DOE Grants Lake Charles LNG Additional Time to Commence Exports   WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright today signed an amendment order granting additional time for Energy Transfer’s Lake Charles LNG Export Company, LLC to commence exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) countries from the Lake Charles LNG project in Lake Charles, LA. Once fully constructed, the Lake Charles LNG project will be capable of exporting up to 2.33 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas as LNG. “On the heels of President Trump’s historic trade negotiations, demand for secure, reliable American LNG is surging,” said Secretary Wright. “The Department of Energy is ensuring companies like Lake Charles LNG are prepared meet this global demand while advancing commonsense policies that support American jobs and lower energy costs here at home.”  “Granting this commencement extension furthers the Trump Administration’s priority of unleashing American Energy, a radical shift from the last administration, whose actions undermined the progress of Lake Charles LNG for years,” said Tala Goudarzi, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. Lake Charles LNG was originally configured as an LNG import terminal, but is now being developed as an LNG export terminal. Recently, the company signed several long-term LNG off-take contracts, including agreements with Chevron and Kyushu Electric Power Company. The United States is the largest global producer and exporter of natural gas. There are currently eight large-scale LNG projects operating in the United States and several additional projects are expanding or under construction. Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department has approved applications from projects that will export more than 13.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas as LNG, a volume greater than the world’s second-largest LNG- exporting nation is exporting today.           

Oil rose after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled openness to an interest rate cut in September, countering an increasingly bearish supply outlook. West Texas Intermediate edged higher to settle above $63 a barrel, while Brent settled near $68 after Powell’s highly anticipated prepared remarks were more dovish than some investors anticipated. Crude futures stand to benefit from cheaper borrowing costs, which investors expect to spur economic activity and increase fuel demand. Lower rates also ease the financing and storage expenses that make holding oil positions more expensive when rates are high. Oil’s gains are being limited by continued expectations that global markets will face a supply glut after peak summer demand ends. Crude has dropped more than 10% this year on concerns that US tariffs will hurt economic growth just as OPEC+ nations are returning idled production. On the geopolitical front, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro blasted India again for continuing to buy Russian oil and said he sees US import levies on the nation doubling as planned on Aug. 27. President Donald Trump has threatened to raise the import duties on Indian goods to 50%, half of which is due to purchases of Russian crude. Still, oil refiners in the South Asian nation have returned to buying the barrels after a brief pause, while an official from Moscow said he expects flows to be maintained. There was little sign of progress toward a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine on Friday as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he’d had no contact with Russia on potential talks. While Navarro’s latest comments offer a fresh reminder of the headline risks around Russian energy as Trump seeks to engineer an end to the war in Ukraine, oil has largely drifted in recent weeks amid thinner summer trading. As traders

The Trump administration has launched an investigation into imported wind turbines and parts, a potential precursor to adding more tariffs on the clean-energy components. The US Commerce Department started a national security probe on Aug. 13 into whether wind energy imports harm national security and undermine domestic production, according to a notice posted by the agency Thursday.  Earlier this week, the agency said it was including wind turbines and related parts among the products facing 50 percent steel and aluminum tariffs.  The US wind industry is heavily dependent on imports for parts such as blades, drivetrains and electrical systems, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie. In 2023, wind-related equipment imports to the US were valued at $1.7 billion, with 41 percent coming from Mexico, Canada and China, the firm said. President Donald Trump and his administration have repeatedly attacked wind energy, saying turbines have ruined the views at some of his golf properties and making unsubstantiated claims about their roles in the deaths of birds and whales.  Trump on Wednesday said the US would not approve solar and wind projects that hurt farmland, saying they increase energy prices. He indefinitely halted the sale of new offshore wind leases on his first day in office and paused permitting of all wind projects on federal lands and waters. Thursday’s announcement adds to the list of industries facing potential tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which allows the president to regulate imports that are deemed to threaten national security.  The president has said that duties on pharmaceutical and semiconductor imports could be rolled out in the coming weeks. Other industries under investigation include commercial aircraft, critical minerals and lumber.  Trump has already announced duties on steel, aluminum, copper and automobiles. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the

Streamline Innovations Inc. said it had completed a recapitalization with new investors and that it is now eyeing growth in the energy sector and other industrial markets. Eldon Pass, which describes itself as a group of mature operating companies, real estate and new ventures, led the equity investment for Streamline Innovations. Select Milk, a Dallas, Texas-based dairy cooperative, was the lead equity participant, according to a statement on Streamline Innovations’ website. San Antonio, Texas-based Streamline Innovations offers patented solutions to eliminate toxic and corrosive hydrogen sulfide emissions from oil, gas, renewable natural gas, carbon dioxide, municipal and industrial wastewater and other industrial processes, according to the company. “Additionally, Proterra Investment Partners LP arranged and led a comprehensive unitranche loan to help facilitate the transaction”, the statement said. “These combined proceeds will be used as strategic capital to position Streamline for continued growth in the energy market, as well as expansion into additional industrial markets and geographic regions. “Proceeds were also used to redeem the majority of existing equity holders at attractive returns for them, and to simplify the company’s ownership structure”. The statement did not disclose the financial details of the transaction. “Now, with the support of our new stakeholders, we are poised for continued growth, which we will pursue in various ways including the development of new products and technologies to help customers both economically and environmentally”, said Streamline Innovations co-founder and chief executive Dave Sisk. “While the company will continue to operate as an independent entity, we couldn’t be more excited to partner with Select Milk… In addition to growing our existing energy business and serving our great customers in the energy space, we see additional opportunities that exist through the Select Milk relationship”. To contact the author, email [email protected] WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments

Cenovus Energy Inc. agreed to buy MEG Energy Corp. for C$6.93 billion ($5 billion), beating a bid from Strathcona Resources Ltd. to boost its position among Canada’s top oil producers. The deal values MEG at C$27.25 and calls for Cenovus to pay three-quarters in cash and a quarter in stock, according to a statement Friday. Cenovus expects the acquisition to close in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. The total value of the deal is C$7.9 billion including debt. The agreement caps a three-month battle for control of MEG triggered when oil tycoon Adam Waterous’ Strathcona Resources made an unsolicited cash-and-stock bid. MEG’s board had spurned Strathcona’s approaches before it took the proposal public. Once disclosed, some MEG investors panned the roughly C$6 billion proposal as too low. The board started a strategic review to seek other offers. Royal Bank of Canada analyst Greg Pardy said in May that Cenovus was “the most logical fit” to take over MEG because it also operates in Christina Lake, offering greater potential operating synergies than other possible buyers. The Cenovus takeover unites two Calgary-based firms with significant operations in the oil-sands region of northeastern Alberta. MEG’s Christina Lake project includes 200 square kilometers (77 square miles) of leases in the oil-rich area, and the company has regulatory approvals to produce around 210,000 barrels a day. MEG, which pumps about 100,000 barrels of crude a day, is one of the last companies in the industry small enough to be taken over but large enough to vault the acquirer up in the ranks of the country’s major producers.  Cenovus is the third-largest Canadian crude producer by stock-market value, producing the equivalent of about 800,000 barrels of oil a day last year – mostly bitumen, along with natural gas liquids and some conventional oil

Indonesia Energy Corporation (IEC) said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Aguila Energia e Participações Ltda. (AEP) to collaborate on oil and gas projects in Brazil. The MoU establishes a cooperative framework to jointly identify, evaluate, and pursue potential opportunities to acquire or participate in oil and gas or other energy-related projects in Brazil, IEC said in a news release. IEC and AEP will seek to enter into appropriate definitive agreements for projects on an opportunity-by-opportunity basis. The collaboration combines “IEC’s oil and gas and capital market experience with AEP’s capabilities in local Brazilian transactions, regulatory engagement, and asset development,” according to the release. IEC President Frank Ingriselli said, “This collaboration marks an exciting first step by IEC to evaluate world-class opportunities beyond Indonesia in Brazil, a market that has become one of the most attractive for upstream investment. Working with Blener Mayhew and his team will give us immediate local insight and access. In addition to opportunities in Brazil, AEP may also assist us in further commercializing our Indonesian assets and identifying new Indonesian domestic growth projects. Together with our planned drilling program at our Kruh Block, this initiative advances our growth strategy to scale production and diversify our portfolio in the final months of 2025 and beyond”. “We believe Brazil is experiencing an attractive convergence of market catalysts that create an exceptional entry point for nimble independent oil and gas companies like ours,” Ingriselli added. The executive mentioned Brazil’s bid system that allows acquisition opportunities, as well as the trend of junior operators divesting assets, as reasons for exploring growth opportunities in the country. Ingiselli also mentioned that concession contracts with the Brazilian government offered “the potential for higher after-tax cash flows compared to production-sharing contracts, as well as the potential for enhanced operational flexibility and