Senate ready to rumble over renewables; Schultz smack down on Green Deal

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Republican leader says Senate will vote on Green New Deal
Valeric Volcovici, Reuters, February 12, 2019

Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that the U.S. Senate will vote on a “Green New Deal” introduced by Democrats that aims to slash U.S. carbon dioxide emissions to negligible levels in a decade. “I’ve noted with great interest the Green New Deal, and we’re going to be voting on that in the Senate, give everybody an opportunity to go on record and see how they feel about the Green New Deal,” McConnell said.

Our Take: Let’s get ready to rumble – Markey vs. McConnell, renewables vs. fossil fuels. Markey’s accusation that calling for a vote will sabotage the plan leaves Headlamp wondering what flavor of Kool aid Markey was drinking when writing a bill that calls for the elimination of fossil fuels and no more airplane travel.  

Goldman sees oil rising toward $70, says demand forecasts are too gloomy
Tom DiChristopher, CNBC, February 13, 2019

  • Goldman Sachs sees Brent crude prices peaking at $67.50 a barrel in the second quarter of the year.
  • Brent is struggling to break through $64 a barrel following a sharp oil price pullback at the end of 2018.
  • Goldman says the Street is underestimating oil demand and thinks OPEC is taking a “shock and awe” approach to cutting output.

Our Take: Today Governor Dunleavy will release his FY 2020 budget. The revenue numbers are based on oil at $65 a barrel.

Oil Jumps as Saudis Plan Further Production Cuts
Irina Slav, OilPrice.Com, February 12, 2019

Saudi Arabia plans to reduce its crude oil production further, to 9.8 million bpd in March, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in an interview for the Financial Times. This compares with more than 11 million bpd produced in November.

From the Washington Examiner, Daily on Energy:

HOWARD SCHULTZ SAYS GREEN NEW DEAL ‘NOT REALISTIC’: Possible independent presidential candidate and Democratic spoiler Howard Schultz on Tuesday night criticized the Green New Deal, warning it would be “immoral” to spend trillions of dollars on an “unrealistic” solution.

The billionaire former Starbucks CEO and executive chairman, speaking at a town hall hosted by CNN, urged Democrats to be “truthful” about their environmental initiatives rather than just throwing policies “against the wall because it’s a good slogan.”