Daily on Energy: Trump may get what he wants from the new prime minister

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Thursday, readers! August recess is right around the corner, and while most members of Congress will be headed back to their districts, Callie and Maydeen will be sticking around in D.C. Don’t hesitate to reach out for coffee or lunch if you are also going to be in town. 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.President Donald Trump’s pressure on the new British government to open up the North Sea for oil drilling appears to be working. New Prime Minister Andy Burnham expressed openness today to approving more oil drilling in the North Sea, telling reporters he is taking a “pragmatic approach” to the region. Quick reminder: Since 2024, there has been a ban on issuing new licenses for drilling projects in the North Sea, as the Labour Party seeks to reduce the United Kingdom’s reliance on fossil fuels and hit net-zero emissions by 2050. Burnham is expected to break with his party and pave the way for some new drilling, though the extent of what he may approve has yet to be seen. Trump repeatedly called on the U.K. to lift its ban, and even claimed this week that Burnham told him that he would be opening up the North Sea entirely. What did Burnham say? Earlier today, Burnham acknowledged the region holds a crucial “resource” for the nation, and said he plans to take a “pragmatic approach” regarding it.“When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that,” he said, according to Bloomberg. “Hence me indicating that to the president.”What could be approved? Some reports have suggested that Burnham may focus primarily on a pair of drilling licenses previously issued for the North Sea that have been caught up in court. Early last year, the Court of Session in Edinburgh overturned the license approvals for the Jackdaw and Rosebank gasfield projects issued in 2022 and 2023.At the time, the court ruled the approvals were unlawful and failed to fully assess the environmental impacts of the projects, such as the carbon emissions generated by the burning of any oil and gas produced. As part of the ruling, however, the court allowed the developers of the two projects, Shell and Equinor, to continue work, such as drilling wells, as the government considered any oil and gas production in the regions.Some have said Burnham may allow the Jackdaw and Rosebank projects to move forward, while keeping the overall moratorium on new licenses in place.Read more from Callie here. All the rest SENATE TO TAKE UP E15 NEXT WEEK: The Senate agriculture committee is expected to mark up the Farm Bill next week and to include language allowing for the year-round sale of ethanol blends. Senators plan to include E15 language that is a scaled-back version of the House bill that was passed in May, Politico reports. It added that the Senate would include language similar to legislation introduced by Republican Sens. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia. No text is yet available. What did the House pass? Although both chambers would allow for the year-round sale of E15, the difference involves small oil refinery exemptions. The House bill made changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard that would limit small refineries’ ability to be granted biofuel exemptions by the Environmental Protection Agency. Infighting within the GOP: There has been some infighting between Republicans in oil and agriculture states. Lawmakers representing oil states want to ensure that exemptions do not exclude much of the industry. Small refineries have warned that E15 requirements could raise compliance costs. Meanwhile, lawmakers from agriculture states have pushed for year-round E15, as corn farmers would benefit from the required blend. A SEESAWING OIL MARKET: Oil prices fell today, reversing some of yesterday’s gains, despite increased tensions and fighting in the Middle East. U.S. forces launched heavy strikes against Iran, targeting military and missile facilities. U.S. officials said they struck dozens of targets in the latest wave of attacks. The strikes did not appear to worry traders too much, as international and domestic benchmarks for oil fell slightly today. Just before 3 p.m. EDT, Brent crude was down 1.7% and priced at $89.20 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate had also fallen 1.08% and was selling at $83.55 a barrel. Meanwhile, global EV sales reap the benefits: Global electric vehicle sales rebounded in the second quarter, rising by 35% compared to the first quarter, the International Energy Agency reported today. IEA noted that global car sales were down 5% in the first half of the year compared to last. It added that overall EVs accounted for 24% of global car sales, which is slightly higher than the same time last year. The Paris-based organization indicated that the boost in sales was in part driven by the higher oil and gasoline prices, saying, “the energy crisis sparked by the war in the Middle East brought fuel price volatility back into sharp focus.” QATARENERGY PURCHASES US LNG CARGOES TO OFFSET DISRUPTIONS: QatarEnergy has purchased 33 liquefied natural gas cargoes this year from the U.S. to deliver to South Korea, Taiwan, Bangladesh, India, and Japan, trade and industry sources told Reuters. QatarEnergy declared force majeure on its LNG exports in March due to the conflict in the Middle East. The war in Iran has disrupted QatarEnergy LNG exports, particularly to Asian countries that relied on the supply. Reuters said that the 33 cargoes amount to about a third of a month’s exports from QatarEnergy before the conflict, which is worth about $1 billion. UNITED KINGDOM HEAT-RELATED DEATHS APPROACH 2022 RECORD: About 2,877 people have died in Britain due to heat-related causes this year, approaching the record set in 2022, the U.K. Health Security Agency said. Several heat waves have swept through Britain and much of Europe this year. The country’s health authority said that about 753 heat-related deaths were associated with the heat wave in May, and in June, nearly 2,124 deaths were recorded, Reuters reports. Britain this year could witness the highest number of heat-related deaths, surpassing the record in 2022 of 2,985. Europe is the fastest-warming continent. Spain and France are currently tackling historic wildfires. FOREIGN PRODUCTION OF VENEZUELAN OIL STALLED: It’s been seven months since the U.S. ousted former dictator Nicolas Maduro and opened the door for foreign oil and gas companies to return to Venezuela after pulling their operations nearly two decades ago. While the administration has taken several steps to incentivize the return of these firms, and facilitated policy changes within Venezuela to remove regulatory red tape, we have yet to see several major commitments or deals signed by oil majors, such as ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips. People familiar with negotiations told the Wall Street Journal that talks between these firms and Venezuelan leaders recently came to a halt. This is in part reportedly due to the fact that several of the majors are interested in many of the same oil assets in Venezuela – such as fields in the Orinoco Belt. Discussions have also been hurt by the disastrous earthquake that struck the country in June. Plus, some executives are still worried that any major long-term investments in Venezuela could be threatened by political instability. ICYMI – EUROPE WARY OF BUYING NUCLEAR FROM THE U.S.: As Trump has worked to make expanding the nuclear energy industry a hallmark of his administration, a D.C. think tank now claims that several of his other policies are actually hurting the U.S.’s ability to have a competitive edge for advanced nuclear technologies. The group, Third Way, is known in Washington for championing nuclear energy policy and influencing public opinion in favor of carbon-free technology over the last decade. In a report released yesterday, Third Way acknowledged that the administration has taken several crucial steps to facilitate the development of more nuclear power. But the group said the administration is simultaneously putting exports of U.S. nuclear power at risk. “The overarching conclusion of our research is that Trump Administration policies have blunted every major competitive edge that the US has to carve out a transatlantic nuclear energy market,” the group bluntly wrote. The policies threatening transatlantic relations for nuclear energy include the president’s frequent verbal attacks on NATO and the issuing of unilateral tariffs on allies. “All of these things are causing countries to have second thoughts about how they want to approach partnering with U.S. technology and U.S. companies,” Jeff Navin, co-founder of Boundary Stone Partners and former chief of staff at the Department of Energy under the Obama administration, said during an event discussing the report’s findings. Unfortunately for the administration, the U.S. can’t dismiss European concerns. Navin insisted that there is “not a path forward” for advanced nuclear power in the U.S. without international cooperation. Part of this is due to the difficulties around financing domestic nuclear projects. You can read the full report here. RUNDOWNPolitico The Trump administration wants more gasoline made in idled refineries from California to sunny St. CroixGrist 4 things to know about cyclospora and climate changeReuters Oil companies signing agreements in Venezuela, but delays persist