Daily on Energy: As Trump oil sanctions kick in, Iran vows never to become Saudi Arabia

Ali Larijani, the Iranian equivalent of House speaker, took to the floor of the parliament in defiance of Washington’s demands that it meet 12 preconditions to see sanctions lifted on its most valuable commodity — oil.

If Iran were to agree to President Trump’s “illogical demands” it would mean the humiliation of the Iranian nation to become treated like Saudi Arabia, Larjani said. “So, we have no option except resistance,” he added, calling on the nation’s economy to attain “self-dependency.”

Meanwhile…Iran asks for Saudi help: At the same time Larjani was railing against the U.S. and insulting Saudi Arabia, Iran’s representative at the United Nations in New York was on the phone to Riyadh, asking the Saudis to help save one of its oil tankers adrift in the Red Sea.

Saudi government news dispatches covered the incident in detail, including how the distress call was conveyed to Saudi Arabia’s border police from the U.N., which is not a common occurrence. Typically, an SOS from the ship’s captain would be enough.

A return to HAPPINESS: The 26 crew members of the Iranian oil tanker, named HAPPINESS I, were rescued. Both Saudi and Iranian news outlets said the ship’s engine had failed. The captain had sent an SOS, asking for a tow.

More railing against the US: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed defiance against the U.S. while attending the Asia Cooperation Dialogue being held in nearby Doha, Qatar.

Nevertheless, Zarif expressed hope that Iran could improve its ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — the two countries the Trump administration cites as being helpful in implementing sanctions against Tehran.

Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are being tapped by the State Department to inject more oil into the market if needed to avoid a global price spike, especially since Washington is not handing out any more waivers to continue to import Iranian oil.

Willing and unwilling countries: China and Turkey have said they will not abide by Washington’s oil sanctions, while other large buyers of crude oil from Iran — India, Japan, and South Korea — have said they will abide by the sanctions and switch to alternative supplies.

So far, surging U.S. supplies of shale oil have kept oil prices at a monthly low as of Thursday, with analysts crediting swelling oil reserves for that feat.

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MEANWHILE … RICK PERRY BUSY PROMOTING US LNG MARKET IN EUROPE: Energy Secretary Rick Perry authorized two new liquefied natural gas facilities to begin exporting to Europe and elsewhere on Thursday on the sidelines of a major U.S.-European Union energy forum held in Brussels.

The forum was meant to encourage more cooperation on natural gas between the continents’ business community. The EU started the meeting off by releasing a report that showed imports of LNG reached their highest level ever under the Trump administration.

Perry did not disappoint: He granted Tellurian’s Driftwood LNG facility authorization to begin exporting natural gas once its project is completed on the Gulf Coast. He did the same for Sempra Energy’s Port Arthur facility.

The authorizations allow the facilities to export LNG to any country that has trade relations with the United States, Perry tweeted from Brussels.

Trump energy talks: LNG is likely to come up in Washington on Friday as Trump meets with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini. The Slovak Republic had joined with many Eastern European countries in opposing the Russian Nordstream II pipeline, which the Trump administration also vehemently opposes.

Trump has pushed Europe to rely more on U.S. LNG over potentially hostile sources of energy from Russia. Perry had meetings while in Brussels with leaders from Romania and Poland that are attempting to diversify their energy resources away from Russia with the help of the United States.

JAY INSLEE UNVEILS 100% CLEAN ENERGY PLAN: 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Jay Inslee released a plan Friday to impose a 100% clean energy mandate, requiring all U.S. electricity to be carbon neutral by 2030.

His proposal for a national clean energy standard would put “America on a path to having all clean, renewable and zero-emission” electricity by 2035, his campaign said in the plan roll-out, eliminating the use of fossil fuels, but allowing for nuclear power.

A plan for other high-emitting industries: Inslee also calls for mandating all new light- and medium-duty vehicles and buses to be zero-emissions by 2030, expanding EV charging infrastructure to make that possible. He would require all new residential and commercial buildings to be zero-carbon by that same year.

His overarching goal: Inslee wants America to achieve net-zero emissions, across all economic sectors, “as fast as possible, and by no later than 2045.”

Transmission gets some love: Other notable provisions would establish refundable tax incentives to speed the development and deployment of technologies such as energy storage, smart grids, and transmission and distribution lines.

He emphasizes smoothing the regulatory approval process for transmission lines, seen as key to increasing the use of wind and solar by making those sources available to more areas of the country, an issue Josh has written about.

BARRASSO PRAISES IRS FOR MOVING AHEAD ON CARBON CAPTURE CREDITS: It took a while, but the IRS finally announced on Friday it is in the beginning stages of implementing the 45Q tax credits for technologies that capture greenhouse gases from coal plants and other industrial facilities.

“The IRS is giving critical direction to companies that want to invest in carbon capture projects,” said Sen. John Barrasso, the Republican chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, who was among a bipartisan group of senators that supported the bill that passed last year to install the new subsidies.

The IRS announced a proposed rule on Friday to gather information on the technology and gain critical information from industry before implementing the tax credits.

THREE REPUBLICANS JOIN DEMOCRATS TO REBUKE TRUMP ON PARIS ACCORD: House Democrats rebuked Trump for rejecting the Paris Agreement Thursday, passing a bill that would bar him from taking the U.S. out of the landmark international climate change accord.

Democrats provided almost all of the votes for the bill, with none of them opposing it. Only three House Republicans backed it: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Elise Stefanik of New York, and Vern Buchanan of Florida. Democrats said the legislation, which passed by a 231-190 margin, is the first major climate change bill approved by the House in a decade.

TRUMP RELAXES DRILLING RULE PROMPTED BY BP OIL SPILL: The Trump administration released Thursday a final version of a rule relaxing Obama-era offshore oil and gas drilling safety rules established after BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon deadly spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst in U.S. history.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said the new rule removes “unnecessary regulatory burdens while maintaining safety and environmental protection offshore.”

The changes would eliminate a requirement that the bureau must certify the third-party vendors who inspect offshore oil equipment, such as blowout preventers, for safety, and allow for less frequent testing of blowout preventers.

“I can’t wrap my head around this one,” said Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware, top Democrat of the Environment and Public Works Committee. “This latest rollback willfully ignores the lessons learned from the BP oil spill.”

RENEWABLE INDUSTRY CHEERS SENATE BILL CREATING CLEAN ENERGY TAX CREDIT: Renewable energy advocates cheered the introduction of a bill Thursday by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that would create a technology-neutral clean energy production tax credit.

The renewable energy industry has lobbied Congress to pass a tech-neutral tax credit for carbon-free sources, as investment credits for wind and solar phase down over the coming years.

“We commend Senator Wyden for his leadership in introducing the Clean Energy for America Act, a technology-neutral bill that would at long last modernize the federal tax code for 21st century power generation,” said Greg Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy.

Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, said the bill would “move national tax policy in the right direction to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create long-term stability for businesses to make new investments in American energy production.”

MURKOWSKI, MANCHIN INTRODUCE BILL TO STREAMLINE PERMITTING FOR MINING CRITICAL MINERALS: Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Joe Manchin, D-W.V., the leaders of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced a bill Thursday streamlining the federal permitting process for developing mines for lithium, graphite, and other minerals critical to developing batteries that power electric vehicles.

Murkowski and Manchin have repeatedly warned of the perils of relying on other countries for critical minerals.

Robbie Diamond, the president and CEO of Securing America’s Future Energy, a nonprofit advocating for less oil use, said the bill would help the U.S. compete with China’s market dominance in the EV market.

“We are in a race with China and others to secure minerals and the supply chain as transportation worldwide moves toward an electrified and digitized future,” Diamond said.

The introduction of the bill comes after leading EV maker Tesla warned industry leaders that the world could face a shortage of minerals used to make batteries due to underinvestment in the mining sector, according to a report by Reuters.

The Rundown

Washington Post Trump administration pushed to strip mention of climate change from Arctic policy statement

Wall Street Journal Duke Energy shareholders reject New York comptroller proposal on political spending

Center for Public Integrity Statehouses, not the sun, drive solar energy gaps

Washington Post Northam retains GOP language in budget to keep Va. out of carbon-reduction plan

Calendar

TUESDAY | May 7

3 p.m., 2362-A Rayburn. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt testifies before the House Appropriations Committee’s Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on the fiscal 2020 budget.

WEDNESDAY | May 8

10 a.m., 2322 Rayburn. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee holds a hearing on legislation to ban asbestos.

2:30 p.m., 222 Russell. The Senate Armed Service Committee’s strategic forces panel holds a hearing on “Department of Energy’s Atomic Defense Activities and Programs.”