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My own schedule has been quite packed as of late, so I think this report about the microeconomies and lifestyles that have sprung up along the coal trucking routes from Mongolia into China will have to suffice as an intro into this week's update:Border jam puts Mongolia's coal lifeline under threat (Reuters)Enjoy!ReportWorld Energy Outlook 2017 (IEA)Perhaps not necessary for readers to go spend €120 on a digital copy, so thought I would share the report summary here. The New York Times wrote an even shorter synopsis here.FinanceNorway’s Wealth Fund Considers Divesting From Oil Shares (NY Times)Offshore oil service firms dominate North American energy bankruptcies (Reuters)Ecuador to sign payment deal for Schlumberger debt (Reuters)Aramco CEO: IPO preparations ongoing, no decision on venue abroad (Reuters)GridEDF unions warn of French power blackout risk this winter (Reuters)What Causes Cascading Power Grid Failures (IEEE)You can see the full report from Science here. They have a related technical paper up at arxiv as well.Wave of lawsuits blames PG&#38;E for deadly California fires (Sacramento Bee)Government to push prepaid, smart meters in universal electrification drive (India Times)China to launch distributed power trading pilot scheme (Reuters)Keeping one billion people in the dark costs poor countries dear (Reuters)A very odd article, they never provide the title of the report they are summarizing and I was unable to find a report with this content on the ODI website.LaborNearly 2,000 Siemens employees protest against job cuts (Reuters)Coal India mulling increase in prices to meet rise in wage costs (India Times)PipelinesDakota Access Pipeline Company Paid Mercenaries to Build Conspiracy Lawsuit Against Environmentalists (Intercept)Keystone Pipeline Leaks 210,000 Gallons of Oil in South Dakota (NY Times)Keystone XL opponents make last-gasp effort in Nebraska (Reuters)Kinder Morgan Canada appeals again over Trans Mountain pipeline (Reuters)PoliticsWith U.S. Backing, Ukraine Pushes to Privatize Paris Climate Agreement (Intercept)Why meeting the Paris climate goals is an existential threat to fossil fuel industries (Conversation)Angolan Leader Ousts Predecessor’s Daughter as Oil Chief (NY Times)Indonesia unveils plan to roll out 1,000 eco-mosques by 2020 (Reuters)China's renewable energy wastage targets may be hard to meet this winter (Reuters)I remain extremely skeptical that China can end all renewable energy wastage by 2020, but if they can make it happen that would be a very telling sign of significant political change in the country.Puerto Rico’s bankrupt utility agreed to pay Whitefish Energy double what linemen make, documents show (Washington Post)Puerto Rico utility head resigns after slow Hurricane Maria response (Reuters)Canada's Obsidian Energy settles fraud charges with U.S. regulator (Reuters)And another corporation allowed to pay their way out of an inevitable prison sentence.TransportationElon Musk unveils Tesla electric truck – and a surprise new sports car (Guardian)China's Richest 2017: Wang Chuanfu Steers EV Leader BYD Deeper Into New Markets (Forbes)Toyota, Suzuki to introduce electric vehicles in India in 2020 (India Times)Global oil demand to withstand rise of electric vehicles (Reuters)This is according to the IEA's World Energy Outlook...China Craves Electric Cars, While U.S. Flirts With Ending Tax Credit (NY Times)Flying-Car Company Terrafugia is Bought by China's Geely (IEEE)BiofuelsNineteen nations say they'll use more bioenergy to slow climate change (Reuters)U.S. biofuels policy contributes to global warming (Reuters)CoalBurning more coal to cut pollution - India's distressing dilemma (Reuters)Supreme Court asks states, UTs to consider banning pet coke &#38; furnace oil (PTI)Record 250 trains rushed coal to power plants on Tuesday (India Times)Growing number of global insurance firms divesting from fossil fuels (Guardian)Indonesia amends contracts with 13 coal mining companies (Reuters)RWE takes 1,500 MW of lignite plants off grid due to protests (Reuters)Anyone know if these protests were locally organized or somehow related to the CoP 23 in Bonn?A year after Trump's election, coal's future remains bleak (Reuters)GasArgentina to extend gas production subsidies to Austral basin (Reuters)Asian prices rise as Korea Gas Corp buys winter supply (Reuters)China villagers hail first gas-fired heat for winter, but balk at higher bills (Reuters)Djibouti signs preliminary deal with China's POLY-GCL for $4 bln gas project (Reuters)Dutch court rejects government's Groningen gas production plan (Reuters)Bid for Santos puts spotlight on Papua New Guinea's juicy LNG assets (Reuters)Sometimes when Reuters staff reporters get excited about energy news it feels as if they are describing a piece of meat...did they forget people live in the PNG? Probably...  :-(HydropowerMeetings end without consensus on filling reservoir at 6,000-MW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (HydroWorld)Pakistan removes Diamer Bhasha from CPEC consideration (HydroWorld)Nepal scraps $2.5 billion hydropower plant deal with Chinese company (Reuters)Meghalaya govt cancels power project pacts with private companies (PTI)$1.6 billion Canada-New England hydropower project wins key permit (AP)MarineMetro mayor offers new hope for stalled Liverpool tidal energy project (HydroWorld)NuclearRadioactive leaks at Illinois nuclear power plants (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)US eyes safety rules for small modular reactors, as nuclear touted at UN climate meeting (UtilityDive)Owner of Finnish nuclear reactor may seek further compensation (Reuters)Faulty Areva fuel rods sent to nuclear reactors, Swiss plant closed (Reuters)PetroleumChina's oil refiners rush to cash in on bumper profits (Reuters)Rosneft board approves oil deal with China's CEFC (Reuters)African-Americans taking brunt of oil industry pollution (Reuters)Which is exactly what anthropologist Janice Harper has been arguing for yearsTurkish, Iraqi officials discuss resuming Kirkuk oil exports (Reuters)Oil seen as real prize of Iran's Kurdish adventure (Reuters)There is still a great deal of tension in this region of the Middle East and 2017's deadliest earthquake has only made the situation more intense.Norway environmental lawsuit says Arctic oil plan violates constitution (Reuters)SolarCroatia eyes solar power in bid to curb energy imports (Reuters)$100 million Texas solar project on hold as Trump administration threatens tariff (Dallas Morning News)Jordan switches on world's largest solar plant in refugee camp (Reuters)WindGujarat wind auction put off again (India Times)Maine proposes new wind development rules (UtilityDive)