Good morning, here's what the Oilman has for you today:

• Alaska Judge Rules in Favor of Conoco Oil Project

• NERC Sounds Alarm on Blackouts. Again.

• Upcoming Oil and Gas Events

• Tweet of the Day

Alaska Judge Rules in Favor of Conoco Oil Project

A federal judge in Alaska has upheld the Biden admin’s decision to give the go-ahead to the Willow oil project.

The decision was challenged in court by environmentalists.

The judge, however, found no sufficient proof the challenge had any merit.

The make-or-break ruling

Willow is an $8-billion project in the National Petroleum Reserve, led by ConocoPhillips.

The initial approval was granted by the Trump administration.

When Biden came into the White House, there were doubts it would go ahead.

Yet, shockingly, it did, raising hope that for all its climate commitments, the Biden admin cared about energy security.

Environmentalists, however, do not, so they promptly sued.

Their claims were that the impact of Willow on wildlife had not been fully assessed.

Judge Sharon Gleason remained unconvinced this was the case.

That’s good news for Conoco and for U.S. oil production.

Willow should produce between 160,000 and 180,000 bpd.

But Conoco had said it would quit if the court ruled in favor of the environmentalists.

They’re now planning to appeal. Of course.

Biden’s Compromised Climate Agenda

When the White House granted approval for Willow, it enraged environmentalists…

Who happens to be Biden voters?

Some commentators said, at the time, that this decision might do him no favors for the next elections.

Yet for those aware of the importance of local energy supply, the decision was a rare sign of sense from Washington.

At least when it comes to energy.

Hopefully, the administration won’t cave to environmentalists and go back on the original decision.

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NERC Sounds Alarm on Blackouts. Again.

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. has warned of blackouts this winter.

The warning concerns two-thirds of the U.S.

And NERC is blaming it on severe weather and not enough gas pipelines.

Grid reliability is becoming a major issue

Once upon a time, the grid was reliable.

Then, utilities started retiring coal and gas power plants.

Climate activists, meanwhile, made it a mission to prevent the construction of any pipelines.

So now, will all the gas the U.S. is producing, there’s a potential shortage problem.

Because of the lack of pipelines.

It’s not just that, either.

The NERC tried to be delicate about it, but it had to say it: wind and solar are unreliable.

They cannot generate round the clock, and they cannot provide power on demand.

That’s what gas, coal, and nuclear are for.

But with so many plants getting retired, things are not looking good.

It may be time to start hoping for a mild winter.

The problem no one dares speak about except FERC.

The unreliability of wind and solar is a taboo in the public space.

Yet some have had enough, including two FERC commissioners.

Earlier this year, they said it outright: wind and solar are compromising the grid.

Subsidies are fueling massive buildout and a fast retirement of reliable generation capacity.

It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

But no one dares talk about it, including NERC.

It’s a sad state of affairs.

But there could be a silver lining: a blackout or two might start changing minds.

Upcoming Oil & Gas Events

• November 13: LOGA State of the Industry Series, Le Pavillion Lafayette, LA

• November 14: LOGA State of the Industry Series, Petroleum Club of Shreveport, Shreveport, LA

• November 15-16: Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma Fall Conference and Auction, Oklahoma City, OK

• November 16: 29th Annual Executive Oil Conference and Exhibition, Midland Country Horseshoe Arena, Midland, TX

• November 28: TIPRO/IPAA Leaders in Industry Luncheon, Petroleum Club of Houston, Houston TX

• November 28-29: UTA Oil and Gas Conference, Hilton Americas, Houston, TX

Around the Global Patch

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🇸🇪 Swedish union halts Tesla imports amidst labor dispute.
🇩🇪 Germany steps In to rescue Siemens' wind division.

Tweet of the Day

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