The US House of Representatives (or more accurately, House Republicans, joined by a handful of Democrats) has passed legislation approving the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline to bring Canadian crude to US markets, in what House Democrats are calling a “largely symbolic” move. The bill would sidestep the requirement that pipeline company TransCanada obtain State Department approval to build the line. The White House has said that the president would veto the bill. [Bloomberg]

India’s ONGC may have been the mystery buyer in Marathon’s failed negotiations to sell its 20% stake in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP) in Canada. Marathon announced yesterday morning that talks had fallen apart, and that it is not in discussions with any other prospective buyers for its AOSP interest. [Reuters]

The German Brewers Federation has warned government ministers that permitting hydraulic fracturing risks contaminating water used for brewing beer. “Little in Germany is more sacrosanct than the purity of its beers, of which there are thought to be more than 5,000. Many brewers still adhere to a beer purity law that dates back hundreds of years and permits only the use of hops, barley, yeast and (pure) water.” [FT]