Stand Down
** The US and Iran have agreed to “stand down” following an exchange of strikes over the past few days, media reports cite a US official as saying. It comes after several attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz, with both nations accusing each other of violating their ceasefire.
Iranian attacks
** Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had attacked targets in the US-allied Gulf states of Kuwait and Bahrain. In a statement carried by its Sepah News Telegram channel, the IRGC said its navy and air force had jointly launched missile and drone strikes in the early hours of Sunday, destroying eight key US military infrastructure targets in the two countries.
War normal?
** A “new normal” of heightened risk and uncertain regulation is impacting the Strait of Hormuz, shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd warned Sunday, as military strikes escalated and conflicting routing directives plunged the waterway into operational chaos. The remarks from the German shipping giant also came as Tehran “simultaneously” began moving millions of barrels of crude oil from Kharg Island for the first time in days, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward AI.
** Energy shipping out of the Middle East dropped sharply amid the flare-up from 18 vessels on Thursday to just 4 on Sunday, according to LSEG data.
Heat wave
** Extreme heat has caused growing damage to one of Germany’s main east-west motorways, forcing additional closures and lengthy traffic delays as temperatures continued to soar across the country.
US Energy
** The Department of the Interior announced a settlement agreement with Duke Energy, a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and one of America’s largest energy holding companies, to provide affordable, reliable power that will reduce costs and advance President Donald Trump’s Energy Dominance Agenda. As part of the settlement agreement, Duke will voluntarily terminate its offshore wind lease located in the Carolina Long Bay area valued at $129 million and reinvest that same amount in additional generating capacity to better serve its customers in the Carolinas.
** Southwestern Colorado officials worry proposed federal Bureau of Land Management oil and gas leases could affect local roads, residents, and wildlife.
** A Brookings Institution analysis gives high EV-readiness rankings to California, Colorado, and Oregon, with Montana and Wyoming at the bottom of the list.
** New Mexico analysts say this year’s governor’s race pitting Democrat and former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland against Republican Greg Hull could be influenced by each candidate’s position on oil and gas development.
** Washington state’s Supreme Court upholds regulations pertaining to agricultural exemptions from the state’s cap-and-trade program’s fuel surcharges.
