NEWS OF THE DAY:
McConnell, Schumer fail to cut power-sharing deal amid filibuster snag
Jordain Carney, The Hill, January 19, 2021
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) failed to reach a deal on Tuesday on organizing a 50-50 Senate as a fight over the filibuster threatens to drag out the talks for days.
The two Senate leaders met to discuss how to share power in an evenly split Senate. According to Schumer, they talked about “a whole lot of issues” but didn’t reach an agreement.
The talks have snagged over a fight on the 60-vote legislative filibuster, which could drag out the negotiations for several days.
OIL:
The U.S. remains important in oil market, even if Biden is less vocal than Trump: UAE energy minister
Andrea NG, CNBC, January 20, 2021
KEY POINTS
- The U.S. will remain important in oil markets, even if President-elect Joe Biden is less vocal than President Donald Trump, says UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei.
- Outgoing President Trump used to post on Twitter about crude oil and even communicated with OPEC leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia during the oil price war last year. Biden is expected to take a different approach.
- Al-Mazrouei also weighed in on the timeline for a recovery in the oil market.
The U.S. will always play an important role in global energy markets, even though President-elect Joe Biden is likely to be less vocal than President Donald Trump about oil, the UAE’s energy minister told CNBC ahead of Inauguration Day.
“The United States of America is a major player now … with its production, with the fact that this industry that has been developed through shale oil and gas has created lots of jobs and created an economy by itself,” said Suhail al-Mazrouei.
That won’t change under a new U.S. president who is expected to focus more on renewable energy and less on oil, he said.
GAS:
Earth to Joe Biden: Canceling Keystone XL Pipeline Is a Gift to China and Russia
Daniel Turner, Real Clear Energy, January 19, 2021
Joe Biden’s plans to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline is a gift to someone. The radical green groups for sure: they have opposed the oil link since its inception. The trucking and railroad industry will benefit, too, because once the pipeline is stopped, then the oil will be transported in and around America by something with wheels. It’s also a gift to our adversaries: for who will benefit when America and Canada can’t bring their fossil fuels to market? The competition. Russia and Venezuela will be thrilled to know their market share will increase thanks to the Biden Administration’s fumble.
What’s fascinating about Keystone is how un-fascinating the project actually really is. Sure, it’s a marvel of engineering and an extraordinary accomplishment of human and mechanical skills. The 1,200-mile pipeline from Alberta, Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast carrying crude oil to be refined is a great infrastructure project. A State Department study commissioned during the Obama Administration (when Joe Biden was Veep, a point which requires emphasis) determined the pipeline would create 3,200 temporary construction jobs directly, 42,000 additional jobs indirectly, and generate over $2 billion in wages. For the people in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska, the states through which the proposed pipeline will transverse, that’s an enormous opportunity.
MINING:
Barrick, NovaGold report additional assay results for Donlin
Mining.Com, January 19, 2021
Joint venture partners Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD) and NovaGold Resources (TSX: NG) have released the third set of assay results from the 2020 drill program at the Donlin gold project in Alaska.
The primary objective of the drill program was to validate and increase the confidence in recent geologic modeling concepts at the Donlin. With a total of 85 holes and 23,400 m of completed, this was the largest drill campaign completed in the Donlin area since 2008.
According to NovaGold, the Donlin deposit hosts one of the largest and highest-grade undeveloped open-pit gold endowments in the world, with an estimated 39 million ounces of gold grading 2.24 g/t in the measured and indicated resource categories.
So far, results for 67 holes have been received, representing approximately 16,680 m of the total lengths drilled. The remaining assay results are expected in the first quarter of 2021.
The latest assay results from both the ACMA and Lewis deposit areas continue to demonstrate higher drilled grade-thickness than predicted by previous modelling. Data collected has also resulted in an improved understanding of the controls on mineralization.
POLITICS:
All Bills and Resolutions Introduced To Date by Alaska Legislators
CLIMATE CHANGE CONVERSATIONS:
Biden to reveal comprehensive day-one climate agenda
Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Ari Natter on 1/20/2021
Joe Biden will unveil sweeping action to combat climate change hours after becoming president, moving to rejoin the Paris accord and imposing a moratorium on oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Environmentalists said Biden’s actions — some of which could take years to be implemented — will renew the U.S. commitment to safeguarding the environment and signal to the world that America has returned to the global fight against climate change.
The moves mark a dramatic rebuke of President Donald Trump’s pro-industry approach to energy and the environment.
Connected : Biden will temporarily halt oil and gas leasing in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge