY ABOUT BEAR ATTACKS: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had some fun on Twitter Wednesday morning on how to identify the bear you may find yourself being attacked by this summer in the national parks.

He advised viewers to climb a tree if pursued. “If the bear comes up after you, it’s a black bear,” he said. “If it knocks the tree down, it’s a grizzly.”

He called that “Bear Identification 101.”

The tweet directs viewers to the National Park Service website for real tips about bear encounters.

Here’s a roundup of Tuesday’s primaries, focused on energy and environment issues:

THE GOP’S PICK FOR NEVADA GOVERNOR WANTS ENERGY SOURCES TO COMPETE: Adam Laxalt won the Republican nomination for governor in Nevada’s primary election.

If elected governor, Laxalt would inherit Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval’s Energy Choice Initiative to rewrite the state’s constitution in favor of giving consumers more energy choices and spur competition to lower prices.

Laxalt told local news late last month that he supports the choice initiative, although he thinks implementing it would be complicated..

“I supported the ballot initiative when it was on last year, and I support it this year as well. I hope ‘Choice’ will make our sate dynamic and give people more options.”

The plan, which was passed in 2016, sounds a lot like the measure a state would have to pass to join one of the electricity markets overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. But Nevada would still have control.

NEVADA DEMS CHOOSE FIERCE OPPONENT OF YUCCA MOUNTAIN FOR SENATE: Rep. Jacky Rosen won the Democratic nomination for the Senate.

Rosen is a fierce opponent of opening the nuclear waste site at Yucca Mountain in the state.

Last week, she attempted to add an amendment to a major spending bill that would remove all spending to complete the nation’s much-contested radioactive dump.

VIRGINIA’S GOP SENATE NOMINEE LIKES FOSSIL FUELS AND RENEWABLES: Corey Stewart, a staunch supporter of Trump who embraces energy security in his platform, won the Republican nomination for Senate in the Virginia primary election.

He supports developing the United States’ own fossil fuels, but he also supports wind, solar and nuclear, according to his campaign website.  

“Corey will work to gain independence from foreign oil and foster the development of America’s natural resources including nuclear, solar, wind, and fossil fuels,” his website reads.

No Democrats challenged Sen. Tim Kaine, and Stewart promised a “vicious” fight in November.  

SOUTH CAROLINA LOSES OFFSHORE DRILLING OPPONENT IN SANFORD: Republican Rep. Mark Sanford, in an shocking upset, lost his first election ever Tuesday night.

Ahead of the primary vote, Trump tweeted barbs at Sanford, while playing up his opponent, state legislator Katie Arrington.

Sanford had questioned Republican bills last year that would have expanded offshore drilling off the coast of his and other states.

RUNDOWN

New York Times Heeding the pope on climate change

LA Times California could become three states in November

Oil Price Saudis raise oil production

Reuters Watchdog says Interior scrapped coal mining report for no good reason

EcoWatch Coal plant goes solar