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TRUMP TRAVELS TO SHALE OIL COUNTRY TO ENERGIZE CRAMER CAMPAIGN: President Trump returns to North Dakota on Friday, the state where he presented his energy policy when he was still running for the presidency.

Support for Cramer: This time around, he’s there to shore up support for Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who is running for the Senate against incumbent Democrat Heidi Heitkamp.

Cramer has been a confidante to the president and an adviser on energy policy. The congressman had recently weighed in on the pressure Trump put on OPEC earlier this year via Twitter.

What about an OPEC watchdog? Creating an OPEC commission to be an oil-price watchdog was an idea suggested to Trump by Cramer during the presidential campaign.

He had been in touch with senior Trump aides to discuss the commission once Trump was in the White House, and believed it could be created by executive action, Cramer told John earlier this year.

But with a lot of the change over at the White House, the idea of an OPEC watchdog hasn’t got much play lately.

“He and I have not personally talked about it for a long time,” Cramer told the Washington Examiner a few months back. “However, I have on a pretty regular basis been in touch with folks in the White House.”

Why prices mean a lot to North Dakota: North Dakota is a major shale oil producer for the U.S. But three years ago, Saudi Arabia-led OPEC production cuts meant to harm Iran had crushed the state’s production, as the price plummeted.

Shale production needs to be at a certain price to be economically viable, and the price just went too low. Hence, the reason for the OPEC commission, which Cramer floated in a bill he introduced.

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.  

WHAT HAPPENS TO SYRIAN OIL ONCE THE CONFLICT ENDS?: Before Syria fell into conflict, the country was the largest oil producer in the Eastern Mediterranean, which made it billions of dollars by supplying Europe.

But since 2011, production has been stifled due to the fighting. But now that Bashar al-Assad looks to incur a victory over the town of Idlib, the last major stronghold of armed opposition to his rule, with help from Russia, what happens to Syria’s oil wealth?

What would Trump do? Trump had once favored taking the oil in Iraq, which he argued helped fund ISIS. But he doesn’t have much to say on Syria’s oil wealth. His one option is to impose even more strict sanctions on top of those al-Assad incurred under the Obama administration.

What the feds say: The Department of Energy has not updated its Syria country analysis since 2011 because of the fighting there.

Then, it said that over 90 percent of al-Assad’s oil went to countries in the European Union. The country, which the U.S. government calls the “only significant crude oil-producing country in the eastern Mediterranean,” maxed out at 387,000 barrels per day of crude oil production in 2010. Estimated net crude oil exports were 109,000 barrels per day in 2010, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Where did the oil go? Germany, Italy, France, and the Netherlands accounted for over 80 percent of Syria’s crude oil exports, the U.S. agency said. European Union countries imported 1.35 percent of their petroleum from Syria in 2010.

Lost customers: EIA says it’s not a big deal for Europe to lose the supply, but it is a big deal for Syria to lose the customers.

“Although exports from Syria represented a small share of the EU’s overall oil needs, these exports accounted for 30% (or $4.1 billion) of Syrian government revenues in 2010,” the agency’s analysis read.

Syria has tried to reverse the declining trend for production and exports by expanding exploration and production through partnerships with foreign oil companies, which have been hampered by U.S. sanctions.

WE KNOW WHO DIDN’T WRITE THE NEW YORK TIMES OP-ED: As of Friday, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, and EPA acting administrator Andrew Wheeler all said they did not pen the anonymous New York Times op-ed that sent Trump into a tizzy on Thursday.

Other cabinet heads also declared they were not to one. But this is an energy newsletter, so I am focused on those three.

Enter stage Rick: Perry jumping on Twitter to declare he did not write the op-ed gathered a lot of attention online. Most people had not even suspected Perry and were mainly left scratching their heads.

Zinke’s vision of war: “Leaders like @POTUS charge up a hill under fire, not cower in a fox hole,” Zinke tweeted. “Whoever this author is should be embarrassed at both their dishonesty and their cowardice. I proudly support @realDonaldTrump and work every day to advance our policies for the American people.”

Zinke and Wheeler both made their declarations of support by retweeting a statement by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders that calls the anonymous writer a “coward.”

SENATORS FROM BOTH PARTIES LOOK TO THE MILITARY TO SAVE NUCLEAR POWER: A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate on Thursday would leverage the buying power of the U.S. military to help along the struggling nuclear energy industry, if the Pentagon is OK with paying above market rates.

“Our bipartisan bill will help rejuvenate the U.S. nuclear industry by providing the tools, resources, and partnerships necessary to drive innovation in advanced reactors,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairwoman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a sponsor of the legislation.

Contract military to buy power: The bipartisan legislation, called the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act, would establish at least one power purchase agreement with the Defense Department, or another federal agency, by Dec. 31, 2023, to buy electricity from a commercial nuclear reactor.

It’s bipartisan: Joining Murkowski on the bill are Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, and Chris Coons of Delaware. Republicans James Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia also cosponsored the bill.

Since the Defense Department is the largest consumer of energy in the federal government, its role would seem paramount in implementing the legislation once passed.

Pentagon will pay more: But the cost for the nuclear-powered electricity would be higher than the market rate, as the bill is focused on driving ahead advanced and “first-of-a-kind” technology, according to the bill. “An agreement to purchase power…may be at a rate that is higher than the average market rate,” reads the bill.

EPA WATCHDOG TO INVESTIGATE PRUITT’S SUPERFUND TASK FORCE: EPA’s inspector general announced Friday morning that it launched a self-initiated probe of a Superfund task force Pruitt created last year, to see if the agency followed existing laws and rules in setting it up.

What the task force does: Pruitt said the task force would streamline the review of cleaning up more than 1,300 of the nation’s most polluted sites. Pruitt adopted 42 recommendations issued by the task force, including prioritizing Superfund sites that can be redeveloped for new construction or where nearby residents are threatened from pollution.

Why it’s being scrutinized: Watchdog groups have criticized the EPA for not keeping records of the task force’s meetings, and for appointing a political supporter from Pruitt’s home state of Oklahoma with no experience in Superfund cleanups to lead the group.

Albert “Kell” Kelly, who led the Superfund program, resigned in May after attracting controversy over a revelation that he was barred from working in the finance industry because of a banking violation.

WHEELER TO SELL COAL RULE, VISIT SUPERFUND SITE IN MONTANA: EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler plans to get the most out a trip to Montana on Friday, with a scheduled visit to a Superfund site, as well as meetings with stakeholders about its proposed coal plant regulation.

Wheeler will visit the Butte-Anaconda Superfund complex, where he will be joined by the state’s GOP senator, Steve Daines. The acting EPA head has taken up Pruitt’s cause of frequently visiting Superfund sites and vowing to clean them up faster.

DEMOCRATS DOUBT FERC’S IMPARTIALITY OVER TRUMP’S COAL BAILOUT: Democrats are unconvinced that federal energy regulators can be independent in evaluating Trump’s coal bailout plan, even after the chairman of the Federal Regulatory Commission tried to assure them that his panel is impartial.

Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the top Democrats on the Senate and House energy committees, released a letter Thursday written by FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre responding to their questions about “inappropriate partisan” public comments made by commission staff.

The questionable comments: Anthony Pugliese, FERC’s chief of staff, told an American Nuclear Society conference last month that the agency is helping the National Security Council as well as the departments of Defense and Energy to create a list of “critical” power plants that could benefit from a Trump administration bailout.

Cantwell and Pallone wrote McIntyre shortly after to say they are “deeply troubled” by Pugliese’s comments.

Chief doesn’t speak for FERC: McIntyre, a Republican nominated to FERC by Trump, responded to their questions in a Aug. 24 letter made public by the Democrats on Thursday. In it, he writes: “While I understand your concerns, I can assure you that this Commission remains independent and impartial.”

He said no FERC staff has discussed with Trump administration officials the president’s plan to use emergency powers to subsidize uneconomic coal and nuclear plants.

McIntyre stressed that neither Pugliese nor any other FERC staff speaks for commissioners like himself.

Democrats seek fuller denunciation: The Democrats are unimpressed with that response.

“The chairman should renounce Mr. Pugliese’s petty attacks and ensure that they are never repeated,” Pallone said Thursday.

SAUDI ARABIA INCREASES OIL EXPORTS TO US IN RESPONSE TO TRUMP: Saudi Arabia has significantly increased its oil exports to the U.S. over the last three months, a sign that Trump’s pressure campaign to lower higher oil and gas prices is working.

Saudi oil exports to the U.S. reached a four-week average of one million barrels a day last week for the first time since late 2017, Bloomberg reported, and have risen roughly 250,000 barrels a day since late May.

Trump’s delicate policy dance: Trump has tried to thread the needle on oil prices, pushing OPEC and its largest member and ally, Saudi Arabia, to boost crude production to offset expected losses as a result of his hardline approach to oil sanctions on Iran.

The pressure campaign worked, with OPEC collectively agreeing in July to boost oil production by 1 million barrels per day, overturning a prior production cut agreement because prices had fallen too much.

But that may not be enough to offset Iran’s lost oil, especially with production problems in other high-output countries, such as Venezuela and Libya.

SHINZO ABE DEPLOYS 4,000 SOLDIERS TO HELP JAPANESE REGION DEVASTATED BY EARTHQUAKE, LANDSLIDE: A powerful earthquake that struck Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido Thursday has left at least 16 people dead or presumed dead, with an unspecified number missing or injured.

The earthquake measured a magnitude 6.7, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and was followed by a massive landslide when the entire side of a ridge collapsed and buried nearby villages in soil and trees.

By Friday, rescue teams were using dogs, backhoes, and shovels to dig through the devastation in search of people, Time reported.

Three million households remained without power as of Friday as the result of a local power station being incapacitated from the natural disaster, the Hokkaido Electric Power Company said.

At least 150 people were hurt as a result of the earthquake, with the majority reported by residents in Sapporo, according to CNN.

Missing persons: In one small town, Atsuma, 26 people remained missing.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe deployed more than 4,000 soldiers to the region to help with rescue and recovery efforts. The government could send as many as 25,000 troops to assist in the coming weeks.

Aftershocks lingered in the region Thursday and could continue into next week, making buildings that are still standing a threat to residents and passersby.

A trio of quakes also hit South and Central American countries: A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Ecuador’s capital city of Quito late Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Approximately two million people live within 60 miles of the region that was struck hardest by the natural disaster.

Ecuadorian officials have not shared the number of people killed, wounded, or missing as a result of the incident.

Around the same time, a 5.8.-magnitude quake rocked Chile while a 5.5-strength one hit on the Colombia/Panama border, according to multiple reports.

Any earthquake with a magnitude above six is considered “strong” on the Richter Scale, which USGS uses to score them.

HOUSE INVESTIGATES GREEN GROUP WITH ALLEGED TIES TO CHINA: House investigators are demanding that a nonpartisan environmental think tank in Washington hand over documents detailing its alleged relationship with China and other foreign entities.

Under the influence: The House Natural Resources Committee wants the World Resources Institute to provide the materials, some dating as far back as 2014, as part of its probe into possible attempts by foreign actors to influence U.S. environmental and natural resources policy via tax-exempt organizations, according to a letter the panel sent to WRI on Wednesday.

“The Committee is examining WRI’s role in aiding China’s perception management efforts with respect to pollution control and its international standing on environmental issues in ways that may be detrimental to the United States,” the panel wrote.

China relations: The panel specifically raised the possibility that the think tank’s relationship with the Chinese government be subject to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires any person or group acting as agents of foreign principals to disclose their interests.

In particular, Chairman Rob Bishop, R-Utah, and Ranking Member Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., noted that WRI praised China’s Paris Agreement pledge to max out on greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as “a serious and credible contribution.” Some commentators, such as Oren Cass from the Manhattan Institute, have argued that the nation’s commitment is merely tantamount to “business as usual.”

GREEN GROUPS CELEBRATE SEN. TOM CARPER’S PRIMARY WIN: Environmentalists are feeling relief after Democrat Tom Carper on Thursday survived the first real primary challenge of his 17-year career representing Delaware in the Senate, beating progressive Kerri Evelyn Harris Thursday night.

Carper has outspokenly opposed the Trump administration’s rolling back of environmental regulations from his perch as the top Democrat of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

“Senator Carper is a true champion for the environment and public health who has worked tirelessly to hold the Trump administration accountable,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president of government affairs for the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund. “We need his leadership in the Senate now more than ever and look forward to working with him for many years to come.”

LATEST CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE FORCES CLOSURE OF HIGHWAY: A wildfire continues to rage Friday in northern California, shutting down a busy interstate highway, forcing drivers to flee their vehicles, and threatening homes.

The Delta Fire, which started Wednesday, has burned 22,000 acres near the site of the recent Carr Fire that killed three firefighters.

A decision is expected Friday on when to reopen a 45-mile section of Interstate 5, the main highway from Mexico to Canada.

More fires are straining budgets: Delta is one of about 15 fires burning in California this week, continuing a pace for the state to have its most destructive fire season on record this year.

California’s fire agency said Thursday it has nearly exhausted its annual firefighting budget after it spent more than $430 million through the end of August, and needs $234 million more to add firefighters and helicopters, the Associated Press reported.

The worst is coming: The expensive fire season could become worse. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the number of large wildfires across California will likely increase by 50 percent by the end of the century, according to a state report on the impacts of climate change released last month.

TRUMP’S MINE CLEANUP NOMINEE WITHDRAWS BECAUSE OF TOUGH VETTING PROCESS: The Trump administration’s nominee to lead the Interior Department’s mine cleanup agency has withdrawn his name from consideration, because of what he said was too tough a vetting process.

Steven Gardner, a Kentucky-based mining consultant, told Bloomberg Environment he is withdrawing from an appointment to lead the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement because the vetting process with the Office of Government Ethics has lasted nearly a year.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee had not yet voted on Gardner’s nomination.

When Trump nominated Gardner in October, Zinke said he would be an “unbelievable asset to coal country and the entire team at the Department of the Interior.”

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