WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Tuesday, readers! In today’s edition of Daily on Energy, we are closely following the ongoing discussions regarding a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and what the negotiations might mean for the broader global energy markets.
Plus, the Environmental Protection Agency kicked off a multi-day public hearing series today over its proposed rescission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding. The hearing is expected to draw in hundreds of testimonies from private citizens, scientists, researchers, lawmakers, as well as state and local officials. Notable individuals who spoke during the first part of today’s session include New York Democratic Rep. Paul Tonko, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Will Hupman with the American Petroleum Institute.
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com 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.
BESSENT SAYS INDIA IS PROFITEERING FROM RUSSIAN OIL: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said India is “profiteering” by importing cheap Russian oil and then reselling it to other nations, calling it “unacceptable.”
“They are just profiteering. They are reselling,” Bessent told CNBC this morning. “This is what I would call the Indian arbitrage — buying cheap Russian oil, reselling it as a product has just sprung up during the war, which is unacceptable.”
President Donald Trump has criticized India for purchasing Russian oil, as the Kremlin uses the profits to finance the war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, the White House imposed additional tariffs on India, totaling 50%, because it refused to stop importing Russian crude. India is the second largest importer of Russian oil after China.
Trump’s use of “secondary tariffs” to pressure a nation’s trading actions is an untested tool of economic pressure. It adds to the West’s efforts to curb Russian oil revenue by imposing a price cap on its crude oil exports.
When asked whether U.S. tariff revenue could be used to pay off the debt, Bessent said he and the president have not discussed that option. He added that tariff revenue could be $300 billion this year. However, Bessent indicated that tariffs could also increase. He did not provide a number but said it could be “substantial.”
RELATED…HOUSE REPUBLICAN SAYS U.S. CAN SHUT PUTIN DOWN WITH ENERGY: Congressional Republicans have taken a harder line on the president’s negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin over ending Moscow’s war in Ukraine, with Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee indicating that Washington should use U.S. energy as leverage.
The details: Burchett told NewsNation this week that he believes Putin knows the U.S. could “shut him down with our energy capabilities.” The Tennessee congressman explained that, under the Trump administration, he is anticipating increased production of oil and gas, allowing the U.S., rather than Russia, to influence global markets.
“And I think Putin completely realizes that he cannot do without oil,” Burchett said. “And so, I think there’s a lot of behind the scenes going on.”
Oil futures fell Tuesday afternoon on the hopes that a possible peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is on the horizon. As a result, additional sanctions on Russia and its energy products are less likely right now, meaning Russian oil could flow back into the market soon. However, the situation is subject to change.
Just before 2 p.m. EST, Brent Crude dropped by 1.32% and was priced at $65.72 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate was down 1.69%, selling at $62.35 per barrel.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SETS OFFSHORE LEASING SCHEDULE: The Department of Interior has rolled out a 14-year schedule for offshore lease sales in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump has renamed the Gulf of America.
The schedule, mandated under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, determines at least 30 auctions for oil drill rights will be held through 2040. This is a dramatic shift from the five-year leasing strategy utilized by the Biden administration in order to reduce offshore drilling.
The Interior Department said the schedule will provide “much-needed clarity and stability” to the oil and gas industry. The first sale for drilling rights in the Gulf has been scheduled for Dec. 10 of this year. There are no auctions scheduled for Alaska’s Cook Inlet through the rest of 2025.
At least six auctions in the Cook Inlet, located just south of Anchorage, are set to take place through 2032. Those are scheduled to happen during March of 2026, 2027, 2028, 2030, 2031, and 2032. Meanwhile, lease sales in the Gulf are scheduled to occur in March and August every year until 2040.
CLIMATE ACTIVISTS PLEAD WITH EPA TO NOT WALK BACK ENDANGERMENT FINDING: The Environmental Protection Agency began its multi-day public hearing series over its proposal to walk back the 2009 Endangerment Finding today, featuring remarks from dozens of private citizens, scientists, lawmakers, and state and local officials speaking out against the move.
Quick reminder: EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced last month that the agency would be moving to rescind the 16-year-old finding, which determined greenhouse gas emissions are harmful to the environment and human life, authorizing the EPA to regulate emissions from sources such as vehicles and power plants. The Trump administration, however, claims the EPA overstepped its authority by using the finding as the foundation for decades’ worth of rules aimed at curbing greenhouse gases.
The details: The hearings began first thing this morning and are expected to last through Friday afternoon, likely featuring hundreds of individual testimonies. As of around 1pm, at least 100 individuals had offered their testimony either in favor or against the proposed rescission. In the first half of today’s hearing, an overwhelming majority of the arguments made criticized the EPA and Trump administration. Surprisingly, these weren’t just limited to known climate advocates, as some were offered by people who described themselves as Republican.
“The reconsideration of 2009 endangerment finding greenhouse gas emissions is completely flawed,” New York farmer and registered Republican Jason Touw said. “Air pollutants and greenhouse gasses do not follow international or state boundaries. This is going to be a costly solution to us if EPA does not move away from its mission empowering the great American comeback.”
Several organizations and individuals, notably from the fossil fuel and automobile industries, did offer their support for the EPA’s proposed rollback. Will Hupman, Vice President of Downstream Policy at the American Petroleum Institute, acknowledged there is a need to reduce emissions from the transportation sector but indicated that the previous administrations were flawed in their attempts to do so. He claimed past regulations favored alternative technologies and hindered consumer choice.
While many participants pointed to the science behind the endangerment finding, others attempted to appeal to the administration using religious themes and references.
“God’s children and God’s creation, both in the U.S. and across the globe, are crying out as they experience the devastating impacts of greenhouse gas pollution,” said Katie Brown, program manager for the National Religious Partnership for the Environment. “The ethical, moral, and – according to the International Court of Justice’s recent ruling – legal response to these cries is to do everything within reason to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.”
APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS PIPELINE PROTESTER’S FELONY CONVICTION: Several years after a Colorado woman was found guilty of felony obstruction of justice for attempting to block the expansion of an oil pipeline, an appeals court ruled in her favor and overturned the conviction.
The details: Yesterday, the Minnesota court of appeals overturned the conviction of Mylene Vialard, claiming there had been “pervasive” misconduct from the prosecution, according to The Guardian.
Vialard, 56, was previously convicted of a felony after attaching herself to bamboo structure blocking a pumping station in Aitkin County, Minnesota, in August 2021. The protest was meant to block the expansion of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline. Vialard’s case was reportedly marred by alleged violations by prosecutors, including breaking sequestration rules by broadcasting Zoom audio from inside the courtroom into public hallways of the courthouse, The Guardian reported.
As a result, the appellate court ruled this week that she should be granted a new trial.
“Weighing the relevant factors, we conclude that the prosecutorial misconduct conceded to by the state was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt,” the court wrote, according to The Guardian. “The state’s evidence against Vialard was not particularly strong, the misconduct was pervasive, and the district court’s instructions did not cure any prejudicial effect of the misconduct.”
This is not the first conviction related to the 2021 protests that the Minnesota court of appeals has reversed. In March of this year, the court also ruled that prosecutors had failed to provide enough evidence to convict another protester, 59-year-old Marian Shaw Moore, of three misdemeanor crimes.
LATEST ON WILDFIRES IN EUROPE: Europe is suffering the most destructive wildfire season in nearly two decades, Bloomberg reports.
Wildfires have afflicted Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Albania. The fires, fueled by extreme heat and dry conditions, have burned nearly 3,455 square miles in Europe this year, which is more land than any year since 2006.
Thousands of firefighters in Spain are continuing to battle nearly 40 wildfires. The fires in Spain have burned about 1,475 square miles. Firefighters may catch a break soon, as Spain is forecast to have cooler weather after a 16-day heatwave.
As a result of the wildfires, the European Union Copernicus said Spain is experiencing the highest annual total of wildfire emissions in 23 years.
“The wildfire emissions from Spain and Portugal during August has been exceptional. The growth in the total estimated emissions from below averages to reach the highest annual total for Spain in the two decades of the [Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service] emissions dataset in just 7-8 days,” said Mark Parrington, Senior Scientist of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.
ICYMI – USDA ENDS WIND AND SOLAR PROGRAM: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced yesterday that her agency would stop providing funds for solar and wind projects on farmland through its Rural Energy for America Program.
“American farmland will NO LONGER use taxpayer dollars to build solar farms,” Rollins said on X. “Millions of acres of prime farmland is left unusable so Green New Deal subsidized solar panels can be built. This destruction of our farms and prime soil is taking away the futures of the next generation of farmers and the future of our country.”
Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act provided $2 billion for the Rural Energy for America Program to help agricultural and rural businesses implement renewable energy systems. The USDA’s announcement is yet another move by the Trump administration to hinder domestic wind and solar projects. Trump has claimed these energy sources are unreliable.
“Starting today, @USDA will no longer deploy programs to fund solar or wind projects on productive farmland, ending massive taxpayer handouts. Also ENDING the use of panels made by foreign adversaries like China,” she added.
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