EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/14/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Sioux City Journal: Woodbury County officials consider setback distances for CO2 pipeline
Summit-Tribune: Supervisors discuss potential county ordinance for hazardous liquid pipelines
Fort Madison Daily Democrat: West Point officials asked to oppose pipeline plan
Moody County Enterprise: More landowners join group challenging pipelines
Food & Water Watch: DANGEROUS: Here’s What Iowans Need to Know About Carbon Pipeline Ruptures
PA Dept. of Environmental Protection: DEP Reaches Settlement With Shell Pipeline Company And Minnesota Limited For Falcon Pipeline Construction Violations
The Center Square: Federal government pledges $2.6M in Washington pipeline safety grants
CTV: Enbridge Gas investigating 'gas odor' believed to be from over-odorized gas line
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: Democrats push their vision for accelerating infrastructure work
Colorado Sun: Biden makes Camp Hale a national monument, moves to block mining and drilling on 225,000 acres of Colorado’s Thompson Divide
E&E News: Highway carbon rule an early test of SCOTUS climate ruling
STATE UPDATES
Energy & Policy Institute: California Carbon Capture Coalition is funded mostly by Chevron
Grist: Abandoned Texas oil wells are blowing out. The state won’t fix them.
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: Exxon to Partner With Fertilizer Maker CF on Carbon Capture
Globe and Mail: Canada’s oil sands firms to invest $24-billion on emissions projects
CLIMATE FINANCE
IEFFA: Two Economies Collide: Competition, Conflict, and the Financial Case for Fossil Fuel Divestment
Reuters: Canada energy IPOs tough sell even as institutions return to sector
CBC: Investors return to oil and gas sector after long period of industry 'doldrums'
OPINION
The Hill: To end price spikes and climate catastrophe, ban crude oil exports
The Hill: Cosmetic reforms in Manchin permitting bill aren’t enough to improve US energy woes
PIPELINE NEWS
Sioux City Journal: Woodbury County officials consider setback distances for CO2 pipeline
Caitlin Yamada, 10/13/22
“Woodbury County officials are looking at amending the zoning ordinance to address potential hazards of liquid pipelines,” the Sioux City Journal reports. “In response to Navigator Heartland Greenway and Summit Carbon Solution projects bringing pipelines throughout Woodbury County, the Board of Supervisors wants local rules in place to protect from hazards… “On Tuesday board chair Keith Radig proposed directing staff to create an ordinance for pipeline setback distances. The board agreed unanimously. He said the county put setbacks for wind turbines to protect county landowners, and this would be similar. He also said this could protect the county in the permitting process. “I don’t want there to be an accident that something happens and then the county gets sued because we failed to have any kind of setbacks,” he said. At various recent meetings, local residents have approached the board regarding the project and what other counties throughout the state are doing to prevent the pipelines, or protect the county… “Dan Priestley, zoning coordinator, said there are three possible options for the county to pursue. He believes the best option is the use of the zoning ordinance and adding language to the conditional use aspect… “Shelby County’s attempt to regulate pipelines has been frequently referenced. The county is considering an ordinance amendment that would create setbacks for carbon capture pipelines as well as hazard mitigation… “After doing research, Radig said he would like a local ordinance with a 500- foot setback with language that it will not supersede federal law… “Assistant County Attorney Joshua Widman said he believes Shelby County is working with an outside legal firm and anticipating litigation. He believes if Woodbury County created an ordinance, it would also likely be litigated.”
Summit-Tribune: Supervisors discuss potential county ordinance for hazardous liquid pipelines
Rob Hillesland, 10/13/22
“Hancock County supervisors reported at their Oct. 10 meeting that they are investigating the possibility of developing a county ordinance for the purpose of regulating and restricting the use of land for the transport of hazardous liquid via pipeline,” the Summit-Tribune reports. “It comes on the heels of Shelby County supervisors recently scheduling public hearings on a similar ordinance, referred by its planning and zoning commission. That ordinance includes requirements for conditional use permits, separation distances, and application requirements, and emergency response and hazard mitigation plans. With the proposed Summit Carbon solutions pipeline set to cross drainage-rich farmland in Hancock County, the Hancock County board expressed it is something worth considering, among other options to address concerns about the proposed project on the front side. Supervisor Sis Greiman said that the board of supervisors provided the Shelby County ordinance to the county’s inspection and engineering firm of Snyder & Associates in addition to Hancock County Attorney Blake Norman. She said the board is working closely with Kristina Paradise of Snyder & Associates on all options to help address a number of concerns about the proposed pipeline… “Greiman said the board’s biggest concerns for Hancock County are disruption of drainage districts, EMS and hazardous response planning for potential incidents associated with any such future pipeline, county road crossings, and unforeseen long-term implications associated with a hazardous liquid pipeline… “If we do this, what happens, do we get sued?” Greiman said. “We could possibly try to work with the company as a first option. Maybe Jake Ketzner of Summit Carbon Solutions should come back and meet with us again to discuss all this.” “...These pipelines could devastate the land at the very least,” Greiman said. “The drainage and the crops are never the same. As for the eminent domain part, I’m still trying to figure out what the benefit of this is, unlike oil or natural gas.”
Fort Madison Daily Democrat: West Point officials asked to oppose pipeline plan
Angie Holland, 10/13/22
“City residents Ray Menke and Andrew Johnson spoke at Monday’s meeting of the city council to urge the council to object to the Navigator Heartland Greenway pipeline that is being proposed” the Fort Madison Daily Democrat reports. “A public meeting was held by Heartland in Donnellson on Sept. 15 by Navigator because the pipeline route had been updated and thus included landowners who previously weren’t affected. The route was changed to move it further away from Central Lee schools. Menke said he believed the same issue should be examined in West Point. “There’s a bunch of cities who have formally wrote a letter to the Iowa Utilities Board saying they don’t want this. Some of them even made ordinances trying to get the pipeline to keep it away from their city,” he said. “And I think with Holy Trinity being in close proximity too, if you guys could work with Holy Trinity, maybe put something together with them, I think that we can get this moved.” The pipeline is proposed to go through Menke’s property. “This is terrible,” he said. “I told my son if it does, we’re getting breathing apparatus and an electric vehicle so you can get out of there. Because it’s not very far from here. If something happens with that pipeline, the City of West Point is in a world of hurt.” “...The pipeline could also inhibit town growth, Johnson said. “They don’t want (anyone) to build 1,000 feet and no one’s going to want to knowingly build a subdivision or restaurant or a gas station,” he said. “It’s going to land lock us to the north and the west.” “...Mayor Paul Walker said he would communicate with the Lee County Supervisors and read up on the situation and possibly bring an ordinance to the next city council meeting.”
Moody County Enterprise: More landowners join group challenging pipelines
Carleen Wild, 10/13/22
“As more landowners organize in an effort to fight the proposed Navigator and Summit carbon capture pipelines slated to be built across Moody County and the state, the Biden Administration announces more incentives for the pipeline companies to move their respective projects forward,” the Moody County Enterprise reports. “This past Thursday, the U.S. Department of Energy launched a $2 billion loan program to fund the construction of pipelines, rail transport and other shipping methods… “But more entities are questioning whether or not the technology is sound, safe or if it’ll even be relevant by the time the pipelines might open for transport… “Pipeline officials have approached local leaders about the money they would see in return for their investment in the state. Moody County Commissioners meanwhile, have put in place a temporary moratorium on the issuance of conditional use permits and building permits on pipelines, in the hopes of best protecting local landowners rights… “Dakota Rural Action and a growing number of local landowners are encouraging anyone opposed to the lines and wanting fair representation to join what’s called the South Dakota Easement Team (SDET). SDET is involved in a constitutional challenge to the law allowing private companies to effectively utilize eminent domain even before receiving a permit from the PUC… “Anyone wanting to intervene and file for party status must file a formal application with the PUC by 5:00 p.m. on November 28th. For more on SDET, visit www.SouthDakotaEasement.org.”
Food & Water Watch: DANGEROUS: Here’s What Iowans Need to Know About Carbon Pipeline Ruptures
Emma Schmit, 10/13/22
“Two years ago, on a quiet winter night in the small town of Satartia, Mississippi, a fog sucked the oxygen out of the air. Cars rolled to a stop. Folks collapsed in their homes. The culprit — a nearby carbon pipeline had ruptured,” Food & Water Watch reports. “Dan Zegart was the first national journalist to investigate the catastrophe, which hospitalized 49. Now, he’s covering the fight against pipelines in Iowa, where three corporations are plotting 3,000 miles of pipeline. These pipelines are part of the dirty energy industry’s newest scam: carbon capture and storage. Companies claim that they’ll store the CO2 carried by these lines safely underground. That they’ll help reduce emissions and fight climate change. But it won’t work, and it’s not safe. In an interview with our Senior Iowa Organizer Emma Schmit, Dan lays out dangers and risks of carbon pipelines. This interview has been edited for clarity and length…”
PA Dept. of Environmental Protection: DEP Reaches Settlement With Shell Pipeline Company And Minnesota Limited For Falcon Pipeline Construction Violations
10/13/2022
“The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced that it has executed a $670,000 consent assessment of civil penalty with Shell Pipeline Company LP and its contractor, Minnesota Limited LLC, for violations of its permit and Pennsylvania laws and regulations that occurred in 2019 and 2020 during construction of the company’s Falcon pipeline project. Between March 14, 2019, and April 9, 2021, DEP and the Allegheny, Beaver, and Washington County conservation districts, on DEP’s behalf, conducted at least 67 inspections of the pipeline construction sites to determine compliance by Shell Pipeline Company and Minnesota Limited with permits as well as state laws and regulations. DEP and the conservation districts observed violations resulting in sediment pollution from pipeline construction sites entering waters of the commonwealth as well as violations that had the potential to cause sediment pollution into waters of the commonwealth. However, no visual aquatic impacts were observed. The violations included five inadvertent returns, eight sediment discharges, failure to comply with permit conditions, failure to implement or maintain effective erosion and sediment best management practices, and failure to stabilize the site upon cessation of earth disturbance activity. DEP also found that Shell Pipeline Company and Minnesota Limited failed to notify DEP of inadvertent returns as required… “Shell Pipeline Company has agreed to pay a $670,000 civil penalty. In addition, the company will pay cost recovery in the amounts of $21,339 to DEP; $1,824 to the Allegheny County Conservation District; $1,496 to the Beaver County Conservation District, and $2,611 to the Washington County Conservation District. Of the total payment to DEP, $479,464 will go into the commonwealth’s Clean Water Fund and $211,875 will go into the Encroachments Fund.”
The Center Square: Federal government pledges $2.6M in Washington pipeline safety grants
Timothy Schumann, 10/12/22
“$2.6 million in federal funds to inspect oil pipelines and advocate for greater pipeline safety will be flowing to Washington state soon,” The Center Square reports. “The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission announced it will be receiving about $1.6 million in federal monies from one source to “help fund the UTC’s pipeline and damage prevention investigation and enforcement programs” Wednesday. That source is the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, a division of the United States Department of Transportation. The $1.6 million in grants to the UTC are broken down into three categories for different intended purposes: a base grant of $1.3 million to cover operating and inspection costs related to natural gas pipeline infrastructure and storage facilities, $270k in a hazardous liquid grant for preventative safety and responsive cleanup in high consequence areas, and $46k in a One-Call grant to promote damage prevention, community notification, public information, and education”.
CTV: Enbridge Gas investigating 'gas odor' believed to be from over-odorized gas line
Tammy Heisel, 10/13/22
“Enbridge Gas received calls from residents in the Kilworth area in regard to what they thought was the smell of natural gas, Wednesday,” CTV reports. "We believe that the smell is from an over-odourised gas line that is in use due to the colder weather and increased demand. The odorant, Mercaptan is added to natural gas (which is naturally odourless) to give it a smell so that it can be detected in very small quantities. When too much is introduced, the smell is more noticeable where it would not be noticed in normal situations," Krista Luxton Communications Advisor, Enbridge Gas told CTV News. The investigation is currently under investigation while they look to other options to mitigate the odour while they continue to provide natural gas safely. Gas is in higher demands on cooler days and therefore the smell may return.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: Democrats push their vision for accelerating infrastructure work
Tanya Snyder, 10/13/22
“The Biden administration is pushing the message that they can get infrastructure projects done fast — even if they’re not following the Republican playbook for how to get there,” Politico reports. “A new action plan released by the administration Thursday rounds up activities not just by the federal government but also by states and even trade groups and think tanks, including technical guidance, project trackers and workforce development activities. Dems' infrastructure playbook: Democrats are going on the offensive in broadcasting their vision for project acceleration, where they are often criticized by Republicans for the slow progression of infrastructure work. While Republicans have focused on shortening environmental review processes and setting shorter deadlines for federal approvals and public comment, Biden administration officials look at other factors in trying to accelerate infrastructure project timelines. At a half-day White House summit on accelerating infrastructure Thursday, DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg highlighted what he sees as the main “three consistent roadblocks to getting things done on time: a lack of data, lack of technology, and need for greater capacity.”
Colorado Sun: Biden makes Camp Hale a national monument, moves to block mining and drilling on 225,000 acres of Colorado’s Thompson Divide
David Krause and Jesse Paul, 10/12/22
“President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a proclamation creating the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument as his administration simultaneously moved to block mining and oil and gas drilling on 225,000 acres of Colorado’s Thompson Divide,” the Colorado Sun reports. “Biden visited Eagle County on Wednesday to discuss and celebrate the actions. His trip also comes on behalf of Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who is running for reelection in November and has pushed for years for additional protections inside the White River National Forest and along the Thompson Divide… “The 53,804-acre monument and an area of the Thompson Divide near Carbondale that will be protected includes portions of land that would have been otherwise shielded from development by the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act — or CORE Act — that has been stalled in Congress because of a lack of Republican support. Bennet is a lead sponsor of the CORE Act. Biden’s use of the 1906 Antiquities Act to create the monument early Wednesday sidesteps Congressional inaction on the lands bill… “A number of the members from the Ute Tribe were at Wednesday’s ceremony. Ute chairman Melvin Baker told the Sun recognizing the importance of the land to his tribe was important and he hopes it sets the tone about preserving more Native lands. “This was a homeland for survival. If you look at it today how beautiful it is and think hundreds of years back when our Ute people roamed these mountains in peace. There was no pressure, nothing. And they left it as it is,” Baker told the Sun. “I feel like today is a game-changer and we can do more in the future.
E&E News: Highway carbon rule an early test of SCOTUS climate ruling
Andres Picon, 10/14/22
“A proposal by the Biden administration to require all states to track and reduce on-road vehicle greenhouse gas emissions is facing scrutiny — and likely legal challenges — from opponents,” E&E News reports. “The draft rule from the Federal Highway Administration would task metropolitan planning organizations and the 26 states that do not have transportation emissions reduction targets with implementing those goals using $27 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law. Its potential to slash the sector’s carbon output has drawn praise from Democrats and environmentalists. Transportation accounts for more than one-quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions — more than any other sector. But the proposed rulemaking has come under attack from Republican lawmakers and other stakeholders wary of government overreach… “The letter calls out the rule as an attempt to co-opt federal infrastructure funding “to meet the Administration’s climate agenda” and for “running afoul of congressional intent.” The Biden administration and environmental policy scholars have disputed those claims, but they could be a harbinger of litigation from state attorneys general seeking to block new climate regulations. “This is definitely a new thing, so there’s going to be a legal fight over it, no doubt about that,” Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, told E&E. Under the proposed regulation, state and local transportation planners would have the flexibility to decide their own targets for vehicle emissions reductions on national highways, as long as they lead to cuts of 50 percent over 2005 levels by 2030, and net-zero emissions by 2050. They would also join a nationwide framework for reporting and tracking those carbon reductions.”
STATE UPDATES
Energy & Policy Institute: California Carbon Capture Coalition is funded mostly by Chevron
10/13/22
“The California Carbon Capture Coalition website lists the group’s members as Aera Energy, California Business Roundtable, Calpine, Chevron, Clean Energy Systems, California Manufacturers and Technology Association, Independent Energy Producers Association, SoCalGas, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, Western States Petroleum Association, and Boston Consulting Group,” according to the Energy & Policy Institute. “But a review of lobbying disclosure reports shows that during the 2021-2022 legislative session, only four of those entities reported making any payments to the California Carbon Capture Coalition: Chevron, Western States Petroleum Association, SoCalGas, and Aera (a joint venture between Exxonmobil and Shell). Lobbying disclosure reports show that Chevron paid $450,000 to the California Carbon Capture Coalition, including $150,000 in 2021 and $300,000 in 2022. Western States Petroleum Association paid $50,000 in 2022; Aera Energy paid $50,000 in 2022; SoCalGas paid $50,000 in 2021. None of the other entities listed as members of the California Carbon Capture Coalition reported making any payments to the group during the 2021-2022 legislative session. The $450,000 from Chevron accounts for 75% of the total $600,000 in payments to the California Carbon Capture Coalition that were reported by its members during the 2021-2022 legislative session. The Executive Director of the California Carbon Capture Coalition is Virgil Welch, a lobbyist with Caliber Strategies. Before becoming a lobbyist, Welch was Special Counsel and Chief Advisor to California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols until March 2021. Although Caliber Strategies doesn’t include the California Carbon Capture Coalition on its list of clients, lobbying disclosure reports show that Caliber Strategies began lobbying for the California Carbon Capture Coalition in July 2021. Welch did not respond to a request from Capital and Main about his efforts to influence his former agency. Emails obtained through public records requests show that while he worked at the California Air Resources Board, Welch advised a campaign to influence his own agency to focus on carbon capture in its five-year scoping plan to reduce emissions in California.”
Grist: Abandoned Texas oil wells are blowing out. The state won’t fix them.
Amal Ahmed, 10/13/22
“Schuyler Wight is a fourth generation rancher who has raised longhorn cattle outside Midland, Texas, for decades,” Grist reports. “Wight is no geologist, but over the years, he’s had to familiarize himself with what lies underground. Scattered across his sprawling 20,000-acre ranch are more than 100 abandoned oil and gas wells left behind by wildcatters who drilled in random locations for decades looking for oil. Many were unsuccessful, but the drilling opened up layers of porous rock, revealing water, and minerals. Rather than cap the holes, the wildcatters and their oil companies–now long gone–transferred ownership of unproductive wells to the previous owners of Wight’s ranch to be used as water wells, known as P-13 wells. Decades later, some of the wells on Wight’s land are leaking contaminated water, hydrogen sulfide and radioactive materials. Occasionally, Wight’s cattle drink water that has bubbled up to the surface and die, representing thousands of dollars in losses for his ranch. Typically, the Texas Railroad Commission would take responsibility for cleaning up oil and gas wells abandoned by now–defunct drilling companies. But the commission won’t spend a dime on wells like Wight’s. That’s because the commission argues his wells aren’t oil or gas wells because they never successfully produced fossil fuel. Without state or federal funds to clean up the mess, farmers, ranchers, and small local governments are struggling to fix the major environmental damage left from decades of drilling. Wight has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars–and counting–to clean up just a few of the wells on his property.
EXTRACTION
Bloomberg: Exxon to Partner With Fertilizer Maker CF on Carbon Capture
Elizabeth Elkin and Simon Casey, 10/12/22
“Exxon Mobil Corp. agreed to help capture and bury as much as 2 million tons a year of carbon-dioxide emissions produced by US fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings Inc.,” Bloomberg reports. “CF, which is investing $200 million to build a dehydration and compression unit at its facility in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, said Wednesday that Exxon will transport the carbon dioxide and store the gas in Vermilion Parish. The project is scheduled to start up in 2025. The deal will allow CF to produce as much as 1.7 million tons of so-called blue ammonia, where carbon dioxide emissions are captured, reducing its carbon footprint. Ammonia is rich in nitrogen and used as fertilizer. The accord is also a significant announcement for Exxon’s Low Carbon Solutions segment, which was created in early 2021. Earlier this year, Exxon pledged to spend $15 billion on lower-carbon investments through 2027, with carbon capture as a priority. Pipeline company EnLink Midstream LLC said separately on Wednesday that it agreed to transport carbon dioxide from the Mississippi River corridor in southeastern Louisiana to Exxon’s Vermilion Parish storage location.”
Globe and Mail: Canada’s oil sands firms to invest $24-billion on emissions projects
EMMA GRANEY, 10/14/22
“Canadian oil sands companies plan to spend more than $24-billion on emissions-reduction projects by 2030, as they accelerate their bid to get production to net zero by 2050,” the Globe and Mail reports. “The investment by members of the Pathways Alliance – a group that covers about 95 per cent of oil sands production – includes $16.5-billion for a massive carbon capture and storage (CCS) network in northern Alberta. Another $7.6-billion will be spent on advancing other emissions-reduction technologies, such as pilot projects that use injections of solvents to reduce the amount of steam needed to extract oil, and studies on direct air capture, the viability of small modular nuclear reactors and geothermal energy. Companies in the Pathways Alliance have already started early consultations and engineering work on the CCS project, at the heart of which is a proposed transportation line to gather captured CO2 from more than 20 oil sands facilities and move it to a proposed underground storage hub near Cold Lake, Alta. Environmental field work is also under way to support regulatory application submissions for the project, with formal consultations set to begin in the fall… “Pathways president Kendall Dilling told The Globe and Mail in an interview “there’s an urgency and a focus” on getting to net zero “that is unparalleled in my 30 years in this industry.” “...We have made that fundamental mindset shift that our future is a carbon-free production of our product. We are hoping to get meaningfully there by 2030, and then all the way there by 2050.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
IEFFA: Two Economies Collide: Competition, Conflict, and the Financial Case for Fossil Fuel Divestment
10/13/22
“The coal, oil and gas sectors have lost their financial rationale,” according to IEFFA. “Competitive forces inside and outside the industry have undermined this once-mighty economic force. Politics now drives oil and gas prices, with the war in Ukraine serving as a vivid reminder of this stark reality. Market forces now favor fossil fuel competitors; cost efficiencies, innovation and public opinion are converging to move trillions of dollars to sustainable alternatives. Meanwhile, an increasing number of destructive weather events have underscored the destruction caused by climate change and increased public demands for solutions. Investors should move away from fossil fuels because the coal, oil and gas sectors are confronted with competitive pressures that they are ill-prepared to navigate… “The oil and gas sector’s promised technological innovations, such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology, remain unproven, unreliable and unprofitable. From a structural standpoint, two economies are emerging—one based on fossil fuels and one based on sustainability—that cooperate and conflict but ultimately integrate into one fragile, changing energy system. Sustainable economics is proving its mettle with innovations, profits, and new capital infusions that alternately compete and cooperate with a declining fossil fuel sector across the power, transportation, and petrochemical sectors. Faced with this new robust competition, the strategies and tactics of the fossil fuel sector are now largely political, since the industry has lost its financial rationale. As coronavirus vaccines and public health initiatives allowed the world economy to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, supply and demand imbalances increased oil and gas prices. Then, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—a consummate display of raw political power—triggered a series of market bottlenecks that drove prices soaring. It also created an energy distribution network driven by support or opposition to Russia’s goals of aggression. The results have been significant revenue increases for all oil and gas producers, including state-owned enterprises and private oil concerns. The high prices have contributed to worldwide inflation, placing extraordinary pressure on developing countries with growing economies.”
Reuters: Canada energy IPOs tough sell even as institutions return to sector
Nia Williams and Divya Rajagopal, 10/13/22
“Institutional investors are returning to the Canadian oil and gas sector with gusto after shunning the industry over ESG concerns in recent years, but the appetite for new energy listings remains limited due to wider market volatility,” Reuters reports. “French oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) will be the first major test of energy investor interest for new listings. Last month, it unveiled plans to spin off its Canadian oil sands assets into a new publicly traded company, which surprised many industry watchers. The next day, Teck Resources (TECKb.TO) said it was also considering a spin-off of its Fort Hills oil sands project, in which it is a part-owner with TotalEnergies and Suncor Energy. The success of any initial public offerings (IPOs) over the next year would depend on whether oil price volatility calms down after turbulence in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and on worries about global recession, investment bankers and analysts told Reuters… “McCrea expects the recent trend of takeovers of private Canadian oil companies by larger companies to continue rather than the IPO route… “Scott Barron, head of Calgary Investment Banking at TD Securities, told CBC confidential work has been done this year on several IPOs which have not come to market. "We have seen very, very few (IPOs) in Canada and the U.S. and that's a symptom of the fact investors lost a lot of money after the IPO boom of the last couple of years. They are really hesitant to go back into new issues," Barron told CNC, referring to IPOs in sectors across North America.
CBC: Investors return to oil and gas sector after long period of industry 'doldrums'
Paula Duhatschek, 10/14/22
“Some investors who'd pulled out of the oil and gas sector in recent years have started to return,” CBC reports. “Among them is Calgary-based wealth portfolio manager Martin Pelletier, who said his firm exited the oil and gas sector "in a material way" in 2015 before returning about a year and a half ago. "I was on the sidelines for a good part of the last … four or five years, I guess," Pelletier, with the wealth management firm Wellington-Altus Private Counsel, which manages more than $20 billion in assets, told CBC. Pelletier said he was drawn back in part by rebounding oil prices and what he described as a "precarious" supply situation… “These days, hefty profits and a renewed interest in energy security prompted by the war in Ukraine are the two biggest reasons for the renewed interest by investors, after several years of lackluster financial returns and growing concerns about climate change. "Any investor who hasn't participated in the run here in oil and gas … there's a bit of a fear of missing out," Jeremy McCrea, managing director of energy research with Raymond James, told CBC. Year-to-date, Cenovus shares are up about 50 per cent, Canadian Natural Resources shares are up 37 per cent and Suncor shares are up about 34 per cent… “Part of what makes the current moment different from previous boom times is that, while companies are enjoying their stock prices, they aren't generally pouring much money into capital expansion. Instead, Tims told CBC many exploration and production companies are projected to pull in about three-and-a-half times as much cash as what they plan to spend on capital… “For his part, Tims hopes the industry should use this moment to make a big push toward hitting its environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets. "I think it's a window of opportunity," Tims told CBC, to reduce methane emissions, clean up orphaned wells and dedicate resources to carbon capture and storage.”
OPINION
The Hill: To end price spikes and climate catastrophe, ban crude oil exports
Kassie Siegel is climate political director at the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, 10/12/22
“On the same day that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its oil-exporting allies, which include Russia, agreed to raise oil prices with a major supply cut, President Biden was touring Hurricane Ian’s damage in Florida, declaring that it “ends discussion” on the climate crisis. Both show why Biden needs to reinstate the U.S. ban on crude oil exports,” Kassie Siegel writes for The Hill. “...Yet, President Biden has the power to address all these dangers by dramatically drawing down fossil fuels, starting by declaring a climate emergency and re-instating the ban on crude oil exports. Congress lifted the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports at the behest of the oil industry, right as the Paris climate talks drew to a close in 2015… “At the time, oil companies promised that the production boom and lifting of the export ban would lead to energy security and lower gas prices. Surprise, surprise — the oil industry lied. Despite record-high U.S. production, Americans face painful prices at the pump, along with record-high inflation driven in large part by fossil fuel energy prices… “The way for Biden to protect people from price spikes and profiteering is to accelerate the transition to clean renewable energy and end the fossil fuel era once and for all… “A national emergency declaration under the National Emergencies Act is all that’s required to reinstate the crude oil export ban on a year-by-year basis… “Next Biden must direct his executive branch agencies to comply with existing U.S. environmental law and stop approving new fossil fuel infrastructure and extraction projects — none of which serve the public interest… “To protect Americans and the world from the ravages of fossil fuels, the president must act today. And he should start by reinstating the ban on crude oil exports.”
The Hill: Cosmetic reforms in Manchin permitting bill aren’t enough to improve US energy woes
Marc Marie is a regulatory policy fellow at Americans for Prosperity, 10/12/22
“Amid spiraling energy prices, it was hoped that Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) “permitting reform” bill would address the gauntlet of permitting hurdles blocking energy production and delivery. Instead, the bill omits the most important reforms to accelerate delivery of affordable energy projects and locks-in years of continued delays and high prices,” Marc Marie writes for The Hill. “Rather than propose systemic reform including substantive changes to environmental review laws to benefit all forms of energy development, Manchin’s bill is a swag bag of low-value procedural changes for carbon-based and nuclear projects, coupled with far-reaching systemic improvements and potentially massive subsidies for high-cost renewable transmission. And while it would ensure completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), a long-delayed natural gas pipeline originating in Manchin’s home state, the bill effectively pulls up the ladder on future similar infrastructure — likely harming continued efforts to lower emissions through coal-to-gas switching. One measure of the bill is whether it would have changed the fate of recently abandoned projects —Keystone XL and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline — that have become synonymous with energy and supply chain gridlock. The telling answer: not in the slightest. In fact, the bill’s “reforms” would not improve the prospects for the MVP itself — hence the need for the rare congressional authorization of the 300-mile project connecting low-cost natural gas producers in Appalachia to high demand centers in the southeast... “Most of NEPA’s mischief comes not from the text of the statute itself but the accretion of judge made law issued by inferior courts which interpret implementing regulations written by the Council on Environmental Quality. One federal appeals court judge has already noted that this small office in the White House lacks a clear statutory mandate to issue regulations. With a judiciary newly focused on whether clear congressional statements justify our economy’s most onerous regulatory burdens, Congress may need to right-size NEPA to head off a far less predictable judicial intervention.”