WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Friday, readers! Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, has grown to a major Category 3 storm.
Today’s edition of Daily on Energy takes a closer look at the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to once again delay requirements for polluters to report their greenhouse gas emissions. Keep reading to find out what else the agency wants to do to the program.
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.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
During the Energy Intelligence Forum in London this week, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth pointed out that liquefied natural gas, while attractive for investors looking to diversify, faces some challenges that could add to the hurt the international market is facing with higher prices amid the war in Iran.
“When you look at natural gas and LNG in particular, it’s not as clean as renewables and it’s not affordable as coal,” Wirth said.
GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING REQUIREMENT DELAYED AGAIN:
The Trump administration has once again delayed implementing a Biden administration rule aimed at reducing methane emissions, as part of its broader strategy to lift regulatory burdens on the oil and gas industry.
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency extended the reporting deadline for the annual emissions reporting requirements until next March, roughly one full year after the emissions reports were originally due.
The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program was first formed in 2009, and has been collecting data from polluters since 2010. This includes emissions data from facilities such as power plants, oil refineries, manufacturing plants, and more.
In September of last year, the EPA proposed revising the program to remove reporting requirements for 46 out of 47 source categories. The only exception would be for petroleum and natural gas systems, which are required to report data under the Inflation Reduction Act.
While it has yet to finalize its decision to dismantle the reporting program, the EPA has delayed 2025 reporting requirements now twice. Originally, emissions reports were due in March of this year, though the EPA punted the deadline to Oct. 30.
Pushback: Environmental and climate-focused groups quickly blasted the extension, with the Environmental Defense Fund saying it will leave “Americans in the dark.”
“A wide variety of state and local governments, businesses and communities use information from the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program to better understand and address the pollution that causes climate change,” EDF senior attorney Edwin LaMair said. “Without it, we’ll all be less equipped to prevent the worsening storms, wildfires and floods that are driving up insurance costs and putting Americans everywhere at risk.”
Some background: The delayed rule comes shortly after the EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency was just days away from rolling back parts of other Biden administration standards for oil and gas operations.
This walkback would specifically consider the Biden administration’s 2024 oil and natural gas rules, also known as OOOOb/c. The EPA plans to propose new rules regulating marginal wells, which are wells that produce 15 barrels of oil equivalent or less per day, or 90,000 cubic feet or less of natural gas each day. These wells account for less than 5% of the country’s oil and gas supply, though the EPA has previously said they contribute to nearly 50% of the industry’s emissions.
The new rulemaking is also expected to revisit the overall approach to regulating associated gas from oil wells, through proposing new technical changes to flame monitoring data deviations, control device alerts, and visible emissions test conditions.
All the rest:
TRUMP TURNS TO RUSSIA TO LOWER DIESEL PRICES: Just minutes ago, President Donald Trump said Russia will be supplying more than 1 million tons of diesel to the U.S. and global marketplace to help lower soaring prices.
“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter,” Trump wrote in a statement posted to Truth Social.
The president said that, depending on the condition of Russia’s diesel refineries, Moscow will then deliver another 3,000,000 tons of diesel fuel “within a short period of time.”
“Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for AMericans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!” Trump added.
He said that lowering prices for farmers, ranchers and truckers is his “greatest priority.”
Diesel prices have not fallen substantially since Trump signed an executive order this week aiming to increase the availability of red-dyed diesel.
And earlier this morning, Trump said there is a “big announcement coming up on diesel.” He did not elaborate any further, but said it would be coming from Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.
“He’ll be even more important than Chris if he pulls this off,” Trump said, referring to Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “He’s working on something that’s going to be so good for our country.”
It was not immediately clear what the U.S. would be giving Russia in exchange for the new diesel. But prioritizing the export of Russian energy goods could be a part of the president’s broader plan to strike a ceasefire, even if temporary, between Russia and Ukraine.
White House officials previously confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, the president’s top negotiators, were orchestrating a deal to sell off assets owned by Lukoil, a Russian energy company sanctioned by the United States, as part of the president’s strategy.
Shortly after the announcement, the Treasury Department said it was issuing a temporary general license to allow the supply of Russian diesel to the market.
Where prices stand: Yesterday, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said as much as 10% of global refinery capacity has been taken offline because of the war in Iran as well as in Ukrainian attacks against Russia.
It also said that crack spreads – meaning the difference between oil prices and the cost of refined products like gasoline and diesel – have grown “well beyond normal.” So even as oil flows have increased through the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, U.S. fuel prices are going to remain elevated, the bank warned.
Today, AAA reported that the cost of gasoline in the U.S. was averaging $4.3718 a gallon, up by about one cent compared to yesterday. Diesel, on the other hand, is averaging about $6.2785 a gallon, down about one cent.
FOREST SERVICE LIMITS PUBLIC’S ABILITY TO OBJECT TO CERTAIN PROJECTS: While all of Washington waits on Congress to codify changes to the federal permitting process, the Trump administration is still taking matters into its own hands, attempting to accelerate projects by shrinking how long the general public can object to new permits.
The latest step to do so was taken by the U.S. Forest Service this morning, which said it is reforming the “project-level pre-decisional reviews process.” More commonly referred to as the objection process, this regulation determines how long individuals, organizations and groups have to file objections to environmental assessments and environmental impact statements issued by the agency as required by the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Forest Service said it is updating the rule to “consolidate and streamline processes” as well as increase efficiency. It is likely to be scrutinized by conservationists and environmental organizations, who have long argued that any cuts to review and objection periods are detrimental to the public’s ability to engage in the federal permitting process.
The rule change announced this morning will specifically apply to project proposals that “support implementation of land and resource management plans.” This includes projects such as forest and vegetation management, grazing, infrastructure and recreation, wildlife habitat, energy and special use projects, as well as those authorized under the Healthy Forests Restoration Act.
The new rule will cut the overall objection process timeline by up to 73% for environmental assessments and up to 48% for environmental impact statements. It also sets strict page limits for objections, includes new requirements for specific content, and expands the use of technology for objections.
A DATA CENTER IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO: What used to be a trading complex in downtown Chicago will be converted to a data center, illustrating how the rush to build the facilities is affecting not just rural and exurban areas, but also cities.
The facility will be smaller than some of the huge data centers built in greenfield spaces, but it makes sense financially because it will get rents four times higher than office space would, Bloomberg reports. No grid update will be needed.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY IS MOONLIGHTING AS A NUCLEAR POWER ENTREPRENEUR: In addition to vying to be the governor of Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy is trying his hand at nuclear power innovation.
A startup co-founded by the Republican, Atlas Atomics, has raised $400 million at a $1.9 billion valuation, Bloomberg reports. Energy investor Kevin Gan is the other co-founder, and former Oak Ridge National Laboratory chief operating officer Balendra Sutharshan is the company’s chief nuclear officer.
Atlas aims to develop improved heavy water reactor technology.
It enters a field that has gotten relatively crowded in recent years, especially following the Trump administration’s efforts to boost the industry. Investors have put $4.6 billion into nuclear startups just this year, per Bloomberg.
WHITE HOUSE PRESSURE ON MEXICO: The president has reportedly been pressuring Mexican officials to sign energy deals with U.S. companies as part of a broader trade agreement.
During a call with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum in September, Trump reportedly said that there should be more U.S.-Mexican energy deals, the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the discussion.
The sources told the outlet that the president initially asked about a deal to sell Mexican assets to U.S. companies, as well as another agreement – similar to that signed by South Korea – which would involve investing in U.S. energy products.
A U.S. official also told the Financial Times that the two presidents talked about Mexico increasing purchases of U.S. natural gas.
The call reportedly increased tensions between high-level officials, as the U.S. and Mexico planned to have formal trade talks in September. The talks were later postponed and then called off, in part due to the energy deals pushed by the Oval Office.
RUNDOWN
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
