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OIL INDUSTRY SLAMS TRUMP’S LACK OF TARIFF RELIEF AS ‘BAD NEWS’ FOR ECONOMY: The oil industry on Friday scolded the Trump administration for denying its requests for relief from tariffs on imported steel, saying the decision is “misguided” and ultimately “bad news” for the American worker.  

“The administration’s denial of needed product exclusions from harmful tariffs on steel is bad news for American workers and consumers who have benefited from increased American energy production,” said Kyle Isakower, the American Petroleum Institute’s vice president for policy.

Too ‘arbitrary’: “Further, the administration’s arbitrary process to determine these exclusions lacks transparency as it’s not clear how and why certain exclusion petitions are granted or denied,” Isakower remarked.

Two waivers: Two major oil companies, Shell and Chevron, were granted waivers on Thursday for steel products used in pipelines and other infrastructure that are not made in the United States. (More on this below.)

Backlog of requests: But the waivers were not enough, according to the trade group that represents both companies. The two waivers were granted by the Commerce Department amid a backlog of over 20,000 similar requests. The agency has processed only 241 requests as of June 21, according to reports.

‘Undermines’ energy production, security: “What is clear, though, is that implementation of tariffs on imported steel undermines domestic energy production and the future of our nation’s energy infrastructure, which is critical to bringing American energy to market,” Isakower said. “Further, increasing the costs of American energy production will hurt America’s national security.”

Undermining Trump’s policy: “We hope that the administration will reconsider these harmful tariffs that will without a doubt hurt the administration’s goal of American energy dominance while threatening the 10.3 million jobs supported by the U.S. natural gas and oil industry.”

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HIGHER OIL PRICES MEAN U.S. DRILLERS ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Rig workers can’t seem to drill enough wells as oil prices have soared to their highest levels in five months, serving as a “green light” for more exploration and fracking in the shale regions that stretch from Texas to Pennsylvania, according to new stats released by the American Petroleum Institute on Friday.

265 percent higher: The report shows that the number of natural gas wells being drilled, primarily in the Pennsylvania shale region, has increased 265 percent from the second quarter of last year.

Exploration: The new well data is for exploratory wells that have been drilled in search of natural gas, and have the potential to be producing at some point, said Dean Foreman, the American Petroleum Institute’s chief economist, in an interview with Washington Examiner previewing the second quarter release.

‘Good sign’: The numbers are a “good sign” of industry health in the current high oil price environment and continued demand for U.S. natural gas exports, said Foreman.

“When you have these exploratory wells … that’s a sign that in the current price environment more acreage is becoming potentially economic,” Foreman said.

Prices: Brent crude oil, the most common price measure for oil produced outside the U.S., closed at around $74 in Thursday trading. The American-based West Texas Intermediate price was lower at around $70 per barrel.

Continue to be high: The federal government’s latest reporting projects that Brent oil prices will remain high through the remainder of 2018 at around $73 per barrel, before dropping to around $69 per barrel in 2019.

EPA UNDER WHEELER FAILS TO MAKE GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION WITH SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY:  The nation’s ethanol mandate continues to be a sticking point for the Environmental Protection Agency, even with former agency head Scott Pruitt out of the picture.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, had a mixed review for the agency under Andrew Wheeler, Pruitt’s replacement.

Better late than never: First, Grassley thanked EPA’s air office for getting back to him on a letter he sent Pruitt almost four months ago to reveal the names of oil companies that EPA granted over two dozen ethanol waivers to. The waivers exempted certain refineries from having to buy expensive ethanol credits to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Grassley has led the charge against the waiver program, which he has called out as illegal.

So, he wasn’t keen on air office chief Bill Wehrum’s polite denial of the information he sought.

‘Isn’t Acceptable’: “The idea that disclosing to Congress the names of waiver recipients somehow reveals confidential business information doesn’t make any sense and isn’t acceptable,” Grassley said in response to the letter. “I appreciate finally receiving a response within days of acting Administrator Wheeler taking the reins at EPA, but this non-answer is disappointing,” the Republican from Iowa said in a statement.

Denied: The letter from Wehrum said the information on those who sought waivers is confidential and cannot be disclosed.

EPA INSPECTOR CONTINUES FIVE PROBES INTO PRUITT SLATED FOR THE FALL: The EPA Inspector General is continuing with a streamlined list of five investigations into former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, the IG confirmed to John.

The big five: The five ongoing investigations include those involving his travel expenses; his use of an EPA security detail, including for vacations, which “might be issued by next month”; the payment of law enforcement for security, which may conclude in 2-3 months; Pruitt’s authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendment of 1978 to appoint and hire officials outside of the normal administrative process, in which a final report is projected for August; and finally Pruitt’s use of emails and text messages, and his responses to Freedom of Information Act Requests.

The dozen: There had been about a dozen probes underway by the office, in addition to others by the Government Accountability Office, Office of the Special Counsel, and the White House Office of Management and Budget.

PRUITT MAY STILL FACE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS: The IG’s office tells John that it cannot disclose if any criminal investigations into Pruitt’s behavior are continuing, but if they were initiated, they are sure to continue.

“While the EPA OIG announces nearly all of our audit work, we cannot confirm or deny the existence of criminal investigations, which look for violations of law,” the office said in an email. “We can say that any criminal investigations that may have existed at the time of Mr. Pruitt’s resignation will continue.”

HOUSE GOP UNVEILS PACKAGE TO ELIMINATE ‘FRIVOLOUS’ LAWSUITS OVER ENDANGERED SPECIES: The House GOP unveiled a legislative package on Thursday that would enact major reforms to the Endangered Species Act, eliminating “frivolous” lawsuits over species protections while streamlining the permit process for developers and energy companies.

The package: The reform package, called the “Endangered Species Act Modernization Package,” included nine bills meant to reform the 1973 law to focus on “recovery” of threatened and endangered species, rather than keeping species listed indefinitely.

Wrongful listing: One of the bills, the List Act, gives the Fish and Wildlife Service the ability to delist species, removing them from the list of endangered or threatened species, if wrongfully listed, while minimizing lawsuits over decisions to take species off the protected list.

Grizzly bear: Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., remarked that the “good news” in his state is that the grizzly bear has recovered. The bad news is it happened 15 years ago, underscoring the need for Washington to focus on recovery and removing species from the list once the population is deemed rehabilitated.

Frivolity: He criticized environmental groups for holding back the process of recovery through “frivolous lawsuits.”

GOP strategy: Lawmakers at the press event explained that Thursday’s release of the reform package was meant to initiate a bicameral process, with the Senate promising to develop its own Endangered Species Act reform plan if the House moved first.

Senate side: Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, released draft legislation on July 2 that looks to give states more influence over the endangered species process. Barrasso will hold a hearing on modernizing the Endangered Species Act on July 17, focused on the discussion draft.

RICK PERRY PITCHES AMERICA AS NATURAL GAS SUPPLIER TO EUROPE: A day after President Trump bashed Germany for supporting a pipeline supplying natural gas from Russia, Energy Secretary Rick Perry urged European nations to boost their imports of American natural gas.

“The United States does not support pipelines such as Nord Stream 2 and a multi-line Turk Stream that will only increase reliance on a single source of supply,” Perry told reporters in Brussels Thursday after meeting with European Union officials, in comments reported by the wire service Agence France-Presse.

‘Captive’ consumer’: Trump accused Germany Wednesday of being “captive” to Russia because of a plan to expand a “massive” oil and gas pipeline to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany.

The U.S. opposes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project that would transport natural gas from Russia to Germany, arguing it would threaten stability in the region.

Russia is a top supplier of natural gas to Europe, which the Trump administration is seeking to change by encouraging the export of U.S. natural gas to the continent now that America the top producer of the fuel.

‘America first’: “The president has often discussed the concept of ‘American First’ and don’t make any mistake about it. That doesn’t mean ‘America Alone’,” Perry said Thursday. “It means that when you’re thinking about a new market provider, when you’re thinking about a new innovation partner, we want you to think about America first.”

Perry added that the U.S. would prefer not sanction the developers of Nord Stream 2, but said such penalties are “always an option.”

Some caveats: The problem with Perry’s “America first” gas plan for Europe is that the U.S. has only two major liquified natural gas export facilities operating today. Natural gas has to be transformed into a liquid to be moved overseas.

Four more U.S. export facilities are set to begin service by the end of 2019. But more than a dozen are still seeking federal approval, Bloomberg reported Thursday, because of staff shortages at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

EXXON LEAVES CONSERVATIVE GROUP ALEC AFTER CLIMATE CHANGE DISPUTE: Exxon Mobil is leaving the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a conservative nonprofit group that gets funding from fossil fuel companies.

Carbon danger: Exxon disagreed with ALEC over climate change policy. In June, some ALEC members, such as the Heartland Institute, had tried to encourage the group to adopt a draft resolution encouraging the federal government to challenge the so-called “endangerment finding.”

The resolution failed to pass, and Exxon helped lobby to kill it.

The endangerment finding is a 2009 EPA policy that created the basis for regulating carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change. It stems from a 2007 Supreme Court ruling that said carbon dioxide is a pollutant that the EPA can regulate under the Clean Air Act.

An Exxon spokesperson declined to comment on whether climate changed factored into its decision to leave ALEC.

Big oil moves on climate: The decision by Exxon to leave ALEC shows how large public oil and gas companies are trying to grapple with combating climate change, even as many factions of the GOP are hostile to federal government policy that targets greenhouse gas emissions.

Exxon has become more involved with addressing climate change after pressure from investors and legal challenges. Exxon CEO Darren Woods urged President Trump not to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.

Exxon also belongs to an initiative, called Methane Guiding Principles, of some of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies pledging to reduce its emissions of methane, a short-lived greenhouse gas that is much more potent than carbon dioxide.

SHELL, CHEVRON GET EXEMPTIONS FROM TRUMP STEEL TARIFFS: The Trump administration is giving two major oil and gas companies exemptions from a 25 percent tariff on steel imports.

The Commerce Department is allowing Shell to not pay a penalty for steel it imports from Japan for steel casing and production tubing that uses when drilling wells in the Gulf of Mexico.

It also provided a tariff exclusion to Chevron for 50 metric tons of corrosion-resistant stainless steel tubing it imports from Japan. The waivers will last a year.

First in the door: Argus Media first reported the exclusions, which are the first the Trump administration has given to energy companies. The companies said the specialty steel they use is not made in America.

American production shortage: The Commerce Department in March issued guidance saying it would consider exemptions for products that are “unmet by domestic production or on specific national security considerations.”

The oil and natural gas industry relies heavily on global steel imports, including steel for drilling, onshore and offshore production facilities, pipelines, liquefied natural gas terminals, refineries and petrochemical plants.

MAJORITY OF PUERTO RICO POWER UTILITY’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS RESIGN: Most of the board of directors for Puerto Rico’s state-run power authority resigned Thursday after Gov. Richard Rossello demanded a pay cut for the utility’s incoming CEO.

Five board members of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or PREPA, said in a resignation letter, obtained by the Wall Street Journal, that “political forces in Puerto Rico” had been meddling in their decisions and “want to continue to control Prepa.”

‘Not proportional’ pay: Rossello said the $750,000 planned salary for new CEO Rafael Díaz-Granados was “not proportional” to PREPA’s dire financial state and called on the utility’s seven board members to cut the CEO salary or resign. Díaz-Granados was a board member and is among the five who resigned, leaving PREPA leaderless.

Exit flood: The prior CEO, Walter Higgins, who was appointed in March to lead PREPA amid a slow response to Hurricane Maria’s destruction of the power grid, also resigned earlier in the week. He too cited opposition from Puerto Rican politicians regarding his compensation.

Power problems: PREPA, the sole power provider to the island, filed for bankruptcy last year, and is $9 billion in debt. The power authority is short-staffed, and has been vulnerable to political favoritism and corruption. Rossello is trying to privatize PREPA to lower costs for consumers.

RUNDOWN

Bloomberg Shale gas projects face US permit delays

New York Times Ireland moves to divest from fossil fuels

E&E News If Trump gets his oil boom, leases could cover this valley

Washington Post California will face a terrible choice: Save cliff-side homes or public beaches from rising seas

Wall Street Journal U.A.E. backed militia leader’s bid to take control of Libyan oil exports

CNBC Apple announces $300 million clean energy fund in China