COVID 19
FDA authorizes widespread use of unproven drugs to treat coronavirus, saying possible benefit outweighs risk
Christopher Rowland, The Washington Post, March 30, 2020
The Food and Drug Administration has given emergency approval to a Trump administration plan to distribute millions of doses of anti-malarial drugs to hospitals across the country, saying it is worth the risk of trying unproven treatments to slow the progression of the disease in seriously ill coronavirus patients. There have only been a few, very small anecdotal studies that show a possible benefit of the drugs, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, to relieve the acute respiratory symptoms of Covid-19 and clear the virus from infected patients.
OIL
The
end of OPEC or a new beginning?
Sarah Ladislaw, Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 30,
2020
Many people have heralded the “end of OPEC” throughout its 60-year history. Even when it was alive some analysts regarded it as functionally dead several times. The most recent time was during the oil price crash of 2014 when U.S. oil production so voraciously outpaced demand growth that OPEC walked away from trying to bolster prices in an effort to let market forces tamp down the U.S. tight oil sector. Even then, OPEC members came back together in 2016 with a newly established OPEC+ arrangement—adding Russia and a handful of other non-OPEC producers to their alliance in order to bolster the size of their market share and influence on the market.
What
to watch in the oil market this week
Matthew W. Veazey, Rigzone, March 30, 2020
The oil market’s volatility last week prompted a trio of market-watchers assembled by Rigzone to suggest themes that one might observe in an action film. Looking ahead to this week, our panelists anticipate more tough times in the near-term but also opportunities for deal-making and even a glimpse of better days perhaps in the coming months. Read on for their perspectives.
Alyeska continues to proactively apply guidance from our medical experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Whether working from home or transiting in the state or local communities, we have implemented best practices in order to protect our workforce as well as those around them. These steps include hygiene protocols, self-monitoring for illness, maintaining social distancing, eliminating most travel, and implementing telework wherever possible because we take our responsibilities seriously.
GAS
Exclusive:
Civil rights leaders oppose swift move off natural gas
Amy Harder, Axios, March 29, 2020
Top American civil rights activists are opposing an abrupt move away from natural gas, putting them at odds with environmentalists and progressive Democrats who want to ban fracking. Driving the news: In recent interviews, Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and National Urban League President Marc Morial said energy costs are hitting people of color unfairly hard. These concerns, expressed before the coronavirus pandemic, are poised to expand as paychecks shrink across America.
MINING
Critical Infrastructure Sectors
There are 16 critical infrastructure sectors whose assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, are considered so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof. Presidential Policy Directive 21 (PPD-21): Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience advances a national policy to strengthen and maintain secure, functioning, and resilient critical infrastructure. This directive supersedes Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7.
POLITICS
Governor Dunleavy gives FY21 budget a mixed grade
“Early this morning, (March 29th), the 31st Alaska State Legislature recessed after finishing work on the FY 2021 Operating and Capital Budget, the FY 2020 Supplemental Budget, and extending the Public Health Emergency Disaster Declaration for COVID-19. Governor Mike Dunleavy appreciates the fact that lawmakers worked quickly to pass a budget and, that certain funding was included to combat aspects of the pandemic and the associated economic fallout. However, the Governor feels the legislature missed the mark by not including a cash infusion that many leading economists believe should be implemented as quickly as possible. “