Summertime and the Livin’s Easy

Friends,

Welcome back from Memorial Day weekend. The racing world was stunned by the sad and untimely death of NASCAR icon Kyle Busch, as tributes poured in during the Indianapolis 500. On Lap 18 — the number Busch famously drove — the Indianapolis Motor Speedway scoring pylon was illuminated in his honor while fans observed a moment of silence. As for the race itself, Felix Rosenqvist edged out David Malukas in the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. Meanwhile, the opening round of the French Open got underway this weekend at Roland Garros.

Congress remains in recess this week with members in their home districts and states likely hearing from constituents about gas prices and economic concerns resulting from the Iran Conflict. Despite regular rumors from the Administration that an agreement is close, the Strait of Hormuz remains an industry concern. There is some evidence that domestic drilling is increasing with the Baker Hughes rig count rising this week.

At the Department of Energy, with Kyle Haustveit now confirmed by the Senate,  Secretary Wright announced that current acting undersecretary Alex Fitzsimmons will be associate deputy secretary and senior adviser to the Secretary.

Finally, the next couple weeks are going to be filled with energy events. Next week, ACP’s CLEANPOWER 2026 is in Houston while EEI’s annual meeting is in Las Vegas. On June 8, Earthshot Foundation and OurEnergyPolicy hold their GridIron Forum finale. The next day, the Atlantic Council starts its two-day 2026 Global Energy Forum featuring Energy Sect Wright as Keynote, while POLITICO holds its Energy Summit on Wednesday June 10.  

If you are Looking for something to do, Bruce Springsteen is at Nationals Park tomorrow for another one of his epic 3-hour shows, while comedian John Mulaney does two nights of stand up at the Lyric in Baltimore on Thursday and Friday.

Call with questions.

Best,

Frank Maisano

(202) 828-5864

C. (202) 997-5932

FRANKLY SPOKEN

“Operators are starting to get more comfortable that more barrels are needed in this market.”

Diamondback Energy CEO Kaes Van’t Hof to Axios, saying that Diamondback is bumping up its capex budget and raising its annual production target by about 3%.

“The economy is a tanker ship, not a speed boat. It takes time for events, both positive and negative, to take hold in the economy.”

Tim Mahedy, chief economist at the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, who formerly worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

ON THE PODCAST

Siemens Energy CEO Highlights Opportunities, Challenges for Energy Demand, Grid – On this week’s Columbia Energy Exchange podcast, host Jason Bordoff speaks with Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch about the opportunities and challenges that Siemens Energy is facing from surging electricity demand and growing infrastructure investments, to geopolitical headwinds and supply risks.

USEA Podcast Looks at Pew Grid Report  – On the United States Energy Association Power Sector Podcast this week, Pat Wood III and Audrey Zibelman discuss the just-released Pew Charitable Trust's “Distributed Energy Can Unleash the Resilient, Affordable Grid of the Future; A policy playbook.

FUN OPINIONS

Permitting a Must for All Sectors – In an op-ed in the Washington Examiner, Orsted’s Amanda Dasch writes permitting reform can unlock America’s energy future. In an increasingly polarized environment, permitting reform represents a rare win-win opportunity to support American energy dominance. Congress should take politics out of energy development by advancing comprehensive permitting reform that provides certainty for all energy technologies.

Pielke: Finally UN Ditches Most, Least Extreme Climate Scenario in Modeling – In an op-ed in the Washington Post, Colorado climate expert and AEI fellow Roger Pielke Jr. writes researchers finally retire the most extreme scenarios in the climate debate that have informed policy and media coverage for years. A recent report from the international panel that supplies official “scenarios” to researchers, governments say the most extreme assumptions about the future — the doomsaying predictions embodied in the worst-case scenario known as RCP8.5 — are “implausible.” In their place, Dutch researcher Detlef van Vuuren and his co-authors have proposed new ones that will form the basis of the United Nations’s next major climate assessment.

FROG BLOG

Chamber: Build Out LNG Infrastructure Now – In an opinion post on RealClearEnergy, the US Chamber’s Christopher Guith suggests that policymakers not wait for the next Hormuz crisis to build out global LNG infrastructure. The right response is not to retreat from global markets and pretend we can insulate ourselves from fundamental economics. Rather, we should strengthen global markets by building the infrastructure that keeps economies humming and allows for the growth and opportunity countries around the world deserve.

FUN FACTS

EVs Expected to Increase but Data Not Showing It Yet: EV sales are expected to increase in the wake of the Iran conflict and falling battery prices. In a new report, the International Energy Agency forecast that nearly 30% of cars sold globally this year would be electric or plug-in hybrid. Semafor writes it’s despite an 8% drop in global EV sales in the first quarter, largely due to policy changes in China and the US. Beijing still accounted for nearly three-quarters of electric cars produced globally in 2025 and supplied much of the world with its EV exports doubling to a new record high. In the US, 1Q EV sales remained flat from the previous quarter, and dropped 23% from a year ago.

IN THE NEWS

US Exports to EU Continue to Increase – U.S. exports of refined oil products to the EU have risen sharply in the months since the outbreak of the Iran war, as European buyers reckon with the loss of supplies trapped in the Persian Gulf. In total, U.S. exports of refined crude oil products reached 754,000 barrels a day, representing a steady increase since February. For the twelve months before then — with the exception of January — exports largely hovered between 560,000 and 670,000 bpd.

Antora, POET Open Battery Storage at Ethanol Plant – Antora Energy and POET commissioned a 5GWh multi-day thermal battery system at POET's Big Stone City, South Dakota bioethanol plant. It stores off-peak electricity as heat for industrial process use. It was built in under 12 months and is supposed to be fully operational later this year.

EPA to Delay Refrigerants Rule –EPA said late last week that it is delaying compliance with two rules on refrigerants (HFCs) that stemmed from legislation signed by President Trump himself in December 2020. The delay, signed at the White House at an event with grocery CEOs, will actually likely increase costs on manufacturers, grocery stores and consumers by increasing the demand for existing refrigerants while reducing their supply. AHRI and the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy criticized supermarket chains that supported the delays for new supermarket refrigeration equipment. AHRI President and CEO Stephen Yurek:

“This rule works against basic supply and demand. By extending the compliance deadline, the EPA is maintaining and even increasing demand in the market for existing refrigerants while supply continues to fall under the AIM Act. So, instead of falling, refrigerant prices are likely to rise, resulting in higher service costs, and higher costs for consumers.”

Lease Sale Booms $4B – Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced a record $4 billion sale of oil and gas drilling rights on federal lands in New Mexico and Texas. Devon Energy accounted for more than half of the leases. The sale's total soared past all previous onshore government oil and gas auctions. The sale of 74 parcels covered 33,530 acres, primarily in New Mexico's Permian basin, the nation's most productive oil field. Revenue generated through lease sales is shared between the federal government and the states where the parcels are located.

ON THE SCHEDULE THIS WEEK

Science Academy Panel Looks at GHG Data – Today at 3:00 p.m., a panel of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine is hosting a webinar to discuss the state of greenhouse gas data, and how advances in artificial intelligence, data infrastructure and remote sensing are reshaping emissions monitoring and transparency.

Forum Looks at Energy Future – On Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., USEA, the Society of Petroleum Engineers - National Capital Section (SPE-NCS) and the US Association for Energy Economics - NCAC hold a joint briefing featuring an overview of SPE's evolving mission and member offerings,  spanning oil and gas, carbon capture, geothermal, AI, hydrogen, and critical minerals, followed by a timely analysis from Dr. Sara Vakhshouri on global energy security amid rising geopolitical tensions. She will examine how shifting trade flows, constrained supply chains, and realigning alliances are fundamentally reshaping energy markets worldwide. This briefing offers valuable insights into both the organizations shaping the industry and the geopolitical forces driving it.

Forum To Discuss Engine Tech, Renewable Fuels – Tomorrow at 2:00 p.m., the Engine Technology Forum holds a virtual discussion on innovation, quality and sustainability through renewable fuels. The discussion will explore market dynamics, feedstock availability, and supply considerations for renewable fuels, along with key quality requirements and innovations in fuel types and applications.

Conservative Legal Group Looks at Conservation, Takings – The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies holds a virtual discussion on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. on commandeering for conservation. Our friend Jonathan Adler moderates a panel of legal experts.

Brookings Event to Address Carbon Markets – On Thursday at 1:00 p.m., the Center on Regulation and Markets at Brookings will host a public event to examine the challenges facing project-based carbon markets and proposals for their reform. Part of the center’s ongoing series, Reimagining Modern-day Markets and Regulations, the event will kick off with a keynote and fireside chat from Annette Nazareth, chair of the governing board for the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, who will assess the current state of carbon credit markets and offer a vision for the path forward. Nellie Liang, senior fellow at the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings, will moderate the conversation. Following the keynote, a panel of distinguished experts—including Derik Broekhoff (Stockholm Environment Institute), Sanjay Patnaik (Brookings), Erin Shortell (Institute for Policy Integrity), and Philippe Delacote (INRAE)—will discuss specific policy proposals drawn from their recent research, exploring how carbon markets might be strengthened, better regulated, and more effectively designed.

Agri-Pulse Looks at RVOs – On Thursday at 1:00 p.m., Agri-Pulse holds a webinar on what it will take to meet historic RVOs, a timely discussion focused on the soybean industry’s critical role in supplying the feedstocks needed to achieve unprecedented growth in biodiesel, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. Featuring perspectives from policy, soybean processing and on-the-ground farming, this webinar will explore what historic Renewable Volume Obligations set in the 2026-27 Renewable Fuel Standard rule mean for the soy complex, the opportunities ahead for feedstock expansion and how industry can build toward its long-term vision of 15 billion gallons by 2050.

IN THE FUTURE

CLEANPOWER Set for Houston – CLEANPOWER 2026 is set for the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston June 1st to June 4th. The annual American Clean Power Assn forum is where the industry holds its most important conversations about policy and the future of clean energy. FERC Commissioner David Rosner is among the speakers.

EEI Meetings Headlined by NBC Sports Tirico, DOE’s Fitzsimmons – EEI 2026, the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI) annual meeting and thought leadership conference, will be held in Las Vegas on June 2nd to 4th.  The event is the premier event for the U.S. electric power industry. Keynote speakers include Siemens Energy AG CEO Christian Bruch, Alphabet and Google President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat, Emerald AI CEO Dr. Varun Sivaram, NBC Sports & Olympics Lead Host & Play-by-Play Announcer Mike Tirico and DOE’s Alex Fitzsimmons.

Washington Energy Summit Set – The 11th annual Washington Energy Summit 2026 will be held at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. on June 3rd and 4th. The Washington Energy Summit is organized by U.S. Energy Stream and convenes U.S. Senators and Members of Congress, global energy leaders, and technology executives for candid, off-the-record dialogue. The main theme of the Summit is running the World on energy with volatility, technology and American energy dominance.

RFF Looks at Local Communities, Enviro Challenges – Resources for the Future holds a forum on Wednesday June 3rd at 1:00 p.m. exploring environmental cleanup and critical minerals as economic drivers in fossil fuel communities. Presenters will discuss to what degree these activities can drive economic growth in fossil-dependent regions, including impacts on existing local businesses and attracting new business.

Heatmap Forum Looks at Energy Entrepreneurs – Heatmap News holds its second annual Energy Entrepreneurship event on Wednesday June 3rd that will convene founders, investors, manufacturers, and bipartisan policymakers to examine the technologies poised to define the next chapter of American energy: batteries, next-generation geothermal, nuclear fusion, and more. Beyond deployment, eh event will spotlight the industrial backbone of the transition: clean energy manufacturing and the jobs that come with it. Trent Bauserman of Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Travis Kavulla of Base Power are among the speakers.

Canada, NERO Host Security Forum – The Embassy of Canada and The National Energy Resources Organization (NERO) holds a reception highlighting Canada-U.S. Energy Security on Wednesday June 3rd at 5:30 p.m. at the Embassy of Canada.

Forum Examines Lead Exposure – On Wednesday June 3rd, and Thursday, June 4th, the Center for Global Development is hosting its second annual Research Conference on Global Lead Exposure. The conference will convene researchers, policymakers, and implementers, all working to stamp out global lead poisoning. The event will feature researchers from across disciplines, including environment, health, epidemiology, chemistry, economics, engineering, and dentistry—alongside implementers, policymakers, and funders—to translate research into action for a lead-free future.

GridIron Dialogue Report, Series Set for Finale – The Earthshot Foundation, in partnership with OurEnergyPolicy, will host the GridIron Dialogues Finale on June 8th in Washington, D.C. The event marks the culmination of a year-long, whole-of-grid dialogue series that engaged more than 200 engineers, economists, regulators, and operators across a dozen sessions spanning every element of grid planning, investment, and operations. From fuel supply to transmission, distribution, and customer energy management, the GridIron Dialogues examined the grid as a system of systems – the single largest machine ever built, and the infrastructure on which every sector of our economy depends. The Finale will share key findings from the series and premiere a white paper—The GridIron: From Rivals in Gridlock to Champions of a Stronger, Smarter Grid—that summarizes whole-of-grid insights and includes an Electricity Abundance Playbook.

California Hydrogen Summit Set – The California Hydrogen Business Council holds a its 2026 California Hydrogen Summit on June 8th and 9th at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento. The Summit will showcase the strategies accelerating affordable production, infrastructure build out, market adoption, and policy alignment. This is where California’s next steps for hydrogen are being decided.

Atlantic Council Energy Forum Set – The Atlantic Council holds its 2026 Global Energy Forum on featuring the world's top energy experts on June 9th and 10th. The 2026 Forum will serve as both a reflection on the evolution of the global energy landscape and a forward-looking platform to chart its future based on building systems, strengthening partnerships, and empowering the public. Speakers include Jarrod Agen, Bob McNally, EQT’s Toby Rice, Baker Hughes’ Lorenzo Simonelli, NEI’s Maria Korsnick, Dominion’s Robert Blue, Jigar Shah, ClearPath’s Jeremy Harrell and many more.

POLITICO Holds Energy Summit – POLITICO holds its 2026 Energy Summit on Wednesday June 10th at the JW Marriott in DC. The event will convene administration officials, lawmakers, industry executives and more for urgent conversations on what’s next for the nation's energy agenda. Speakers include FERC Chair Laura Swett, NRC Chair Ho Nieh, NEDC’s Jarrod Agen, Sens. Dave McCormick and Sheldon Whitehouse, House Energy Committee Chair Brett Guthrie and many more.

Chamber Environment Summit Set – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will host its 2026 Environmental Innovation Summit on Wednesday, June 17 at its headquarters in Washington, DC. Speakers and participants will focus on where the private sector is driving environmental innovation both domestically and globally, including in energy, the circular economy, agriculture, biodiversity, resilience, and more. NOAA’s Neil Jacobs will be among the speakers.

London Climate Action Week – London Climate week will be held on June 20th to June 28th in London, England.

SEIA Holds Finance, Tax Seminar in NYC – On June 23rd and 24th, the Solar Energy Industries Association holds its annual Finance, Tax, and Buyers Seminar in New York, NY.

Reuters Global Energy Event Set for NYC – Reuters Global Energy Forum 2026 is Set for June 23rd and -24th in New York City. The event focuses on uniting for a resilient energy future. Speakers include Exelon CEO Calvin Butler.