EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/25/23
PIPELINE NEWS
S&P Global Platts: Cancellation of Navigator CO2 pipeline raises critical issues for several industries
Des Moines Register: Navigator officially withdraws Iowa carbon pipeline petition after regulatory hurdles
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Navigator withdraws pipeline permit application in Iowa
RBN Energy: Reaper Comes For Heartland Greenway CO2 Pipeline Project
Bleeding Heartland: Summit Carbon water permits spark dissent among landowners
KCAU: Woodbury County officials discuss cancellation of Navigator CO2 pipeline
WEEK: CO2 pipeline opponents focus their efforts on Tazewell County Wednesday night
South Dakota Searchlight: Regulators vote to release Dakota Access Pipeline’s road bond and public liaison officer
OilPrice.com: Environmentalists Slam EU Hydrogen Pipeline Plan As Favoring Fossil Fuel Giants
Bloomberg: Oil Pipeline Pinch Re-Emerges in Canada, Widening Crude Discount
WSIL: Two dead, two injured after industrial accident in Grand Tower
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: Companies capture a lot of CO2. Most of it is going into new oil.
E&E News: Curtis Introduces Bill To Curb Methane Emissions
STATE UPDATES
Albuquerque Journal: Carbon capture & sequestration gains ground
New York Times: Gavin Newsom Wants to Export California’s Climate Laws to the World
Miami Herald: Oil spill spreads 9 miles between Louisiana bayous
EXTRACTION
The Energy Mix: ‘This Blows My Mind’, Critic Says, as CCUS Centre Admits It Can’t Meet 2035 Deadline
Bloomberg: Carbon Capture Needs a Reality Check After Lost Decade
CNBC: From Bill Gates to the pope, talk of carbon capture and its efficacy is dividing society
E&E News: Exxon, Chevron Deals Set To Boost Oil Production, CCS
Wall Street Journal: Chevron And Exxon Might Have Kicked Off An Oil Land Grab
Barron’s: ConocoPhillips Could Be Next Big Oil Acquirer After Chevron - Hess Deal
OPINION
InForum: Port: Demise of carbon capture project is nothing to celebrate
NRDC: Biden Administration Must Redo Its Assessment of Dakota Access Pipeline
Grand Junction Sentinel: Better Oil And Gas Management Benefits Everyone
Financial Times: The race to be last man standing in Big Oil
PIPELINE NEWS
S&P Global Platts: Cancellation of Navigator CO2 pipeline raises critical issues for several industries
Corey Lavinsky, 10/23/23
“On Oct. 20, Navigator CO2 Ventures announced that it had cancelled its long-planned Heartland Greenway pipeline project due to the "unpredictable nature of the regulatory and government processes." This analysis, previously published as a Spotlight by S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Downstream Americas Consulting Group on Platts Connect, examines the impact of this decision on the US ethanol industry,” S&P Global Platts reports. “...Industry titans POET and Valero had 26 facilities collectively on the proposed route… “While these companies stand out among those most affected by the announcement, Navigator’s decision also has far-reaching implications for the agriculture, biofuels and refining industries. News of the cancellation wasn’t terribly shocking to followers of the recent hearings in states along the proposed route… “As an aside, and to avoid confusion, losing a pipeline application hearing is not fatal to a project. A losing party can reapply after making necessary changes, often involving a re-route or additional compliance with safety, environmental, or other regulations. Therefore, Summit may go back to the Dakota authorities and try again, though harsh opposition from many property owners will likely remain… “Many ethanol producers have been counting on reducing the carbon intensity of their fuel via carbon capture, utilization and sequestration, which would enable them to sell their product at a higher price in low carbon fuel standard markets such as California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia… “Carbon emissions can still be captured from ethanol plants, and the CO2 might be stored or transported in ways less economic than interstate pipelines… “Setting up an eFuel facility in the heart of ethanol country is a business model that may be worth considering… “In July, President Joe Biden made a bold prediction regarding SAF in a speech in Auburn, Maine: "[M]ark my words -- the next 20 years, farmers are going to be providing 95% of all the sustainable airline fuel." Note the word "farmers." Biden’s statement cannot happen -- using currently available technology -- without low CI corn-based ethanol being used for SAF. In light of the latest development with Navigator, will the Biden administration do anything to intervene?.. “Navigator’s announcement is a signpost, but the business model to capture high-concentration CO2 from rural ethanol plants is not at a crisis stage yet… “Without carbon capture, US ethanol production at the average CI score still qualifies for federal renewable identification numbers, state LCFS credits, and can be used for exports, industrial applications, etc. But the road to net zero just got a little bumpier.”
Des Moines Register: Navigator officially withdraws Iowa carbon pipeline petition after regulatory hurdles
Donnelle Eller, 10/24/23
“Navigator CO2 Ventures has filed a motion to officially withdraw its petition to build a $3.5 billion carbon capture pipeline after running into regulatory and legislative challenges in Iowa, South Dakota and other states,” the Des Moines Register reports. “The Omaha, Nebraska-based company told Iowa regulators Monday it seeks to withdraw its petition to build a hazardous liquid pipeline across Iowa, finalizing its Oct, 20 announcement it was killing its plans… “It also doesn't plan to sell pipeline easement options it negotiated with landowners along the proposed route, despite language in the agreements that “would allow for reassignment,” Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Navigator vice president of government and public affairs, said when the company on Oct. 20 announced it was shelving its pipeline plans. Burns-Thompson also said Iowa landowners will be able to keep payments they've received from Navigator, which has spent "hundreds of millions of dollars" planning the project and obtaining the easements. Summit Carbon Solutions, a competitor planning to build a $5.5 billion carbon capture pipeline across the Midwest, including in Iowa, has said it's ready to sign up Navigator’s industrial agriculture partners, declaring it is “well positioned to add additional plants and communities to our project footprint.” “...Pipeline opponents in Iowa, Nebraska and other states say they'll continue to fight Summit and Wolf Carbon Solutions, another company that has proposed building a pipeline in Iowa and Illinois. Landowners, farmers, state lawmakers and other opponents have voiced concerns about the pipeline safety and potential damage to farmland the drainage tiles beneath it as well as Summit and Navigator's plan to use eminent domain to obtain pipeline easements from landowners who won't voluntarily sell them… “Ames-based Summit also has encountered headwinds, and on Oct. 19 pushed back two years to 2026 the timeline for making its pipeline operational.”
Iowa Capital Dispatch: Navigator withdraws pipeline permit application in Iowa
JARED STRONG, 10/24/23
“Navigator CO2 officially withdrew its petition in Iowa for a hazardous liquid pipeline permit on Monday after announcing last week it was canceling its project,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. “...A company spokesperson further told the Dispatch potential legislation that could alter state rules that govern the pipelines added another layer of uncertainty… “The third company, Wolf Carbon Solutions, proposes a shorter route in eastern Iowa that would connect to two ethanol plants and seeks to avoid using eminent domain to obtain land easements. Nikki Cannon, a Wolf spokesperson, told the Dispatch the company is still working with landowners, elected officials and others to find a palatable route. “Our main goal is to not use eminent domain and instead find creative solutions that will enable this project to move forward around those who do not wish to have their land included in the pipeline route,” Cannon told the Dispatch. The company has the ability to amend its IUB permit application to request the use of eminent domain. Pipeline opponents and others have argued that eminent domain is inappropriate for carbon dioxide pipelines because they don’t benefit the public in the same way that natural gas pipelines and electricity transmission lines do.”
RBN Energy: Reaper Comes For Heartland Greenway CO2 Pipeline Project
Noel Copeland, 10/24/23
“Navigator CO2 Ventures announced last Friday (10/20) the cancelation of its Heartland Greenway pipeline project,” RBN Energy reports. “...The company cited, “unpredictable" state regulatory processes as the final blow culminating in the project’s demise. One of three carbon capture pipeline projects planned for the upper Midwest, the other two Summit Carbon Solutions’, Midwest Carbon Express and Wolf Carbon Solutions’ project which geographically overlap to a degree with Heartland Greenway are undoubtably facing similar regulatory and landowner discontent headwinds.”
Bleeding Heartland: Summit Carbon water permits spark dissent among landowners
Nancy Dugan, 10/23/23
“Three Iowa women who rely on the Devonian aquifer for their water have filed suit in Polk County seeking to vacate a water use permit granted earlier this year, in connection with a CO2 pipeline project,” Bleeding Heartland reports. “Kimberly Junker, Candice Brandau Larson, and Kathy Carter are suing the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which on May 29 issued a water use permit to Lawler SCS Capture, LLC. The permit allows the LLC to withdraw up to 55.9 million gallons of water per year from the Devonian aquifer, at a maximum rate of 100 gallons per minute. Formed in 2022, Lawler SCS Capture is one of myriad Delaware-based businesses affiliated with Summit Carbon Solutions, LLC. The well and associated carbon capture facility would be located on land owned by Homeland Energy Solutions, an ethanol plant and Summit Carbon partner in Chickasaw County… “The plaintiffs are seeking to vacate the Lawler water permit based on several factors, including the following: Summit’s project would be a net emitter of carbon dioxide when all factors are taken into consideration, according to the direct testimony of Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson, which the Sierra Club filed with the Iowa Utilities Board on July 24… “Navigator’s most prominent partner was Poet, which operates a dozen ethanol plants in Iowa. Summit Carbon's Chief Operating Officer, James “Jimmy” Powell, testified before the Iowa Utilities Board on September 5 that water use rates for carbon capture at each facility will range from “20 gallons a minute to 120 gallons a minute.” The estimated withdrawal rate of 478,296,000 gallons per year (which Bleeding Heartland previously calculated) could easily double under a scenario that adds Poet’s twelve Iowa ethanol plants to the thirteen currently partnered with Summit. That’s nearly a billion gallons of water annually under what is likely a modest growth scenario if Summit succeeds in building its pipeline.”
KCAU: Woodbury County officials discuss cancellation of Navigator CO2 pipeline
Johnathan Mack, 10/24/23
“The Woodbury County Board of Supervisors discussed Navigator CO2 Ventures’ canceling its pipeline project,” KCAU reports. “...Board Chairman Matthew Ung read a public statement in regard to Navigator’s CO2 pipeline… “Meanwhile, an official with Navigator says CO2 infrastructure still has a future in the Midwest. “So this was, this was and will continue to be a topic of conversation. I think that this infrastructure will be developed at some point down the road. It’s just, it’s, it’s just too important not to,” Elizabeth Burns-Thompson of Navigator told KCAU. Burns-Thompson told KCAU that the marketplace is driving the reduction in carbon emissions, and products are also being made from CO2.”
WEEK: CO2 pipeline opponents focus their efforts on Tazewell County Wednesday night
10/24/23
“Opponents of a proposed CO2 pipeline from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Decatur intend to make their concerns known to elected officials Wednesday night in Pekin,” WEEK reports. “More than 1,000 petitions against Wolf Carbon Solutions pipeline project will be presented to the Tazewell County Board at its monthly meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to a release sent to the news media… “In a statement, Joyce Harant, president of Citizens Against Predatory Pipelines, said the group recently filed “expert” testimony with the Illinois Commerce Commission on a motion to dismiss Wolf’s application. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for January of next year, with a final decision expected next May. “We continue to need counties like Tazewell to do more than observe. It is time to join the fight to protect our health, safety and property rights. Statements of opposition, moratoriums on pipeline activity and strengthened zone are all very important,” Harant said.
South Dakota Searchlight: Regulators vote to release Dakota Access Pipeline’s road bond and public liaison officer
JOSHUA HAIAR, 10/24/23
“South Dakota utility regulators voted Tuesday in Pierre to release the road bond and the public liaison officer associated with a controversial crude oil pipeline. The Public Utilities Commission move comes six years after the Dakota Access Pipeline’s completion in 2017,” the South Dakota Searchlight reports. “The road bond is a financial guarantee requiring the pipeline company to cover any damages to roads during construction. The public liaison officer helped the commission manage communications with affected landowners and the pipeline company. Brett Koenecke is the lawyer representing the pipeline and submitted the motion to terminate the bond and liaison. In a document submitted to regulators, he wrote that the motion is “based on the fact that construction is long concluded.” A few landowners criticized the PUC’s decision, suggesting it’s premature. “Having the Dakota Access pipeline on our land, we witnessed the hurried construction of this pipeline in 2016,” wrote Rod and Joy Hohn, of Hartford. “This, in addition to the inadequate/deficient lack of in-depth inspections, should also be of great concern.”
OilPrice.com: Environmentalists Slam EU Hydrogen Pipeline Plan As Favoring Fossil Fuel Giants
Tsvetana Paraskova, 10/25/23
“The European Union’s plans to include natural gas pipeline projects that could be converted to carry hydrogen in the EU’s multi-billion-euro program for subsidies to crucial infrastructure projects is support for major fossil gas producers, environmental organizations say,” OilPrice.com reports. “The EU is set to debate and decide in the coming weeks which energy infrastructure projects to include in the so-called list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), which are entitled to billions of euros of EU support. However, environmental campaign groups, including Food & Water Action Europe and Global Witness, told the Financial Times that the list of projects includes fossil fuel pipelines that could be converted to hydrogen pipelines, with high uncertainty they would work for hydrogen. Such projects would only give an excuse to fossil fuel companies to keep using natural gas pipelines, they claim. The EU’s subsidies for PCI could be “handed to rich fossil fuel companies to maintain polluting gas infrastructure,” Global Witness senior campaigner Dominic Eagleton told FT… “Numerous climate justice organizations have slammed the Biden Administration’s hydrogen plan, saying it is extending the life of the fossil fuel industry while greenwashing its emission-reduction efforts. “The massive build out of hydrogen infrastructure is little more than an industry ploy to rebrand fracked gas,” Food & Water Watch Policy Director Jim Walsh told FT. “The Biden Administration has clearly fallen for this scam hook, line and sinker.”
Bloomberg: Oil Pipeline Pinch Re-Emerges in Canada, Widening Crude Discount
Robert Tuttle, 10/24/23
“Canadian oil prices are weakening relative to US grades as pipeline bottlenecks restrict shipments to refiners, just months before a massive new export line is scheduled to enter operation,” Bloomberg reports. “...Canada’s pipelines have been forced to ration their space this year amid signs oil production is rising before the startup of the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline system next year. For November, Enbridge Inc. increased apportionment on its Mainline system, the country’s largest oil export pipeline network, to the most in about two years. Alberta’s total crude output rose to 3.01 million barrels a day in August, the highest since May, Alberta Energy Regulator data show… “The increased production is coming amid a heavier-than-usual refinery maintenance season in the US, which has spurred increased Canadian oil exports off the US Gulf Coast.”
WSIL: Two dead, two injured after industrial accident in Grand Tower
Mike Mohundro, 10/24/23
“Two people are dead and two others injured after an incident at the construction site of a pipeline in Grand Tower,” WSIL reports. “...The incident took place near Brunkhorst Road and 20th Street in Grand Tower which is the construction site of the Kinder Morgan Natural Gas Pipeline, the sheriff's office said in a release… “After authorities got to the scene, they told WSIL two people died with two others taken to an area hospital for treatment. Those injured were treated for non-life threatening injuries and later released. Name of the victims are being withheld at this time, pending notification of family members.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: Companies capture a lot of CO2. Most of it is going into new oil.
Shannon Osaka, 10/25/23
“Every year, companies around the United States capture around 18 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from natural gas processing plants, oil refineries and power plants. As long as that CO2 — equivalent to around 4 million cars on the road for a year — is buried somewhere deep underground, it can’t contribute to global warming. That’s the theory, anyway,” the Washington Post reports. “But today, the lion’s share of the CO2 captured from industrial processes doesn’t go back into the ground. Instead, 60 percent of it is used to extract more oil, in a controversial process known as “enhanced oil recovery.” “I think it’s a huge problem,” Lorne Stockman, research co-director of the advocacy group Oil Change International, told the Post. “The oil and gas industry has done a very good job of co-opting our climate and clean energy policy.” For over a decade, the U.S. government has been quietly funding the capture of CO2 that is ultimately used to drill more oil. Some experts and researchers argue that the climate impact is net positive: The oil will be drilled anyway, and the process can help companies learn how to capture CO2 more efficiently. But others say that the government shouldn’t be helping companies sustain more fossil fuel extraction. The debate gets at one of the key questions for a country trying to shift away from fossil fuels — when is it still acceptable to financially support the production of oil and gas?... “Congress should not have created — and later increased the value of — a new oil and gas industry subsidy under the guise of climate emissions mitigation,” Josh Axelrod, senior advocate for the nature program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told the Post… “Companies pulling CO2 from the air get up to $130 if that CO2 goes into more oil, or up to $180 if it goes into permanent storage… “There is evidence that this practice might be on the way out — in part because firms can now make more money by burying it… “We should use our public money and tax credits for actually stimulating a real clean energy transition,” Stockman told the Post.
E&E News: Curtis Introduces Bill To Curb Methane Emissions
Emma Dumain, 10/24/23
“Rep. John Curtis opposes a fee on methane emissions that Democrats included in their landmark climate spending package but supports more modest efforts by the federal government to draw them down,” E&E News reports. “The Utah Republican and chair of the House Conservative Climate Caucus is working to strike that balance with new legislation he introduced last week — the ‘Methane Emissions Reduction Act.’ That bill, previously championed by the former top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, retired Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), would call on the Department of Energy to encourage reductions in the amount of the harmful pollutant produced through the flaring and venting of natural gas. The legislation would, specifically, have DOE assist in “accelerating the development and application of technologies and practices to reduce flaring and venting of natural gas,” and then communicate these best practices to individual states. The previous version of the bill purports to “recogniz[e] that States are the primary regulators of oil and natural gas production activities and emissions.”
STATE UPDATES
Albuquerque Journal: Carbon capture & sequestration gains ground
Kevin Robinson-Avila, 10/23/23
“A new battle could soon be brewing over the future of the coal-fired Four Corners Generating Station near Farmington,” the Albuquerque Journal reports. “It’s the last coal plant still operating in New Mexico, and, until recently, most industry experts and environmental organizations expected the facility to shut down in 2031, when the coal contract and operating agreement among the plant’s five current co-owners come to an end. But this past spring, the Navajo Transitional Energy Co., or NTEC — which owns a 7% stake in the coal plant — unveiled an agreement with Enchant Energy Corp. to keep Four Corners up and running for many more years through carbon capture and sequestration. The two partners say CCS technology could convert the facility into a clean generating station by trapping and burying most of the plant’s carbon emissions permanently underground. But it’s a highly-controversial proposal that is not supported by the facility’s four other utility co-owners — including Arizona Public Service, Tucson Electric Power, the Salt River Project and Public Service Co. of New Mexico — who want to abandon the plant in 2031. And it’s opposed outright by most environmental organizations, who question the viability of CCS technology to fully capture carbon emissions, and who generally advocate for the rapid development of renewable resources like solar, wind and battery storage to replace fossil-fuel generation… “Despite Daniels’ assertion of “scientific consensus,” there’s a great deal of opposition to CCS technology, which has yet to be proven environmentally effective and economically viable on any commercial or utility-scale project to date… “CCS is still unproven in terms of the proposed capture rates that no project has achieved even in the short-term, let alone the long-term,” David Schlissel, IEEFA Director of Resource Planning Analysis, told the Journal… “We’re facing a crisis today. Pursuing these technologies will only prolong coal and other carbon-emitting generation. We can’t pretend like we can keep burning fossil fuels as usual.” In that regard, many environmental organizations see CCS as a “greenwashing” ploy by the fossil fuel industry to perpetuate oil and gas production — and even coal-based generation — well into the future.
New York Times: Gavin Newsom Wants to Export California’s Climate Laws to the World
Coral Davenport, 10/23/23
“Gavin Newsom, the California governor, packed his bags and his ambition Monday and flew to Chinese provinces on a weeklong mission to negotiate climate agreements,” the New York Times reports. “Last month, he was the only American invited to address the United Nations about climate change, where he excoriated the fossil fuel industry for what he called its decades of “deceit and denial.” He has signed a raft of laws and regulations to speed the nation’s most populous state away from fossil fuels, including a ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035 and a mandate to stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2045. He wants to end oil drilling in his state, a major oil producer, also by 2045. The two-term Democratic governor wants California to set an aggressive pace for the nation — and the world — as time is running out to deeply cut the carbon emissions that are dangerously heating the planet. Mr. Newsom’s bold moves on climate have elevated his national profile, just as he is widely believed to be preparing for a White House run in 2028. “We move the needle for the country and, as a consequence, for the globe,” Mr. Newsom told the Times in a telephone interview Sunday night from Hong Kong. “And that is profound.” “...The governor says that while California helped give birth to the American oil industry in the 19th century, he sees no place for it now… “The governor has less empathy for the multinational oil companies he is suing, including Chevron, which is headquartered in his state. “I’ve had it with those guys,” Mr. Newsom told the Times of the oil companies. “They knew more than the rest of us did about the devastation their product was creating. They claim climate change is real now, but they’re not investing in the solutions. We’re the only ones putting money to help with the transition. They’re not doing a goddamned thing.” “Yes, I use their product,” he told the Times. “And yes, I flew over here. And yes, I’m in a car that uses gas. I’m not stupid. I’m not naïve. I didn’t walk here in my organic moccasins. But nor am I naïve about their deceit and their denial and as a consequence of the delay and how that’s literally accelerating the destruction of our planet.”
Miami Herald: Oil spill spreads 9 miles between Louisiana bayous
MAKIYA SEMINERA, 10/23/23
“An oil spill in Louisiana spread nearly nine miles between two bayous in the northwestern region of the state, photos show,” the Miami Herald reports. “After an oil sheen was reported near Shreveport, deputies went to Twelve Mile Bayou to assess how far the oil had spread, according to an Oct. 21 news release from the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office. Using drones, deputies determined the oil spill ranged about nine miles north near Black Bayou. Drones traced the spill nearly 9 miles north of the original spot it was sighted, deputies said… “As of Oct. 23, the spill was “basically contained,” and the department plans to visit the site again soon to inspect it, Langley told the Herald… “There have not been any reports of impacted animals or other wildlife”, he told the Herald.
EXTRACTION
The Energy Mix: ‘This Blows My Mind’, Critic Says, as CCUS Centre Admits It Can’t Meet 2035 Deadline
Mitchell Beer, 10/24/23
“A veteran U.S. energy consultant and attorney is accusing the nascent carbon capture and storage (CCUS) industry of hypocrisy, after an industry report last week warned the technology won’t be able to meet the 2035 decarbonization goals in Canada’s draft Clean Electricity Regulations—even though they’re much the same targets Canadian CCUS proponents first promised nearly a decade ago,” The Energy Mix reports. “This blows my mind,” David Schlissel, a Massachusetts-based consultant associated with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), told The Energy Mix yesterday. “It’s hypocritical. These guys have been hyping 90%, 95% capture, and now it’s, ‘well. we really can’t do it that fast, it’s not tested, it’s not certain’.” “...As far back as 2014, the Boundary Dam carbon capture facility in Saskatchewan set out to achieve a 90% capture rate, Schlissel wrote in 2021, before consistently poor performance forced it to downgrade its target to 65%. In 2015, the troubled project had to pay a C$12-million penalty to Cenovus Energy after failing to deliver its quota of captured CO2 to the Alberta fossil’s Enhanced Oil Recovery operation… “And yet the industry maintained for years that the technology was ready to contribute serious emission reductions, mounting a high-powered and controversial campaign for federal subsidies to support further development… “Now, CP says, the CCUS Knowledge Centre is warning that if federal clean electricity regulations are too stringent, it could scare companies away from investing in emissions-reducing carbon capture altogether. Schlissel suggested CCUS proponents began changing their tune when governments made it clear—to fossil fuel companies in Canada, and to utilities in the United States—that the subsidies they’ve put on the table for CCUS development won’t be large enough to cover all the costs. In response, just as Canadian fossils are refusing to invest their record profits in a C$24.1-billion carbon capture megaproject in Alberta without significantly more lavish taxpayer subsidies, U.S. utilities are stepping away from past promises to capture large proportions of their carbon, Schlissel said. “A lot of them and their trade groups have come back to say ‘it’s untested, we’ve only tested it on a small scale, don’t hold us to it’,” he told The Mix. “So this is outstanding. Governments have called their bluff, and now they’re backing off. They’re saying there are all these problems, which is what we and others have been saying for years.” “Depending on how casual you want to be,” Schlissel added, “you could say I’m waiting for an apology.”
Bloomberg: Carbon Capture Needs a Reality Check After Lost Decade
Akshat Rathi, 10/24/23
“Each year, the International Energy Agency produces a hundreds of pages long report that lays out possible futures for the multi-trillion-dollar energy sector. As renewables such as solar power have gone from marginal to massive, the IEA’s scenarios have changed to reflect surging pace of the ongoing shift. Only one technology almost always gets an ever more bullish appraisal while failing to progress: carbon capture and storage (CCS),” Bloomberg reports. “The 2023 World Energy Outlook, published today, continues the trend. Global capacity to trap emissions from power plants and heavy industry and bury the carbon dioxide deep underground is forecast to reach 400 million tons 2030, provided that all announced plants are built. That marks a significantly more optimistic outlook than the IEA’s 2020 forecast of 350 million tons by 2030. Yet there’s been essentially zero expansion of carbon capture and storage in the past three years: Total CCS capacity of existing plants has remained at about 40 million tons, according to IEA. “The history of CCS has been that of great disappointment,” Fatih Birol, IEA’s executive director, told Bloomberg. If it had scaled along the lines projected in his organization’s reports, “it could have changed the trajectory of our fight against climate change and energy security, and it could have given a different slant to the fossil-fuel industry.” “...In recent years, however, energy modelers like the IEA have added increasing amounts of CCS to their medium-term scenarios because countries and companies are moving too slowly on reducing emissions. If the world is going to have any shot of reaching the climate goals laid out in the Paris Agreement, it’s going to need more and more CCS. And such has been the delay, that carbon capture technologies will also have to be deployed to remove CO2 directly from the air to undo some of the damage already caused. At the upcoming COP28 climate summit, organized by the oil exporting United Arab Emirates, there’s widespread expectation that the global oil industry will be encouraged to double down on deployment. But what’s happening with prior buildouts contradicts the forecasters’ increasingly hopeful reliance on on CCS as a climate tool. A new Bloomberg Green investigation reveals that world’s largest carbon capture plant, built in Texas by Occidental Petroleum Corp., never operated at more than a third of its capacity in more than a decade of operation.”
CNBC: From Bill Gates to the pope, talk of carbon capture and its efficacy is dividing society
Anmar Frangoul, 10/25/23
“The U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP28) is fast approaching, and businesses, politicians and environmental organizations are weighing up how best to slash emissions and tackle climate change both now and in the future,” CNBC reports. “... Technologies related to carbon capture are also generating a huge amount of discussion, and the sector’s potential was a hot topic at the recent ADIPEC oil and gas conference in Abu Dhabi. During an interview with CNBC at ADIPEC, the CEO of energy technology firm Baker Hughes was asked why carbon capture hasn’t been scaled to the point of commercialization and decarbonization. “It is coming,” Lorenzo Simonelli told CNBC. “And I look at all the different carbon capture processes that exist in our portfolio, but those also available in the market, and we are starting to see scalability.” “...Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has previously spoken about using Climeworks to “pay for direct air capture” and while the sector has high-profile backers, it faces challenges… “Carbon removal technologies such as DAC are not an alternative to cutting emissions or an excuse for delayed action, but they can be an important part of the suite of technology options used to achieve climate goals,” the Paris-based International Energy Agency said… “Carbon capture is not zero carbon; is unlikely to see dramatic cost reductions or be scalable; and is often used for greenwashing by oil and gas companies so they can carry on polluting,” Greenpeace said… “Pope Francis is another high-profile figure who’s weighed in on the subject. In a recent letter titled Laudate Deum, or Praise God, Francis touched upon the use of technology to mitigate the effects of climate change… “To suppose that all problems in the future will be able to be solved by new technical interventions is a form of homicidal pragmatism, like pushing a snowball down a hill.”
E&E News: Exxon, Chevron Deals Set To Boost Oil Production, CCS
Shelby Webb, 10/24/23
“Chevron’s announcement Monday that it is planning to purchase competitor Hess for $53 billion is underscoring confidence among oil majors that fossil fuels will remain the dominant energy source for a decade or more,” E&E News reports. “The all-stock purchase is slated to be the fourth-largest oil production deal of all time. It follows another massive oil shake-up on Oct. 11, when Exxon Mobil announced that it intended to acquire Permian-production powerhouse Pioneer Natural Resources in a deal valued at about $60 billion. While the specifics of the two deals differ, they signal the trajectory of the industry, Andrew Dittmar, a director with the Enverus energy intelligence group who specializes in mergers and acquisitions, told E&E. “The common thread connecting these deals is (oil and gas) majors looking to refill their pipelines to maintain production against a declining asset base as they anticipate their legacy businesses staying profitable into the 2030s,” he told E&E. Environmental groups criticized the deals as evidence the fossil fuel industry has no plans to cut emissions, despite corporate climate goals.”
Wall Street Journal: Chevron And Exxon Might Have Kicked Off An Oil Land Grab
Jinjoo Lee, 10/23/23
“The smell of mergers and acquisitions is in the air following more than $110 billion worth of oil megadeals this month—Chevron’s agreement to buy Hess and Exxon Mobil’s deal for Permian giant Pioneer Natural Resources,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Who’s next? Deal talks are already under way. Devon Energy, another top Permian producer, is said to be eyeing targets that include Marathon Oil and CrownRock, according to a report from Bloomberg. Gas producer Chesapeake Energy is reportedly considering an acquisition of Southwestern Energy, according to Reuters. Between the declining pool of quality shale inventory and the limited number of sizable targets in the prolific Permian Basin, energy companies could soon be forced into deal-making action. ‘The FOMO [fear-of-missing-out] component of it is only going to accelerate. See one or two more deals, and there could be a scarcity premium that starts to emerge,’ Dan Pickering, chief investment officer at Pickering Energy Partners, told the Journal.”
Barron’s: ConocoPhillips Could Be Next Big Oil Acquirer After Chevron - Hess Deal
Adam Clark, 10/24/23
“The oil industry looks to be embarking on a new wave of megadeals,” Barron’s reports. “After Exxon Mobil and Chevron’s acquisitions, ConocoPhillips could be the next company looking to make a big purchase, according to KeyBanc analysts. Chevron’s planned acquisition of Hess means that both it and Exxon Mobil have agreed deals worth $60 billion or more, when including debt, this year so far. ConocoPhillips is the biggest potential player in oil-and-gas consolidation which hasn’t struck a major deal this year, KeyBanc analyst Tim Rezvan told Barron’s. ConocoPhillips (COP) is the No. 3 U.S.-based energy company but its market value is less than half that of either Exxon or Chevron. That could mean it would find it hard to take on the largest potential targets such as Occidental Petroleum (OXY). Instead, ConocoPhillips could seek incremental acquisitions in the Permian Basin, according to Rezvan. He cited Diamondback Energy (FANG) and Matador Resources (MTDR) as possible purchases which would meaningfully increase ConocoPhillips’ production. Another option would be for ConocoPhillips to look at private companies such as Endeavor Energy Resources.”
OPINION
InForum: Port: Demise of carbon capture project is nothing to celebrate
Rob Port, 10/25/23
“The story of carbon pipelines in the year 2023 is one of rank protectionism and spite,” Rob Port writes for InForum. “That was driving some political factions' jubilant reactions to the news that Navigator CO2 Solutions is canceling their carbon pipeline project… “Friends, this is not a good portent for the economic health of our region… “Ethanol represents the largest source of demand for America's largest cash crop, but ethanol producers are going to be at a competitive disadvantage because we can't build carbon pipelines thanks to a strange coalition of cranks, who think climate change is a hoax, and green industry protectionists, who are afraid carbon capture technology will make help energy sources like coal remain competitive and relevant… “Opportunities in our state abound. But that doesn't mean we can afford to have spiteful, ideological opposition to new technology like carbon capture and storage… “Don't let the paid-off flacks and Luddite curmudgeons tell you otherwise. Carbon capture is the technology on which our state's future hinges.”
NRDC: Biden Administration Must Redo Its Assessment of Dakota Access Pipeline
Dr. Michele Bustamante, Amy Mall, Dr. Matthew McKinzie, Dr. Jennifer Sass, Dawn Woodard, 10/24/23
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) recently issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL),” Dr. Michele Bustamante, Amy Mall, Dr. Matthew McKinzie, Dr. Jennifer Sass, and Dawn Woodard write for NRDC. “The DEIS is supposed to consider all the impacts of a proposed project in a transparent process that provides meaningful involvement to all stakeholders. Instead, the Corps ignored the massive climate, water, and environmental justice impacts of this pipeline and hid important information about environmental risks that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe needs to respond to emergencies and protect its vital water sources… “DAPL is an ugly symbol of everything that is wrong about the pipeline approval process in the United States. While it is currently operating, it arguably operates illegally because the pipeline lacks a valid federal easement to cross lands adjacent to and beneath Lake Oahe, which is part of the Missouri River and the drinking water source for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. DAPL is a massive project, but the Obama administration initially approved it using processes and permits reserved for minor projects that carry no significant impacts… “The Corps has withheld basic information that the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe needs to evaluate the serious health and safety risks of DAPL… “The Corps completely fumbled its duties on the climate front within this long-awaited court-mandated review. The climate change section suffers from the same structural issue observed throughout the DEIS as a whole—primarily, its inappropriately narrow scope of project impacts… “The DEIS ignores the threats to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s drinking water source, where a leak, spill, or other accident could devastate drinking water supplies, as well as the local ecosystem that sustains fish and wildlife in the tribe’s ancestral hunting and fishing grounds. And it violates tribal treaty rights and sovereignty in a severe environmental injustice. To add insult to injury, the DEIS was developed by a company with well-known ties to the oil and gas industry… “The Corps should go back to the drawing board and conduct a comprehensive, meaningful assessment based on the best science while being transparent with the public about all of the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the pipeline.”
Grand Junction Sentinel: Better Oil And Gas Management Benefits Everyone
Ashley Korenblat is the founder and managing director of Public Land Solutions, a nonprofit recreation economy consultant based in Moab, Utah, 10/24/23
“Public lands in America have provided for all of us in many ways,” Ashley Korenblat writes for the Grand Junction Sentinel. “The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has a multiple use mandate, which means the 250 million acres of BLM public lands that we all own can be used for nearly everything from conservation to recreation to resource extraction. The challenge is how do we decide what to do where? The primary legislation that determines how and where we drill for oil and gas on our public lands is the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. More than a few things have changed since 1920, and the BLM has proposed an update to the oil and gas leasing system through the recently announced Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Rule. Significantly, the proposed rule will require better consideration of other possible public lands uses including recreation, wildlife, and cultural sites. The BLM rule would also limit speculative leasing and the leasing of low-potential lands. Plus it will raise bonding rates to ensure that developers cap wells and remediate well sites.”
Financial Times: The race to be last man standing in Big Oil
THE EDITORIAL BOARD, 10/24/23
“Who is right about the future of oil? The International Energy Agency has predicted that global demand for oil, along with natural gas and coal, will peak this decade, in a historic turning point. US supermajors beg to differ,” the Financial Times Editorial Board writes. “ExxonMobil’s purchase of shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources this month and Chevron’s deal this week to acquire Hess amount to the biggest consolidation in Big Oil for two decades. The tie-ups are a bet that the IEA’s vision of shrinking demand is wrong, or at least a bid to position these enlarged US giants among the last producers standing to meet the demand they believe will still exist by mid-century. In doubling down on oil, US groups are also widening the gap with European peers that have begun, tentatively, to embrace clean energy… “Climate activists, of course, will look askance at Exxon and Chevron’s bulking up — and no doubt step up efforts to persuade them to change tack… “An alternative model is for oil companies to shovel cash to investors who then channel it to clean energy specialists; Chevron says it will raise dividends and buybacks once the Hess deal closes. Vast capital is needed: the IEA forecasts total annual clean energy investment will reach $2tn by 2030 even under its pessimistic scenario — but must double to $4tn to meet the net zero goal. If oil companies are not ready to plough their returns into green energy themselves then, for the sake of the planet, it will be up to markets to do it instead.”