Axios

A group of senators from oil and corn production states on Tuesday failed to reach an agreement with President Trump at a White House meeting over a policy designed to help farmers and lower oil imports, per Reuters. They were discussing the cost of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Why it matters: Per Axios' Amy Harder, a quick fix deal was always an uphill battle, given how far apart each side is on this issue. But the White House's continued attention to this issue despite no resolution underscores its political importance.

A big question among oil experts these days is whether today's worldwide investments in new supplies are too low to avoid risk of a "supply gap" opening up in the early 2020s as demand grows and existing fields decline.

The big picture: Two competing views presented this week offer a pessimistic and optimistic take on the situation, taking on opposite sides of the investment debate.

A company planning to export liquefied natural gas from the Gulf Coast will warn lawmakers this morning that surging U.S. gas production could become "stranded" absent bigger investment in pipeline and LNG infrastructure.

On the record: In testimony prepared for a House Natural Resources Committee hearing today on the geopolitics of LNG, Tellurian president Meg Gentle says the government plays a key role in both laying the infrastructure groundwork for exports and offering a supportive and efficient regulatory environment.

In this episode of Smarter Faster: Transformation, a new series that shows how workforces are being trained to land the jobs of tomorrow, we explore how solar energy survived economic turmoil and continues to thrive.

Nearly half of all U.S. states have raised their gasoline taxes since 2013, according to industry data compiled by Axios.

Why it matters: The trend, which includes conservative states, stands in stark contrast to the opposition that congressional Republicans and conservative interest groups have to raising the federal gas tax. President Trump has endorsed the idea of raising it to help fund his administration’s infrastructure proposal. The tax, which Congress hasn’t raised in 25 years, stands at 18.4 cents per gallon.

The U.S. Treasury Department has doled out new sanctions — targeting 6 people, 24 companies, and 7 vessels, including people from Libya, Malta, Italy, and Egypt — in order to prevent oil smuggling to Europe, which Treasury says adds to the instability in Libya.

Context: Libya’s oil production accounts for 95% of the country’s export earnings. But the country has been embroiled in conflict since Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011, leading to disruptions to oil infrastructure and production. BMI Research has warned that disruptions to oil infrastructure are likely to continue in advance of the country’s elections slated for later this year, according to Oil Price.

The nonprofit Alliance for Market Solutions released new polling on millennial attitudes about the reality of human-induced climate change and efforts to combat it.

The bottom line: Millennials are broadly convinced human-induced climate change is real and deserves action, but millennial Republicans are relatively less concerned.

The oil and natural gas industry is running into a rough patch with President Trump.

Why it matters: A Republican president who promotes American energy dominance should be good for oil and gas producers. But instead, conflict is escalating over trade, ethanol and offshore drilling.