Presented by AFPM — The administration said it would renew sanctions that it temporarily lifted in October after Venezuela did not make sufficient progress toward a fair election.
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The Big Story
The Biden administration is reimposing sanctions on Venezuelan oil, it said Wednesday.
The administration said it would renew sanctions that it temporarily lifted in October after Venezuela did not make sufficient progress toward a fair election.
Companies will have 45 days to wind down their transactions with the nation’s oil and gas sector.
The sanctions were lifted in October after Venezuela agreed to certain election reforms. But this week, officials knocked Nicolás Maduro’s government for blocking the leading opposition candidate María Corina Machado.
Maduro was last reelected in 2018 in a contest that the U.S. described as a sham. New elections will take place in July.
Amid U.S. actions to ease sanctions under the Biden administration, including the October decision, Venezuela’s oil exports grew and were up 12 percent last year according to Reuters.
Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.
State water regulators voted unanimously Tuesday to place an agricultural hub in central California under “probation” due to excessive groundwater pumping that has dried up the region.
The Biden administration will deny federal approval to a metallurgical mining company’s proposed industrial road through parts of northwestern Alaska, two sources familiar with the process confirmed to The Hill.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joined a resolution from Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) that aims to overturn a new rule on climate disclosures approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month.
News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:
How Raleigh is working to reduce urban heat islands (Axios)
The Biden admin has a plan to get more mileage out of the power grid (Canary Media)
Aging Copper Mines Are Turning Into Money Pits Despite Demand (Bloomberg)
On Tap
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on the Biden administration’s pause on new LNG export terminals. The head of the Energy Department’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is slated to appear.
The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing titled “Assessing Solutions to Secure America’s Offshore Energy Future.”
The Senate voted Wednesday to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, shutting down the possibility of a lengthy Senate trial, which Republicans had demanded to bring attention to the Biden administration’s record on immigration and border security. Read more
Former President Trump is railing against the amount of times his legal team can veto a potential juror choice for his hush money trial, which kicked off Monday. Read more
