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BILLINGS, Mont. — President Donald Trump’s administration miscalculated the potential benefits of putting better brakes on trains that haul explosive fuels when it scrapped an Obama-era rule over cost concerns, The Associated Press has found. A government analysis used to justify the cancellation omitted up to $117 million in estimated future damages from train derailments that could be avoided by using electronic brakes.

The U.S. oil industry is delivering a one-two punch to Middle East producers already reeling from a collapse in prices. A tussle is playing out in the market for so-called light oils, which have a lower sulfur content and are less dense than heavier varieties.

China signaled its openness for business with a raft of deals that’ll give oil majors, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, new opportunities to develop fields in partnership with the nation’s biggest offshore explorer.

Oil was boosted to near $52 a barrel by a weak U.S. dollar while investors weighed if OPEC and its allies can successfully re-balance the market.

Sensing the impetus for considering a long-term infrastructure funding bill when the new Congress convenes in less than a month, key House and Senate policymakers have started to outline proposals for what would be a massive piece of legislation.

On our Dec. 19 LiveOnWeb program, we were “Plugging Into an Electric Future” as we assessed the rapid escalation of development and deployment of electric vehicle technology. Watch the replay.

Oil extended an advance after a U.S. industry report signaled a bigger-than-expected draw in nationwide crude inventories and as trade tensions eased between the world’s largest economies.

WASHINGTON — With the current session of Congress quickly coming to a close, the top policymaker on environmental issues in the U.S. House made sure new draft legislation on ethanol mandates he co-authored would see the light of day.

The U.S. government left its forecast for domestic crude production unchanged for 2019 even with prices averaging almost $11 a barrel lower than its previous estimate.

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port is pushing out the most crude it’s shipped in any one month since the terminal began supertanker exports in February.