| | | | | |  | | By Kelsey Tamborrino | Presented by Chevron | With help from Alex Guillén Editor's Note: Morning Energy is a free version of POLITICO Pro Energy's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. | | | | | | | — Exxon Mobil announced a staggering writedown of as much as $20 billion in assets in the fourth quarter and said it would spend billions less over the next five years. — The Senate confirmed two nominees to FERC on Monday by voice vote , returning the agency to its full five members. — EPA laid out an interim plan for addressing discharges of PFAS, in what could be a first step in slowing the flow of the toxic chemicals into drinking water sources. WELCOME TO TUESDAY! I'm your host, Kelsey Tamborrino. Ed Chen of the Natural Resources Defense Council is back with the trivia win. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas Tree on the White House grounds, starting the tree-lighting tradition. For today: Which former deputy Energy secretary was also one half of the first sibling team of Rhodes scholars? Send your tips and trivia answers to ktamborrino@politico.com. Check out the POLITICO Energy podcast — all the energy and environmental politics and policy news you need to start your day, in just five minutes. Listen and subscribe for free at politico.com/energy-podcast. On today's episode: Europe's new gas stance: Go clean or stay home | | A message from Chevron: It's only human to want to build a better future for all. Chevron is working together with women and minority owned businesses, spending $4 billion since 2014. Because valuable ideas only come when you value everyone. Learn more. | | | | | | WRITE THIS DOWN: In an acknowledgment that its plunge into natural gas has not been as profitable as expected, Exxon Mobil said Monday it will slash its spending and write down up to $20 billion in assets in the fourth quarter, Pro's Ben Lefebvre reports. Exxon said it will take an asset impairment between $17 billion and $20 billion in dry gas assets — which lack the liquids that can be turned into chemicals or sold as separate fuels — in the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, as well as regions in Canada and Argentina. The oil giant will try to sell some of those assets and instead focus on drilling in Guyana in South America and the Permian Basin region of Texas and New Mexico. The company also said it would cut its spending next year to between $16 billion to $19 billion, and keep it at $20 billion to $25 billion annually through 2025 — well below the $30 billion per year the company had previously anticipated. | 
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images | The writedown marks one of the largest seen in the industry in years, Ben reports. Exxon had signaled earlier this year that a writedown of its North American asset values was possible , and analysts have long speculated that Exxon would need to reassess the value of some of its natural gas assets in the U.S. The company paid $41 billion in 2010 for natural gas producer XTO, a price that critics said was too high especially given the subsequent collapse in natural gas prices. | | | | TUNE IN TO OUR GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS PODCAST: The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded in 2020 amid a global pandemic. Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, unpacks the roadblocks to smart policy decisions and examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | | | | | NOMINATION WATCH: President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will hold an event today to officially announce their economic nominees and appointees. Among the names: Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who Biden will nominate for Treasury secretary. Recall: Yellen has been more outspoken in recent weeks on the role that central banks and other financial regulators must play in addressing climate change — encouraging signs for green groups that are eager to see her use the full power of the Treasury seat to bolster the financial system's defenses against climate risks. STEYER FOR COMMERCE? Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer is making a play to become Commerce secretary, people familiar with his plans tell Pro's Megan Cassella and Tyler Pager. Steyer has been eyeing the role, and one of the people said he has been "heavily organizing" to try to make it happen. The Commerce Department includes NOAA , which would give any incoming secretary an important role in the Biden administration in gauging the threats posed by climate change. ON THE PHONE: Biden continued a string of congratulatory calls with world leaders Monday, and he brought up combating climate change, according to the transition team. Biden discussed climate in separate calls with President Alberto Fernández of Argentina, President Carlos Alvarado of Costa Rica and President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. The president-elect also spoke with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres about the "need for a strengthened partnership between the United States and the United Nations on urgent global issues," including confronting the threat of climate change and advancing sustainable development, according to a readout. Guterres, notably, will deliver a big speech on Wednesday on the state of the planet and the need for scaled-up ambition for tackling climate change. | | | | NEXT WEEK - DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT 2020: POLITICO will feature a special edition Future Pulse newsletter at the Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators determined to confront and conquer the most significant health challenges. Covid-19 has exposed weaknesses across our health systems, particularly in the treatment of our most vulnerable communities, driving the focus of the 2020 conference on the converging crises of public health, economic insecurity, and social justice. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage from December 7–9. | | | | | | | | FERC'S BACK TO FIVE: The Senate quietly confirmed Allison Clements and Mark Christie by voice vote on Monday night for two open commissioner spots at FERC. The vote returns the agency to its full five members, with three Republicans and two Democrats. Close observers of the Senate had wondered whether the pair would get any floor time during the lame-duck session, and the move now ensures a Republican majority on the commission at least until June, when former Chair Neil Chatterjee's term ends, Pro's Eric Wolff reports. That's particularly notable should Republicans maintain control of the Senate and choose to block a lone Democratic nominee to replace Chatterjee next year — a move that ultimately would ensure a 2-2 partisan deadlock throughout Biden's term. EPA RELEASES INTERIM PFAS PLAN: The agency is recommending that regulators require many factories, wastewater treatment plants and other facilities to monitor wastewater for toxic "forever chemicals," Pro's Annie Snider reports. In a memo sent to regional administrators last week, EPA water chief David Ross laid out an "interim strategy" to address discharges of PFAS that included a call for permit writers to "consider and incorporate" practices to control discharges of PFAS "when appropriate." The plan marks a first step toward stanching the chemicals' flow into rivers and streams that serve as drinking water sources. Much of EPA's regulatory work on PFAS so far has focused on filtering the toxic contaminants from drinking water rather than cutting off the flow of additional pollution from the source. The response: Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group called the announcement "an insult to the millions of Americans who are drinking water contaminated with PFAS," in a statement. He said EPA should be issuing "tough, mandatory standards to regulate PFAS discharges from thousands of industry facilities, not 'encouraging' industry and regulators to 'consider' whether to limit releases of toxic chemicals building up in the blood of every American." OSTP STAFFER HEADS TO CLIMATE REPORT GROUP: Kim Doster, a scheduler for White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kelvin Droegemeier, has taken a top job at the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which creates the National Climate Assessment every few years, according to her LinkedIn profile. Doster, who lists her new position at USGCRP as senior policy adviser, is at least the third Trump official to be detailed to a key role at the program in the final months of the administration, after climate skeptic David Legates and NOAA chief scientist Ryan Maue took key oversight roles. #ThisTown: Doster's father is Tim Clark, a longtime California GOP strategist who ran President Donald Trump's 2016 primary campaign there and later his southwest operations in the general. He came on as a White House liaison at the Department of Health and Human Services and then as a policy adviser to Trump and now works as chief communications officer for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. | | | |   | | | | | | BANK OF AMERICA WON'T FINANCE ARCTIC DRILLING: Bank of America will not provide project financing for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic, the company's head of public policy and strategy in D.C. told Bloomberg on Monday. "There's been misunderstanding around our position, but we have not historically participated in project finance for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic," Bank of America's Larry Di Rita told Bloomberg. "But given that misinterpretation, we've determined that it's time to codify our existing practice into policy." Bank of America had been the sole major holdout following pledges by other banks in recent months that they would not invest in Arctic drilling projects, amid pressure to address climate change and protect sensitive lands. REPORT: FORD CALLS ON AUTOMAKERS TO BACK CALIFORNIA: Ford is calling on other major automakers to consider supporting California's right to enforce greenhouse gas rules for automobiles in the hopes of reaching industry consensus before Biden enters the White House, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The letter follows General Motors' announcement last week that it is withdrawing from a lawsuit challenging California's right to enforce those emissions rules. Ford Americas President Kumar Galhotra says in the letter that with Biden's win, the fight over Trump's effort to preempt California on vehicle emissions "is now, at least for the next set of years, essentially moot. The more relevant issue is thus the question of the standards," according to Reuters. He calls on the automakers "to actively consider embracing the California framework." Ford is one of several automakers that sided with California after the Trump administration announced it would revoke the state's standards and replace the national-state harmonized rules with weaker ones. Happening today: Major automakers are set to discuss next steps at a virtual meeting of their auto trade association, according to Reuters. BIG NEWS IN ENERGY DATA: S&P Global and IHS Markit entered into a $44 billion, all-stock deal Monday to merge the two companies. The deal includes $4.8 billion of net debt and will have S&P Global shareholders own nearly 68 percent of the combined company. Douglas Peterson, president and CEO of S&P Global, will serve as CEO of the combined company. Lance Uggla, chair and CEO of IHS Markit, will stay on as a special adviser to the company for one year following closing. | | | — Gloria Reuben was named the new president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, a nonprofit focused on clean water. Reuben, an actress and social activist, served as a trustee with Waterkeeper Alliance from 2007 to 2010, before becoming an adviser to The Climate Reality Project. | | A message from Chevron: Chevron is committed to helping give thousands of entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to thrive. Learn more. | | | | | | — "What a Joe Biden Cabinet pick might mean for Native Americans — and Democrats," via POLITICO Magazine. — "The record-shattering 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is over, but the scars it left remain," via The Washington Post. — "OPEC defers decision on extending output curbs," via The Wall Street Journal. — "Minnesota gives final green light to disputed oil pipeline," via Associated Press. — " New Mexico promised its students free college. Then oil prices tanked," via NBC News. — "The new energy giants are renewable companies," via Bloomberg. THAT'S ALL FOR ME! | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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