Actress and activist Jane Fonda made a cameo in Northern Minnesota yesterday to protest the Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project.

What she's saying: "We're here to try to stop it," Fonda said in a video posted to Twitter.

Yesterday marked one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, but it was already hammering oil prices thanks to lockdowns in China — the world's largest consumer — and market expectations of more demand loss.

Where it stands: Prices have rebounded to their highest levels in well over a year, thanks to consumption coming back, supply curbs, traders' expectations of continued economic recovery, and more demand bounce back later this year.

Speaking of the pandemic, the drop in oil-and-gas industry jobs last year was distributed unevenly worldwide, per new analysis from the consultancy Rystad Energy.

The big picture: The chart above shows jobs losses in oil-and-gas production and midstream industry jobs, which involve storage, transport and other aspects.

Oil and gas prices jumped on Thursday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers said on Thursday that they would extend production cuts into April.

The big picture: Oil is being driven by the production cuts of OPEC, a consortium of the world's largest producers, and expectations for a rebound in global demand as more countries emerge from coronavirus lockdowns.

ExxonMobil said Wednesday that its oil-and-gas development plans will create good returns even at modest oil prices as the company looks to win back investor confidence after several rocky years.

Driving the news: The company, just ahead of an investor presentation this morning, said its investments are designed to generate returns of over 30% and touted its spending reductions.

The American Petroleum Institute is preparing to endorse, in principle, a price on carbon emissions, according to a draft statement first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: The endorsement of carbon pricing, which API said in its draft statement would "lead to the most economic paths to achieve the ambitions of the Paris Agreement,” would signal an evolving climate stance from the oil industry's top lobbying group.

ExxonMobil Monday morning announced two additions to its board as the oil giant faces pressure to boost financial performance and do more on climate.

Driving the news: Activist investor Jeffrey Ubben and Michael Angelakis, CEO of the investment company Atairos and a former senior Comcast Corp. official, are the board's two newest members.

Over the past two years, electric vehicle and emerging renewable technology stocks have soared as investors priced in the transition away from fossil fuels, but so far in 2021 that narrative has reversed.

By the numbers: XOP, an ETF that tracks the largest U.S. oil and gas companies, has gained nearly 40% so far this year as oil producers like Diamondback Energy and Occidental Petroleum have seen their shares jump by more than 50%.

The VC arms of Chevron and BP are funding Eavor, a startup looking to commercialize a form of geothermal energy that it says can provide large-scale power in many regions worldwide.

Why it matters: It's the latest sign of momentum and investor interest behind technology that could significantly scale up geothermal.

The effects of President Biden's restrictions on oil-and-gas leasing and permitting on federal lands and waters will be limited in the near term, the International Energy Agency said Thursday.

Driving the news: IEA's monthly oil market report says it doesn't see a "material impact on U.S. production in the short term."