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Emails Show EPA Chief Pruitt's Work For Oil & Gas Firms -- Energy Journal
DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 6:49 AM ET 2/24/2017
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EPA CHIEF SCOTT PRUITT'S EMAILS SHOW CLOSE TIES WITH OIL AND GAS FIRMS

Newly released emails show close cooperation between Scott Pruitt, the new chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the oil and gas industry, write Amy Harder and Erin Ailworth.

The emails cover Mr. Pruitt's work as the attorney general for Oklahoma when he joined a group of mostly Republican state attorneys generals who sued the federal government over Obama-administration environmental regulations. Mr. Pruitt often joined lawsuits with energy companies that contributed to his attorney-general campaigns.

The emails, released following a lawsuit by the Center for Media and Democracy, show that Mr. Pruitt's office cooperated closely with energy companies including Devon Energy, an oil-and-gas producer based in Oklahoma.

For instance Devon helped draft a letter that Mr. Pruitt's office used to make a case against a methane emission rule in 2013.

The emails released so far could bolster the concerns of critics who say Mr. Pruitt has potential conflicts of interest since he is in charge of an agency that regulates companies he was close to in his previous job.

NORTH DAKOTA PIPELINE PROTESTERS ARRESTED

Protesters opposed to the Dakota Access Pipeline were arrested Wednesday afternoon as law-enforcement began the evacuation of the main protest campsite, writes Will Connors.

The pipeline project, which would carry about 570,000 barrels of oil a day from North Dakota to Illinois, has faced intense opposition from Native American tribes and environmental groups.

The Obama administration halted the project in December pending a wider environmental review but President Donald Trump greenlighted the project earlier this month. Ten protesters were arrested earlier in the week after they remained past a deadline set by the authorities.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has staged a months-long protest of the pipeline on the grounds that the project could contaminate a nearby water supply but has now asked all protesters at the main site to leave. The tribe said it will continue to fight the project in court.

Energy Transfer, the company behind the project, has said it plans to have the pipeline in commercial service by June 1.

SOUTHERN CO's NEW 'CLEAN COAL' PLANT MAY NOT BE COST EFFICIENT

Southern Co. said it has nearly completed a $7.1 billion "clean coal" power plant, but a new analysis suggests it might not be profitable to operate the plant, writes Russell Gold.

The Kemper County, Miss., facility can burn coal and capture much of the carbon-dioxide output. It is expected to be fully operational by the middle of next month.

But an economic analysis of the project conducted by Southern Co. "found that lower natural-gas prices and higher- than-expected operating costs 'negatively impact the economic viability' of the facility," writes Mr. Gold.

MARKETS

Oil prices fell Friday after mixed weekly U.S. data showed crude inventories had grown, while stocks of products including gasoline and distillates shrank.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.6% to $56.50 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 0.6% at $54.13 a barrel.

U.S. Energy Information Administration data published Thursday showed crude stocks increased for the seventh straight week to hit new records, although the 564,000 barrel rise was far short of the 3.4 million barrel addition anticipated by analysts and traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. Read our latest market report at wsj.com


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02-24-170649ET
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