In this week's Market Movers: Canadian officials are heading to Washington to discuss energy security, FERC will consider a major Wyoming gas storage project, and the California Energy Commission will hold a workshop to examine its power system's reliability heading into the summer.

We will start off this week in Washington, DC, where federal lawmakers are expecting a visit from Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and other Canadian officials who will promote North American energy security. Kenney will testify May 17 before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on strengthening US-Canada collaboration on energy security and climate change. The two-day trip continues talks between Kenney's office and committee Chairman Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who recently toured oilsands facilities in Alberta. The Alberta delegation hopes to engage US policymakers supplying the US with more Canadian oil to displace Russian and other foreign supplies as well as critical minerals.

Also in Washington, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is poised to vote on a major gas storage project in Wyoming during its monthly open meeting on May 19. Spire Storage West's proposed 16 billion-cubic-feet expansion is among the projects pending in FERC's queue that drew attention from powerful senators worried about a slowdown in federal action on midstream infrastructure. FERC's action this week could shed more light on how the regulator will resume advancing projects after a dustup in Washington over its gas project policies. Spire has been seeking to substantially expand its Wyoming gas storage business as the company positions itself to capitalize on changing dynamics in Western energy markets. This brings us to our social media question of the week: Should FERC make narrow changes on natural gas pipeline review policies, or issue more sweeping greenhouse gas standards? Tweet us your thoughts.

Looking outside the nation's capital, US power markets are focused on summer resource reliability heading into the warmer months. The West is facing rising temperatures, an ongoing drought, wildfires and a weak hydroelectric outlook. The California Energy Commission will have a workshop May 20 on the summer 2022 outlook and midterm electric system reliability. While the state is better positioned than it was a year ago in terms of summer power reliability, it still faces challenges, including supply chain issues, new project pricing concerns and climate change. In addition, California must add generation to replace the 6 gigawatts retiring by 2025.

Turning to agriculture, grain and oilseed futures are likely to remain strong but volatile in the wake of the USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates released May 12 that showed the department's first forecasts for the 2022-23 marketing year. May's WAHZ-DEE forecast US corn production to decline 4.3% year on year, mainly due to lower yields at 177 bushels/acre. The monthly report also held the department's first outlook on the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on wheat and corn output. The USDA forecast Ukrainian wheat production will fall nearly 35% on the year, which has roiled global grain markets. Wheat, corn and soybean futures were mixed in wake of the report and will likely continue to see volatility as countries in the northern hemisphere rely on favorable weather for ongoing planting.

And in South America, the Brazilian government has temporarily cut the steel rebar import tariff to 4% from 10.8%, in line with the average global steel import tariff. The reduction is valid until December 31. Brazilian construction companies see the steel price rise as the most relevant among construction costs, accounting for one-third of the housing price increment. The measure could prompt steelmakers to revise their pricing strategy to avoid a flood of imports into Brazil. Brazil's domestic 10-millimeter rebar price was assessed at Real 4,900 per metric ton at the end of last week, up 8.9% since January and up 97% since the start of the pandemic.

The Platts Atlas of Energy Transition is your map to the sustainable commodity markets of the future. You can explore the Atlas by visiting the address displayed on your screen. Thanks for kicking off your Monday with us and have a great week ahead.