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Energy Outlook.  After the recently announced climate pact between the U.S. and China, officials from the U.S.’ largest coal-burning utilities warn of blackouts and rising power bills if not given more time to cut greenhouse-gas emissions under the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan.  The EPA will receive public and industry comment about the rule until December 1st, although some think concessions will be tougher to achieve after the U.S.-China pact announcement.  Bloomberg 

Natural Gas.  Several natural gas and Canadian officials are calling volatility testing of crude oil into question as U.S. regulators move to set new crude-by-rail shipping rules amid safety concerns about shipments of Bakken crude.  Many oil companies and industry officials in North Dakota insist that Bakken crude is no more volatile than crude oil from other parts of the country — these new methodological concerns suggest that their studies have been underestimating Bakken oil volatility.  WSJ

LNG. The recent plunge in crude oil prices will likely have three big effects in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market: it will (1) lower LNG costs to consumers; (2) prolong Asia’s disputed oil-based pricing system; and (3) raise questions about costly planned LNG projects in Australia and U.S.  FT

Climate Change.  The Wall Street Journal asserts that the U.S.-China carbon pact earlier this week will merely maintain the status quo in China while harming economic growth in the United States.  In the pact,  which is non-binding and lacks many specific details, China’s Supreme Leader Xi Jinping says China “intends to achieve the peaking of CO2 emissions around 2030” — a claim that the Journal suggests would have happened anyway.  WSJ

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Climate Change. On the sidelines of the APEC conference Wednesday, President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping unexpectedly announced a joint plan to reduce or limit carbon dioxide emissions.  China stated plans to slow the rise of carbon dioxide emissions so that they peak around 2030, while the U.S. announced plans to lower emissions by up to 28% in 2025, relative to 2005 levels.  NY Times

Oil. Driven by lower Saudi crude output, OPEC oil production fell sharply in October, narrowing the gap between its actual and target production.  Despite this drop of about 69,900 barrels a day, oil prices continued to slide on Wednesday, suggesting that market participants were not interpreting the output fall as a shift in OPEC policy.  WSJ

Oil & Natural Gas. In a forecast released today, the International Energy Agency estimates that investment in U.S. shale oilfields will decrease by 10% in 2015 if oil prices stay near $80 per barrel. The agency’s forecast, however, conflicts with arguments from other industry experts who believe that U.S. shale producers can remain profitable at even lower oil prices.  FT

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Energy Outlook. Despite recent increases in borrowing costs, the slump in oil prices has caused several energy companies to pay off their existing debt or seek refinancing through U.S. debt capital markets.   Some investors have expressed concern that additional drops in oil prices will trigger a wave of debt restructurings among highly indebted companies; others suggest that this is an opportunity to profit by buying back energy bonds at a discount.  FT

Natural Gas.  A second natural gas supply agreement between Russia and China has increased pressure on many planned natural gas projects in the U.S., Canada, and Australia amid increased competition, rising costs, and the potential for lower prices.  Because the new deal increases the possibility of a glut in global energy markets in early 2020, companies seeking approval for future liquefied natural gas plants are likely to be delayed.  Bloomberg

EPA.  Bob Sussman, former Senior Policy Counsel to the EPA Administrator, discusses an EPA notice issued on October 28th addressing areas of vulnerability in the Clean Power Plan.  Sussman suggests that in the final ruling, the EPA is likely to relax the rule’s interim goals but may actually increase overall emissions-reductions targets for 2030.  Brookings

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Oil.  OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri issued a statement today asking markets not to panic over the recent plunge of oil prices, saying that the current price situation will “fix itself”.  Mr. el-Badri indicated that he didn’t foresee a cut to OPEC’s oil production — the organization is set to meet on November 27th to discuss the matter.   Reuters

Energy Security.  Russia’s large natural giant Gazprom signed a major deal with China today to build a pipeline connecting China to Russia’s Siberian energy fields.  Although the pipeline will take years to build, the deal is causing many Europeans to fear that future Russian energy supplies will be diverted from Europe to Asia as part of Russia’s strategic plan to strengthen its geopolitical position.  NY Times

Oil.   The offshore oil industry — which faces some of the highest production costs across all types of oil deposits —  is moving into a “cyclical downturn” due to the worldwide fall in crude oil prices.   The recent price drops are causing a temporary oversupply of oil in many of these offshore oil rigs, which places additional downward pressure on the prices they can charge for oil.  WSJ

Climate Change.  Andrew Revkin discusses a recent paper about the relationship between party ideology and common debates surrounding climate change, noting that rejections of climate science are often muddled with rejections of proposed policy solutions.  For example, the study found that conservatives tended to agree more with a scientific statement about climate change when the proposed policy solution emphasized the free market instead of increased government regulation.  NY Times