Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner energy and environment writers Callie Patteson (@CalliePatteson) and Maydeen Merino (@MaydeenMerino). Email cpatteson@washingtonexaminer dot com or mmerino@washingtonexaminer dot com for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, . If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.

WHERE PRICES STAND: Oil prices fell on the hopes of new peace talks between the United States and Iran, with international and domestic benchmarks falling to the low $90s this afternoon. 

A White House official confirmed to CNBC today that the Trump administration is considering more talks with Iran, after negotiations failed over the weekend. While this has sent a signal to traders there could be de-escalation in the coming weeks, nothing has been formally scheduled between the two governments. 

Around 2:30 p.m. EDT, Brent crude had fallen by 4.79%, and was priced at $94.60 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate was also down by 7.68% and selling at $91.48 per barrel. 

Drivers have started to see some slight relief at the pump, as the national average of gasoline also ticked down today to around $4.118 per gallon, according to AAA.  

INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY WARNS OF ‘DEMAND DESTRUCTION’: Not only is the war in Iran disrupting the global supply of crude, but the oil shocks are expected to trigger the largest drop in worldwide demand since the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Energy Agency said today.

The IEA issued the warning in its monthly oil market report released this morning, estimating that oil demand will drop by 80,000 barrels per day this year, as well as 1.5 million barrels per day in the second quarter of 2026. This decline would be the sharpest since COVID, with the largest cuts coming from the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. 

“However, demand destruction will spread as scarcity and higher prices persist,” the IEA warned. 

Previously, the IEA estimated that global demand would increase by 640,000 barrels per day this year. You can read the full IEA report here. 

PLUS, CHRIS WRIGHT WARNS GAS MAY STAY HIGH THROUGH SUMMER: Energy Secretary Chris Wright was pressed yesterday afternoon on how long gasoline prices could stay elevated, as he previously predicted they could fall back below $3 a gallon by summer. 

Wright, like Trump, is now admitting that prices could continue to rise and even be higher than they are now by the November midterm elections. 

He called lowering gasoline prices by summer an “aggressive time frame,” saying it is a “very real possibility” that prices continue to rise. 

Wright defended the high prices, however, saying that the Trump administration was always aware that a disruption of energy flows brought on by the war in Iran would push up energy prices. And he projected confidence that, when the conflict ends, gas prices will fall in turn. 

“But once the conflict ends and energy starts flowing again, you’ll start to see downward pressure,” he said. “But it will take some time, depending upon the longer the conflict goes, the longer the rebound is.”

Read more from Callie here. 

EU LAYS OUT PLAN TO OFFSET HIGH ENERGY COSTS CAUSED BY THE WAR: The European Union has laid out a plan to reduce electricity taxes and accelerate clean energy projects to help curb high energy costs caused by the war in Iran. 

The European Commission is set to release a draft later this week to impose several measures to reduce energy prices, Reuters reported. The plan includes ways to quickly reduce Europe’s reliance on fossil fuels. 

“The benefits of this transition clearly outweigh its ​costs. Europe cannot afford to remain exposed to increasingly frequent energy shocks,” the draft said. “Every delayed investment in the energy transition risks greater cost for society at a later stage.”

The draft said the EU executive will propose changes in May to ensure electricity is taxed less than fossil fuels, making it easier for governments to cut electricity taxes to zero for energy intensive industries.

It also noted that next month the EU will present countries with a number of energy-saving investments and low-carbon technologies. 

NEW YORK NATURAL GAS PIPELINE PROJECT UNDERWAY: Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin attended an event in Brooklyn today to announce the start of a new controversial natural gas pipeline project. 

The cabinet members joined Williams Companies, the firm managing the construction, to announce the build-out of the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project pipeline, which will move natural gas supply from Pennsylvania through New Jersey. The project will be a 25-mile underwater extension of the 10,000 mile transcontinental system.

The pipeline will deliver about 400,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day, roughly equivalent to the daily needs of 2.3 million homes, from Pennsylvania to New York City and Long Island. The pipeline is set to go into operation by the end of 2027.

The project had appeared dead in 2024 after failing to receive its state permits. However, last November, it was able to obtain its permits to move forward with its project. 

The Trump administration has strongly backed this project, as part of a larger effort to boost fossil fuel industries. It had been previously reported that the president stalled a New York offshore wind project to pressure Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to approve the natural gas project. 

Read more from Maydeen on the project that came back to life and the political fight behind it here. 

GOP SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO ACCELERATE NUCLEAR ENERGY DEPLOYMENT: Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania have introduced legislation to establish clear pathways to quickly develop new nuclear technologies.

The details: In order to accelerate the build-out of advanced nuclear energy, the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Deployment Act would modernize, clarify, and expand the Department of Energy’s authority over nuclear facilities and activities, according to a summary of the bill obtained by Daily on Energy. 

This would be directly related to activities conducted under contract with and for the agency, including privately sponsored and reactor demonstration projects. Specifically, the bill would direct federal regulators to revise regulations that limit the DOE’s statutory authority and establish a pathway for the agency to authorize commercial reactor and fuel cycle facilities on federal land or for federal purposes. 

It would also create a Nuclear Energy Launch Pad that would designate federal and non-federal sites where companies can test advanced nuclear technologies under DOE authority. 

The lawmakers have described existing regulations between commercial and demonstration deployment as a “valley of death,” hindering developers’ ability to deploy their tech at the pace needed to win the AI race. 

The bill has support from numerous advanced nuclear energy companies including Oklo, Aala Atomics, Terrestrial Energy, Deep Fission, and Valar Atomics. 

“Recent momentum across Congress and the Administration continues to reinforce the role of advanced nuclear in meeting growing U.S. energy demand,” Jacob DeWitte, CEO and co-founder of Oklo, said in a statement. “Efforts to build on recent executive actions with longer-term policy support can help create a clearer pathway to deploy new infrastructure and unlock domestic bridge fuel like surplus plutonium.”

PAXTON INVESTIGATES LULULEMON OVER PFAS: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is launching an investigation into the activewear company Lululemon over the potential presence of PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” in its products. 

Paxton yesterday said the investigation would look into whether the activewear brand has misled consumers about safety, quality, and health impacts. PFAS are contaminants that do not break down naturally in the environment. 

These contaminants have been found in a number of consumer products, such as shampoo and clothing. The chemicals are considered harmful to humans and the environment. 

Paxton said “emerging research and consumer concerns have raised questions about the potential presence of certain synthetic materials and chemical compounds in their apparel that may be associated with endocrine disruption, infertility, cancer, and other health issues.” 

ICYMI – TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS APPEALS COURT TO REJECT CLIMATE CHALLENGE: The Department of Justice has called on an appeals court to reject a request from a group of climate activists to revive a lawsuit against the president and his executive orders cutting climate-related funding. 

The 22 climate activists claim that Trump’s EOs violate their constitutional right to life, as they say the orders will have harmful impacts on the environment. The lawsuit was first dismissed by a lower federal court, a ruling the DOJ wishes to uphold. 

“This case is another climate change case with sprawling and speculative legal theories and claims,” DOJ lawyer John Adams argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit yesterday. 

Adams argued that the courts have no business addressing the issues brought forth in the lawsuit, insisting they are policy issues that the executive branch has authority to act on. The activists, meanwhile, argued the executive orders issued last year subvert Congress’ goal of combating climate change. 

Read more from the Examiner’s Supreme Court reporter Jack Birle here. 

RUNDOWN 

The Hill Trump’s gauge on gas prices spurs GOP anxieties ahead of midterms

New York Times How Lee Zeldin Shifted the Mission — and the Message — of the E.P.A.

Inside Climate News Norway Reopens Annual Whale Hunt Despite Pressure to End Commercial Whaling