Daily on Energy: Quote of the week, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon speaks, and endangered species

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY: Good afternoon and happy Friday, readers! The World Cup quarterfinals kicked off yesterday, with France defeating Morocco, 2-0. The games continue today with Spain facing Belgium and this weekend with Argentina v. Switzerland and Norway v. England.

In other news, President Donald Trump said he plans to continue talks with Iran just days after he mentioned the ceasefire in the Middle East was over. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has finalized a rule rolling back protections for wildlife habitats. Keep reading to learn more.

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: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum spoke on Katie Miller’s podcast earlier this week, where he raised the concern that foreign influences are behind anti-data center campaigns.

“One thing for sure that I do worry about, which people think is a conspiracy theory, but it’s actually true, which is there’s a lot of foreign influence in building up the whole anti-artificial intelligence manufacturing in the U.S.,” Burgum said.

“I mean, the whole thing like, ‘oh, it’s going to be water, your power rates are going to go up.’ I mean, all that is just not true,” he added.

WYOMING GOVERNOR TALKS COAL, OIL, AND DATA CENTERS: Republican Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon sat down with Maydeen earlier this week to discuss the state’s coal industry, oil pipeline projects, and his efforts to protect ratepayers from the expansion of data centers.

During the interview, Gordon spoke about the importance of having a coal export terminal in California. He noted that it is “absolutely essential” for Wyoming’s coal sector to have a terminal on the West Coast, as it would provide easier access to markets in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

President Donald Trump last month provided $75 million through the Defense Production Act to fund the construction of the West Gateway Terminal, in Oakland, California. However, the terminal has received opposition from environmentalists and California officials, who argue that the project would pollute local communities.

Gordon said Wyoming would take legal action against any attempts to block the terminal from moving forward. He noted that any state action to halt the project would be interfering with interstate and foreign commerce.

“We would certainly go basically to the courts to enforce the Commerce Clause. It’s important not only for the coal industry. It’s important for every industry,” Gordon said.

Stay tuned for Maydeen’s video interview with the governor, coming this weekend.

TRUMP CUTS PROTECTIONS TO ENDANGERED SPECIES: Just this afternoon, the Interior Department said it was slashing the federal definition of “harm” under the Endangered Species Act, a move that could open up habitats of imperiled plants and animals to drilling and mining.

The definition of harm was first established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1981, deeming that, under the ESA, any action that hurts or kills an imperiled species is illegal. This included modifying or destroying a specie’s habitat.

The Trump administration, which first announced its plans to revoke the definition last spring, claimed the regulation was outdated and acted as a regulatory burden for American families and businesses.

“For years, federal agencies abused the ESA to obstruct lawful land use and burden American families and businesses,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. “That approach turned routine activity into a regulatory trap, drove up costs that impacted people’s lives, and expanded federal authority beyond what Congress intended.”

The move will likely be challenged in court by environmental and conservation organizations, such as the Center for Biological Diversity, which told Bloomberg Law in April that it would fight the decision.

Interior does not have any plans to replace the definition. Friday’s move was supported by the Commerce Department.

A JAWBONING TRUTH SOCIAL BEFORE MARKETS CLOSE: Are you feeling déjà vu too? Earlier this morning, President Donald Trump revealed in a post to Truth Social that the U.S. agreed to continue talks with Iran, despite having declared the ceasefire between the two countries as “over” earlier in the week.

It has been a common tactic from the president over the course of the war in Iran to issue a statement just before the weekend attempting to calm market nerves and put downward pressure on prices. But, following those past attempts, strikes would pick back up over the weekend while the markets remained closed.

As of the afternoon, traders appeared convinced that tensions wouldn’t escalate much further, but remained cautious.

Just after 2 p.m. EDT, Brent crude was down 0.77% and priced at $75.73 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate had fallen 1.26% and was selling at $71.17 a barrel.

STRAIT OF HORMUZ TENSIONS MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR GASOLINE TO FALL: In its closely watched monthly oil market report, the International Energy Agency warned that continued tensions in the Strait of Hormuz could complicate the recovery of the global oil markets and further tighten supplies for gasoline and diesel.

The Paris-based agency pointed out that while a “wave of crude” hit the market last month, following the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, refineries and other product supplies have been slower to respond to the reopening of the strait.

In June, exports of refined products and liquefied petroleum gas out of the Gulf region remained at less than half of the levels seen before the war started. Plus, several key export refineries have yet to resume loading new product onto ships, indicating that overall operations are still restricted. At the same time, Ukraine recently increased its attacks against Russian refineries, significantly slashing Russia’s ability to export diesel and gasoline. The IEA warned that these factors are causing gasoline cracks, the difference in prices between a barrel of oil and refined products, to move higher.

Why does this matter? Ahead of July 4th, AAA estimated that 72.2 million Americans would be traveling for the holiday weekend, with a record 61.4 million expected to travel by car. As summer travel continues, demand for gasoline could continue to grow before dipping in the fall. And if refineries continue to face pressure from a slow recovery in the strait, that will make it more difficult for gasoline prices to fall at the pump.

IEA CHIEF CALLS FOR EUROPEAN UNION TO REVERSE ARCTIC DRILLING BAN: As Europe and other regions look to reduce their reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for their energy needs, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol is calling on the European Union to look to the Arctic.

The EU has long opposed developing fossil fuels in the Arctic around Norway, due to environmental risks associated with drilling near or in fragile eco-systems. The bloc imposed a ban on drilling in the Arctic in 2021, which also aligns with its climate-related goals to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in general.

Birol is advising the bloc to reconsider this position, telling reporters: “The world needs every drop of oil from Norway.”

His push is backed by Norway, which began putting pressure on the EU earlier this year to reverse its drilling moratorium.

‘DRILL BABY DRILL’ UPDATE: The number of active drilling rigs in the U.S. rose again this past week, with the total count increasing by one, according to data released by Baker Hughes this afternoon.

This brings the total number of active oil and gas rigs in the U.S. to 581, a whopping 44 more than this time last year.

Broken down, Baker Hughes found that the number of gas and oil rigs remained unchanged at 126 and 445 respectively. In total, the number of rigs on land declined by two, while the number located offshore rose by three.

The steady increase seen over the last few weeks is a sign that several domestic producers moved to take advantage of higher oil prices caused by the war in Iran to increase output.

EPA AND DOJ REACH SETTLEMENT WITH KEYSTONE OPERATOR: The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice reached a settlement today with the Keystone pipeline owners over an oil spill in 2022.

South Bow, the owners of the Keystone Pipeline System, have agreed to pay more than $26 million in damages for a 2022 oil spill affecting Mill Creek in Kansas. As part of the settlement, the company will complete work to prevent future oil spills, which is estimated to cost about $40 million. South Bow also agreed to contribute more than $3 million to Kansas for natural resource restoration projects.

The oil spill: The Keystone Pipeline is a 2,687-mile oil pipeline that runs from Alberta, Canada, to Port Arthur, Texas. The EPA said that the rupture occurred in a section of the pipeline that stretched from Steele City, Nebraska, to Cushing, Oklahoma.

The pipe leaked more than 543,000 gallons of oil, killing or harming more than 2,700 animals, the EPA said. The agency issued a cleanup order in 2023, requiring South Bow to remove oil from the creek and surrounding areas.

ICYMI, ENERGY DEPARTMENT ISSUES PLAN TO EASE TRANSMISSION BOTTLENECKS: There is widespread agreement that the U.S. needs more transmission infrastructure to support surging energy demand brought about by artificial intelligence and data centers running that technology. How that’s done is the question.

The Department of Energy attempted to answer that in a triennial study released yesterday, called the National Transmission Needs Study.

Specifically, the report lays out the benefits of prioritizing interregional transmission, meaning transmission lines and projects that connect regions managed by the New York Independent System Operator, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, and ISO New England.

Increasing the number of interregional links could reduce transmission congestion, lower costs, and increase reliability, the agency said.

The report is seeking public comment to better inform the agency on how to address growing transmission needs and planning. The comment period ends Sept. 7

Quick note: The Biden administration had sought to address transmission by building long-distance transmission lines connected to renewable energy projects.

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