EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/30/23
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Another CO2 pipeline hurdle surfaces in Illinois
WMBD: Illinois Commerce Commission staffers testify against Wolf Carbon Solution’s pipeline
Hub City Radio: Landowners now calling for Senator Lee Schoenbeck to resign following a series of malicious texts
Dakota Free Press: Schoenbeck Calls Haeder Stupid and Spineless for Blocking Summit Pipeline
Courthouse News Service: Environmentalists balk at Exxon plan to reboot ruptured California pipeline
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Omaha District: Media Availability - Dakota Access Pipeline Draft Environmental Impact Statement
Calgary Herald: 'Watershed moment' — After a long wait, new pipelines are coming for Canada's oil and gas sector
Reuters: TC Energy exploring stake sale of assets worth billions - Bloomberg News
S&P Global Platts: Hydrogen blending in gas pipelines faces limits due to leakage: US DOE lab
Collegiate Times: Students protest Mountain Valley Pipeline, use of fossil fuels on campus
Grand Forks Herald: After pipeline protests, Fargo author's new book offers a cultural critique on colonialism
Pipeline Safety Trust: 2023 Pipeline Safety Trust Conference, Nov. 16-17, 2023
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: House Committee Approves Bill To Expand Offshore Drilling
E&E News: 'Over My Dead Body': Senators Slam Klein Over Leasing Plan
E&E News: Interior Calls For Removal Of Calif. Offshore Oil Platforms
E&E News: Manchin takes aim at EPA methane rules
STATE UPDATES
Public Citizen: California’s New Climate Disclosure Laws Cover Nearly Three-Quarters of Fortune 1000 Companies
High Country News: Outrage, Disinformation And Threats Rise Up In Wyoming Around A BLM Land Plan
InsideClimate News: Pennsylvania’s Gas Industry Used 160 Million Pounds of Secret Chemicals From 2012 to 2022, a New Report Says
Wichita Eagle: Shelter-in-place advisory lifted after oil spill in northwest Wichita
EXTRACTION
Globe and Mail: Building Canada’s cleaner and greener energy future
Associated Press: Deadly explosion off Nigeria points to threat posed by aging oil ships around the world
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: Republican-led US states appeal ruling allowing Biden ESG investing rule
Wall Street Journal: Climate Activists Want SEC to Copy California, Europe
OPINION
Resource Works: We still need the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion
Pagosa Daily Post: Rep. Boebert Seeking To Leave Taxpayers With Oil & Gas Cleanup
Investigate Midwest: Big Oil could pay dearly for decades of climate change denial
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Another CO2 pipeline hurdle surfaces in Illinois
Jeffrey Tomich, 10/27/23
“The staff of the Illinois Commerce Commission is urging state regulators to reject an application from Wolf Carbon Solutions US for a carbon dioxide pipeline because the project fails to meet criteria for approval,” E&E News reports. “The five-member commission may still grant the permit in a case that involves many groups. But the recommendation of the staff — an independent party that includes engineers, accountants, lawyers and economists who advise the commission — is significant. The ICC staff recommendation, filed Tuesday, is the latest example of the trouble that CO2 pipeline developers face as they seek state routing approval for CO2 pipelines. The pipelines, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology more broadly, are considered key to achieving the Biden administration’s U.S. goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Brett Seagle, a gas engineer for the ICC staff, listed in his testimony a host of reasons why the project should be rejected. Key among them: the fact that Wolf Carbon doesn’t have a binding agreement with partner Archer-Daniels-Midland for a site to inject and sequester the CO2.”
WMBD: Illinois Commerce Commission staffers testify against Wolf Carbon Solution’s pipeline
Troy Taylor, 10/27/23
“Wolf Carbon Solution’s application for a carbon dioxide pipeline through Illinois should be denied, two staff members of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) said in testimony on Tuesday,” WMBD reports. “Brett Seagel, a gas engineer in the ICC’s Safety and Reliability Division, said the company has met just three of the eight requirements needed to be certified to construct a CO2 pipeline. Moreover, he said feedback from people affected by the construction of the pipeline “displays the unpopularity and safety concerns of the public.” Prabesh Bista, an analyst for the Financial Analysis Division, said that without a binding agreement between Wolf Carbon and Archer Daniels Midland Co., she could not say if the pipeline company possessed the financial means to complete the $600 million project. In addition, the commission received testimony from David Tuttle, who is the president of the Peoria County Fire Chiefs Association and serves as chief for the Logan-Trivoli Fire Protection District. Tuttle said his department does not possess the type of vehicles needed if there was an emergency in his locale of the sort that creates a carbon dioxide plume… “Seagel, in his role for reviewing the application, said Wolf Carbon has not been able to notify several hundred of the potentially affected landowners, that there is not a finalized agreement with ADM, that it has not yet completed all the paperwork required as an operator with either the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, that it does not have an emergency response plan and that the application itself is inconsistent with the purpose of the law. Specifically on that last point, Seagel said that while the act says carbon dioxide pipelines are in the public interest, it also states they are critical to the promotion and use of Illinois coal. Seagel said the Wolf Carbon pipeline will be used to transport CO2 from Iowa ethanol facilities in Cedar Rapids and Clinton, and thus doesn’t match the purpose of the act.”
Hub City Radio: Landowners now calling for Senator Lee Schoenbeck to resign following a series of malicious texts
10/26/23
“South Dakota Landowners Thursday have called on Senator Lee Schoenbeck to resign following a series of inappropriate texts he sent to South Dakota Treasurer Josh Haeder,” Hub City Radio reports. “Haeder was serving on the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission filling in for Commissioner Kristie Fiegen in the Summit Carbon Solutions request for the CO2 pipeline. Fiegen had a conflict of interest which prevented her from participating in this hearing. The commission voted unanimously(3-0) to deny the request to Summit. Following the hearing, Secretary Haeder received text messages from Senate Pro Temp Lee Schoenbeck from Watertown… “Landowner Ed Fischbach released the following statement: “This is intimidation and totally unacceptable behavior from a sitting senator in a leadership position. Because of this, our landowner group is calling for Senator Schoenbeck to resign.”
Dakota Free Press: Schoenbeck Calls Haeder Stupid and Spineless for Blocking Summit Pipeline
CORY ALLEN HEIDELBERGER, 10/27/23
“Senator Julie Frye-Mueller (R-30/Rapid City) got suspended and censured for making unprofessional comments about sex and lactation to a Legislative Research Council employee. Can Senate President Pro-Tempore Lee Schoenbeck (R-5/Lake Kampeska) now get suspended and censured for making unprofessional comments insulting the State Treasurer and ad hoc Public Utilities Commissioner?,” the Dakota Free Press reports. “...Haeder joined regular Commissioners Gary Hansen and Chris Nelson in voting against Summit’s proposal, saying county ordinances blocking pipeline construction made the proposed route unworkable… “But evidently the Senate President Pro-Tempore Schoenbeck felt Commissioner pro tempore Haeder’s rejection of a legally impossible pipeline makes Haeder a spineless lunkhead… “South Dakota Landowners Thursday have called on Senator Lee Schoenbeck to resign following a series of inappropriate texts he sent to South Dakota Treasurer Josh Haeder… “The Senate doesn’t convene until January, so no members (like a perhaps vengeful Frye-Mueller, who pals around with the radical GOP fringe who spoke up against the pipeline) can file a formal resolution against Schoenbeck until then.”
Courthouse News Service: Environmentalists balk at Exxon plan to reboot ruptured California pipeline
EDVARD PETTERSSON, 10/27/23
“Environmentalist groups were up in arms Friday after a unit of ExxonMobil disclosed earlier this week that it wants to repair and reuse an oil pipeline in Central California that ruptured and spilled 142,000 gallons of crude in 2015,” Courthouse News Service reports. “Pacific Pipeline Co. said in a letter to Santa Barbara County officials that it was pulling its application to build a replacement pipeline to transfer oil from its currently mothballed drilling platforms off the coast to refineries inland, and instead wanted to restart the existing pipeline. “It’s great that the company admits investing in a new pipeline doesn’t make sense, but I’m concerned that it sees reviving a corroded pipeline with a proven record of spilling as a good alternative,” Brady Bradshaw, oceans campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, told CNS. “The only thing that will reliably stop another spill is to decommission this old zombie pipeline and keep the offshore rigs shut down.” “...In the Oct. 24 letter to county officials, the Exxon subsidiary said that since it acquired the pipeline from Plains Pipeline last year, the company has been evaluating both the possibility or replacing and restarting the pipeline. "We find the potential environmental impacts associated with the major construction of a second pipeline unnecessary and avoidable," the company said in the letter. "Recent inspections and analysis affirms this initial view that it would not make sense to continue the permitting process when the existing pipeline can be responsibly restarted." Exxon had to shut down its three offshore platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel in 2015, after a pipeline that carried the processed oil from an onshore facility to refineries inland ruptured and released 142,000 gallons of oil onto the beach and into the ocean.”
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Omaha District: Media Availability - Dakota Access Pipeline Draft Environmental Impact Statement
10/27/23
“Staff from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District will be available Oct. 31, 2023, from 10-11 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel located at 605 E Broadway Ave. in Bismarck, North Dakota to answer questions from the media regarding the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Dakota Access, LLC’s request for an easement under the Mineral Leasing Act for the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Dakota Access Pipeline crosses Corps-managed federal land at Lake Oahe, North Dakota. The DEIS is not a decision and does not authorize the easement. This milestone is the second step in the National Environmental Policy Act environmental review process and will be followed by a Final Environmental Impact Statement. The Final Environmental Impact Statement will include public comments that were received during the Draft Environmental Impact Statement public review period.”
Calgary Herald: 'Watershed moment' — After a long wait, new pipelines are coming for Canada's oil and gas sector
Chris Varcoe, 10/27/23
“It’s taken a long time for the Canadian oil and gas sector to see major new pipelines built, but now “we’re very close,” says Whitecap Resources CEO Grant Fagerheim,” the Calgary Herald reports. “After years of waiting, two pipeline projects that have been under construction in Western Canada are finally in the home stretch and expected to be completed in the coming months… “Work on the $30.9-billion Trans Mountain expansion, which will nearly triple the line’s existing capacity to move oil products to the West Coast, is nearly complete, with about 10 kilometres of pipe left to put in the ground in British Columbia… “Meanwhile, construction on the $14.5-billion Coastal GasLink pipeline — which will move natural gas to the LNG Canada project on the B.C. coast — was nearly 95 per cent complete as of the end of September… “After watching proposed pipeline projects such as Energy East, Northern Gateway and Keystone XL flounder, the completion of the Trans Mountain expansion and Coastal GasLink pipeline “is a watershed moment for Canada,” Fagerheim told the Herald. “This is very significant. It’s not here today, but you can feel it. We’re very close.” “...The completion of Trans Mountain and more pipeline capacity — a decade after a regulatory application was first filed, and well above its initial $5.4-billion budget — will also encourage producers to spend money and grow production, Fagerheim told the Herald. As for natural gas, finishing Coastal GasLink and the startup of LNG Canada in 2025 will allow domestic product to be exported to countries outside of the United States, accessing markets in Asia.”
Reuters: TC Energy exploring stake sale of assets worth billions - Bloomberg News
10/27/23
“Canadian pipeline operator TC Energy is exploring a multibillion-dollar asset sale plan to lower its debt and fund new investments, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter,” according to Reuters. “The company is working on the sale of a minority stake in ANR Pipeline, estimated at an enterprise value of about $3 billion, as well as a minority stake in its Mexican operation and stakes in Portland Natural Gas Transmission System and the Millennium Pipeline, the report added… “Earlier this year, TC sold a 40% interest in its Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia Gulf Transmission pipelines to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for C$5.3 billion ($3.82 billion). The company had also outlined plans to spin off its liquids pipeline business.”
S&P Global Platts: Hydrogen blending in gas pipelines faces limits due to leakage: US DOE lab
Tom DiChristopher, 10/30/23
“Hydrogen's tendency to increase pipeline leakage will limit the industry's ability to blend the low-carbon fuel in natural gas transmission lines, according to research by the Argonne National Laboratory,” S&P Global Platts reports. “In Argonne's modeling, blending 30% hydrogen by volume into gas pipelines yielded a relatively modest 6% decrease in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. A major factor in Argonne's estimate was its finding that hydrogen blending at that level can double leakage from transmission lines. The lifecycle benefits of pipeline blending came chiefly from the lower emissions tied to hydrogen production and end-use combustion. However, injecting hydrogen into pipelines led to higher transmission and distribution emissions and greater energy demand in compressor stations, largely wiping out the upstream and downstream benefits. "This is largely because I am replacing a fossil molecule with a green molecule, but much of that is offset with the compression footprint and also the leakage," Amgad Elgowainy, a senior scientist and distinguished fellow at Argonne, said during an Oct. 26 webinar… “Emissions from gas transmission lines remain relatively unchanged when an operator introduces a 30% hydrogen blend without changing the pipeline's flow rate, Elgowainy said. However, if the operator increases the flow rate to deliver the same amount of energy that a pure gas system can deliver, a 30% hydrogen blend increases transmission emissions by 100%, Argonne found. Since hydrogen has one-third of the energy density of methane, pipeline operators must replace a standard cubic foot of gas with three standard cubic feet of hydrogen to deliver the same amount of energy to end users, Elgowainy said. That requires operators to increase pipeline flow rate and pressure by about 30% and 70%, respectively. It additionally requires a twofold increase in compression power, he said. Argonne's findings reflected other research that suggests increasing flow rates and pressure to carry hydrogen increases methane leak rates.”
Collegiate Times: Students protest Mountain Valley Pipeline, use of fossil fuels on campus
Ben Schneider, 10/29/23
“On Tuesday, Oct. 24, a group of students held a climate rally in front of Burruss Hall against the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in the Appalachian region to pressure the university to stick to its 2020 Climate Action Commitment,” the Collegiate Times reports. “The protest was planned by a team of students and was not affiliated with any Virginia Tech organization. According to rally organizer Cameron Baller, a doctoral student in sociology, the students had two main goals. “One (goal) was to educate the campus community about the Mountain Valley Pipeline and plug folks into the fight against that pipeline,” Baller told the Times. “The second goal was that we wanted to hold the university accountable to the climate commitments it has already made.” “...Leanne Woolsey, a third-year environmental science student who joined the protest, feels similarly. She believes that the risks associated with the pipeline make it necessary for people in the community to turn to activism to stop its construction. “It has all these risks, like weathering, and it’s being built on unstable (mountain) topography, and it could degrade water quality and put wildlife at risk,” Woolsey told the Times… “Baller and the other protesters do not agree with the university’s decision to prioritize the use of natural gas for energy. “We know that natural gas is not a clean energy (source),” Baller told the Times. “It is not a bridge fuel, and it is not something that we want to play a major role in the university’s energy future.” Woolsey also feels that the university is behind on its goals. While there are still years to go until 2030, the year Virginia Tech is planned to achieve carbon neutrality under the Climate Action Commitment, non-renewable energy sources still make up most of the university’s consumption.”
Grand Forks Herald: After pipeline protests, Fargo author's new book offers a cultural critique on colonialism
C.S. Hagen, 10/30/23
“Before the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests began in 2016, Karen Van Fossan felt lonely, but she didn’t know why,” the Grand Forks Herald reports. “...Recently, she finished and published a book called “A Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector,” which is more than a memoir, but a cultural critique. According to Pierce Alquist, marketing director for the publisher Skinner House Books, Van Fossen's book "takes readers behind the scenes of the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict, to penitentiaries where prisoners of war have carried the movement onward, to the jail cell where she was held for protesting Line 3, to a reimagining of decolonized family constellations and to moments of collective hope and strength." During her time living and working at resistance camps near Standing Rock and in Minnesota, “I began to feel like a whole person in a whole community in a way that I had deep in my bones believed could be possible, but also feared I would never experience.”
Pipeline Safety Trust: 2023 Pipeline Safety Trust Conference, Nov. 16-17, 2023
10/27/23
“Pipeline Safety Trust’s 2023 Conference is on Nov. 16, 17 at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, LA is coming up! The Pipeline Safety Trust conference is unique as it brings three diverse stakeholder groups together: affected public, industry, and government to discuss the critically-important issue of pipeline safety. Members of the public can register for free and receive assistance with travel and lodging. You can't have a conversation about safety without involving the public, it is integral that members of the public have a seat at the table. Reach out to info@pstrust.org to learn more and register.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: House Committee Approves Bill To Expand Offshore Drilling
Michael Doyle, 10/26/23
“A deeply divided House Natural Resources Committee approved legislation Thursday to mandate at least 10 oil lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and three more off the coast of Alaska by Aug. 31, 2028l,” E&E News reports. “In a sharp Republican retort to the Biden administration’s smaller lease-sale plan, the amended bill authored by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), H.R. 5616, passed largely along party lines 22-17 margin. It expands Graves’ original bill, which would have ordered four lease sales to start next March and conclude in August 2025. ‘President [Joe] Biden has a dismal track record on energy, most recently issuing the worst offshore energy plan in history,’ said Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). “There’s no way around it. The world has an ever increasing need for energy and American resources are the best possible solutions.” Graves’ ‘Bringing Reliable Investment into Domestic Gulf Energy Production Act’ mandates that each of the 10 Gulf of Mexico lease sales cover at least 80 million acres. The original bill was also bolstered by a separate amendment from Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) that added three more mandatory lease sales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.”
E&E News: 'Over My Dead Body': Senators Slam Klein Over Leasing Plan
Heather Richards, 10l/27/23
“Senate lawmakers took their turn bombarding administration officials Thursday about President Joe Biden’s offshore oil strategy and proposed protections for the Rice’s whale,” E&E News reports. “Republicans were the administration’s main critics during a House Natural Resources hearing last week. On Thursday, officials had to contend with scorn from Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). “This administration has been doing everything it can to discourage development of offshore oil and gas,” Manchin said during a hearing… “Ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) accused Elizabeth Klein, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, of trying to ‘kill’ the offshore oil business… “When Klein pointed to sustained disinterest from oil companies, Murkowski blamed the administration for being hostile to fossil fuels. “When you’re wondering why you can’t get interest in your lease sales, maybe you need to be looking to some of the self-imposed barriers that the administration is placing on us,” Murkowski said. “The fact that people like you can go up there and have a nice vacation is great,” said the senator. “But we need jobs.” Murkowski said the state would import liquefied natural gas from Canada to replace declining supplies “over my dead body.”
E&E News: Interior Calls For Removal Of Calif. Offshore Oil Platforms
Heather Richards, 10/27/23
“The Biden administration said Thursday that California’s remaining offshore oil platforms should be removed, dropping a prior proposal to create artificial reefs from the aged structures or leave cleaned-out pipelines on the seafloor,” E&E News reports. “The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement published a final environmental assessment in the Federal Register of how to eventually retire the 23 remaining oil and gas platforms standing in the Pacific Ocean. Built between 1967 and 1989, the structures are from an era when California’s oil industry was booming. Now, most are headed toward retirement or are actively being decommissioned. The environmental review undertaken by the Biden administration, which won’t be final until release of a record of decision in coming weeks, could create a road map for future oil and gas clean up on other parts of the outer continental shelf where climate activists want to retire drilling. “We completed a robust analysis based on sound science, Tribal consultation, public input, and the best available information,” Bruce Hesson, BSEE Pacific region director in a statement, told E&E.”
E&E News: Manchin takes aim at EPA methane rules
Jean Chemnick, 10/26/23
“West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin laid out a litany of concerns about two recent EPA methane proposals in a Thursday letter,” E&E News reports. “Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the administration had shown it was “determined to target our flourishing oil and gas sector” with infeasible and sometimes contradictory regulations. “This has put pressure on EPA to hastily finalize and implement these extensive new regulations, leading to proposals that lack thorough consideration and alignment,” he said. Manchin’s letter takes aim at two proposals EPA has issued in the last year, including a regulation aimed at limiting methane leakage from oil and gas operations. The other rule would overhaul how companies report their emissions, and it stems from last year's Inflation Reduction Act, which Manchin helped write. The West Virginia Democrat echoed concerns raised by the American Petroleum Institute and other trade groups that EPA is pushing different requirements for the same set of pollution sources in different rules.”
STATE UPDATES
Public Citizen: California’s New Climate Disclosure Laws Cover Nearly Three-Quarters of Fortune 1000 Companies
10/27/23
“There should be no added compliance costs for 75% of the largest public companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions under the upcoming Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) climate financial risk disclosure rules, a new report has found. The findings cast doubt on U.S. business groups’ claims that the costs of fully disclosing their climate risks would be too high. The report finds that 75% of public companies in the Fortune 1000 are likely covered by new California laws requiring firms doing business within the state to disclose their Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions, while 73% will also likely need to disclose their climate-related financial risks and strategies. Scope 3 emissions are those generated within the value chain, for example, when oil and gas companies’ customers burn the fuels they produce. The SEC has been on the fence about whether to include Scope 3 emissions disclosure in its long-delayed rule and to what extent… “Given that most major U.S. public companies will need to adhere to California’s requirements, it finds that the marginal cost of complying with the overlapping requirements of the proposed SEC climate financial risk disclosure rule—even if it includes Scope 3 emissions—will be minimal to non-existent for many firms. Scope 3 emissions account for a whopping 70% of the average corporate value chain’s total emissions, studies show. If the SEC fails to require Scope 3 disclosures, investors and financiers will lack crucial information needed to evaluate investment and business risks. Yet companies and trade groups, particularly in carbon-intensive industries like fossil fuels, have objected to the requirement, claiming financial and logistical challenges posed by Scope 3 emissions disclosures would be too onerous. These objections seem to be contributing to delays in the issuance of the SEC’s final rule as the agency evaluates its options.”
High Country News: Outrage, Disinformation And Threats Rise Up In Wyoming Around A BLM Land Plan
Jonathan Thompson, 10/26/23
“‘This is probably the biggest disaster in the United States, affecting more people than the Civil War, Pearl Harbor or 9/11 combined,’ Wyoming state Rep. Bill Allemand said. ‘I urge everyone to call the governor and ask him to stop this state-killing … plan,’” High Country News reports. “Of what calamity was Allemand speaking? Was it the state’s suicide epidemic (highest rate in the nation)? Or perhaps the ongoing opioid crisis? Nope. The state lawmaker was referring to the new resource management plan proposed by the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs field office, which recommends increased protections on portions of a 3.6-million-acre swath of public lands in southwestern Wyoming, including the sparse and spectacular endorheic basin of the Red Desert. Oh, the horror. Allemand’s not alone in his hyperbolic reaction to the 1,300-page, two-volume document, 12 years in the making. The plan has become the focal point of the latest Sagebrush Rebellion flare-up, inspiring a storm of incendiary rhetoric, a flood of disinformation and threats to federal land managers. Sen. John Barrasso said it is “attacking our Wyoming way of life,” while Rep. Harriet Hageman said it would “prohibit and bar all access, management and use of vast swaths of federal land.”
InsideClimate News: Pennsylvania’s Gas Industry Used 160 Million Pounds of Secret Chemicals From 2012 to 2022, a New Report Says
Jon Hurdle, 10/24/23
“Oil and gas producers in Pennsylvania used some 160 million pounds of chemicals that they are not required by law to publicly identify in more than 5,000 gas wells between 2012 and 2022, according to research published on Tuesday,” InsideClimate News reports. “The chemicals may have included per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a toxic and pervasive class of chemicals, according to the report from Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), an activist group that last week co-published a new compilation of studies on the harms of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas. The industry is required to disclose the chemicals to state regulators in the database FracFocus. But operators are allowed by state law to keep from publicly disclosing them if doing so would put their operations at a competitive disadvantage. Although the FracFocus data does not identify which substances were among the 160 million pounds of chemicals, the new report says that at least one kind of PFAS was used by two oil and gas operators in eight Pennsylvania wells during the study period—information that was first reported by PSR in 2021… “Eight wells may just be the tip of the iceberg because we also found that there were 160 million pounds of trade-secret chemicals injected into thousands of unconventional gas wells over the same period,” Dusty Horwitt, who wrote the report, told ICN.
Wichita Eagle: Shelter-in-place advisory lifted after oil spill in northwest Wichita
MICHAEL STAVOLA, 10/26/23
“A request for residents to shelter in place in northwest Wichita was lifted Thursday afternoon after a cleanup involving an overturned semi truck carrying oil,” the Wichita Eagle reports. “But roads around the accident site were still blocked off, Sedgwick County spokesperson Stephanie Birmingham said around 3:40 p.m… “The shelter in place advisory included an area from 37th Street North to I-235 from south to north and Meridian to Athenian from west to east. People in those areas should have automatically gotten an alert on their phones.”
EXTRACTION
Globe and Mail: Building Canada’s cleaner and greener energy future
DAVID ISRAELSON, 10/30/23
“The race to transform the world’s energy system to make it cleaner and greener is well under way, but while Canada is making some progress, there’s a long way to go,” the Globe and Mail reports. “...Experts differ on what Canada should do next to speed up the energy transition. They agree on several points, though – it’s going to require a lot more co-operation, creativity and commitment to investment and timelines for Canada to reach both its 2050 net-zero goal and its interim targets that are only seven years away. “The transition is a challenge, but it’s also a huge opportunity if we can get it right. To do that, we can’t just set targets without understanding the pathways to reach them,” Sonya Savage, senior counsel at BLG law firm in Calgary and a former Alberta energy minister, told the Globe and Mail. “We have to step back and understand: What will it cost? Who’s going to pay for it? Do we have the technology [for energy transition] already or do we have to develop it and scale it up to commercialize it?” For Keith Brooks, programs director at Environmental Defence, a national not-for-profit watchdog group, there is a clear path ahead. “Fundamentally, the energy transition is about phasing out fossil fuels and replacing them with zero-carbon electricity. We’ll need to electrify everything we can, with zero emissions.” “...But phasing out all fossil fuels isn’t realistic in a country with large oil sands deposits and billions invested in the oil and gas industries, Ms. Savage told the Globe and Mail. “...Even with renewable energy, you need to have a baseload of reliable power because wind and solar power are both intermittent,” she explains. To help meet Canada’s net-zero targets, Ms. Savage told the Globe and Mail industry and the federal and provincial governments need to work together to support technologies such as carbon capture and underground storage (CCS), which buries the carbon produced by fossil-fuel extraction.”
Associated Press: Deadly explosion off Nigeria points to threat posed by aging oil ships around the world
HELEN WIEFFERING AND GRACE EKPU, 10/29/23
“It was the dead of night when the ship caught fire, Patrick Aganyebi remembers, but the flames made it seem as bright as day,” the Associated Press reports. “...Five workers were killed and two others presumed dead in the blast on the Trinity Spirit, a rusting converted oil tanker anchored 15 miles (24 km) off the coast of Nigeria that pulled crude oil from the ocean floor… “The Trinity Spirit’s explosion in February of last year stands among the deadliest tragedies on an oil ship or platform in recent years. The Associated Press’ review of court documents, ship databases, and interviews with crew members reveals that the 46-year-old ship was in a state of near-total disrepair, and the systems meant to ensure its safe and lawful operation — annual inspections, a flag registry, insurance — had gradually fallen away. The Trinity Spirit fits a pattern of old tankers put to work storing and extracting oil even while on the brink of mechanical breakdowns. At least eight have been shut down after a fire, a major safety hazard, or the death of a worker in the last decade, according to an AP review. More than 30 are older than the Trinity Spirit and still storing oil around the world. Jan-Erik Vinnem, who has spent his career studying the risks of offshore oil production, told AP he’s sometimes shocked when he sees pictures of oil ships in Africa. “I call them ‘floating bombs,’” he told AP… “The Trinity Spirit was part of a class of vessels that extracts oil offshore and stores it at sea. They are known as floating production storage and offloading units — FPSOs — or as FSOs, floating storage and offloading units, when used only for storage. Since the 1970s, they’ve become increasingly popular for developing oil in deep waters and in places where no pipelines exist. According to the environmental group SkyTruth, there are some 240 in operation today.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Reuters: Republican-led US states appeal ruling allowing Biden ESG investing rule
Daniel Wiessner, 10/26/23
“A group of Republican-led U.S. states on Thursday said they would appeal a Texas-based federal judge's decision rejecting their challenge to a rule from President Joe Biden's administration allowing employee retirement plans to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in investment decisions,” Reuters reports. “The 26 states, led by Texas and Utah, filed a notice of appeal in federal court in Amarillo. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk threw out their lawsuit on Sept. 21. Oil drilling company Liberty Energy Inc (LBRT.N) and an oil and gas trade group are also plaintiffs in the case and joined in the appeal… “The appeal goes to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considered one of the most conservative federal appeals courts and has 12 judges appointed by Republican presidents out of a total of 16… “The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, called ERISA, requires retirement plan administrators to act solely in the interest of participants in the plan. The states in their lawsuit claim the rule violates ERISA by allowing these plans to consider non-financial factors… “Kacsmaryk in his decision upholding the rule said it still requires financial factors to come first and does not require or even encourage retirement plans to consider other factors such as climate change and social and labor issues.”
Wall Street Journal: Climate Activists Want SEC to Copy California, Europe
Paul Kiernan, 10/26/23
“Climate activists are urging U.S. regulators to follow the footsteps of the European Union and California as they work to finish requirements for public companies to disclose their greenhouse-gas emissions,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation earlier this month that will oblige large companies doing business in the state to report both their carbon emissions and those of their suppliers and customers.
OPINION
Resource Works: We still need the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion
10/27/23
“The Trans Mountain Expansion Project is now “in the ninth inning,” with completion expected next March — more than 10 years after the first application on December 16, 2013,” according to Resource Works. “Those 10 years have been filled with regulatory and legal red tape, politics and delays due to the COVID pandemic and global supply-chain issues, protection of culturally significant sites for Indigenous Peoples, unexpected archaeological discoveries, challenging terrain, issues around building in densely populated areas, worker shortages, floods, inflation, interest-rate increases, the rising cost of steel, opposition petitions, protests and even blockades… “Those ten years were filled with rising costs. The latest estimate for the project's cost was around $30.9 billion, getting on for six times the initial estimate of $5.4 billion. But the Trans Mountain expansion project, short-handed as “TMX,” is a must for Canada’s oil business and, by extension, its entire economy. It will almost triple the capacity of the current pipeline to 890,000 barrels per day, finally allowing Canada the ability to export its first overseas barrel of oil in recent memory. TMX will open new Asian and Indian markets for Alberta’s oil; China, for one, has been importing Alberta oil that has first been sent south to the US Gulf Coast. Alberta can also expect sales to US Pacific Coast refineries that now import some of their oil from Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Latin American suppliers… “Despite all the talk of “peak oil” and energy transition, world oil demand is also expected to stay strong long into the future… “As long as the world needs oil, a good case can be made that it should benefit Canada, where it is produced responsibly and with a declining environmental impact, not countries like Saudi Arabia, which show little regard for the climate or human rights.”
Pagosa Daily Post: Rep. Boebert Seeking To Leave Taxpayers With Oil & Gas Cleanup
Aaron Weiss is Media Director for the Center for Western Priorities, 10/26/23
“The House Natural Resources Committee held a subcommittee hearing yesterday on a draft bill sponsored by Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert that would prevent the Interior department from completing a rule that implements reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing system, signed into law as part of the Inflation Reduction Act,” Aaron Weiss writes for the Pagosa Daily Post. “During the hearing, Rep. Boebert claimed that the rule is ‘proof that Joe Biden is using every tool in his administration to dismantle American energy production,’ and went on to call it ‘unjustifiable.’ On the contrary, the rulemaking that is underway would simply implement the law as passed, and enact long-overdue reforms to the bonds that drillers have to post in order to ensure oil and gas wells are cleaned up if companies go bankrupt. The recent reforms to the oil and gas leasing system are already working. It’s no wonder Representative Boebert wants to erase them and put industry back in charge of America’s public lands. When companies profit off publicly-owned oil and gas, the least they can do is clean up after themselves. Representative Boebert’s bill would let them walk away and leave taxpayers with the bill.”
Investigate Midwest: Big Oil could pay dearly for decades of climate change denial
Dave Dickey, 10/26/23
“In July 1977, Big Oil giant Exxon’s world was turned upside down by scientific adviser James F. Black. Speaking at a meeting of Exxon’s top executives, Black, who served in the research and engineering division, delivered stunning news — the world-wide burning of fossil fuels could eventually produce enough carbon dioxide to endanger humanity,” Dave Dickey writes for Investigate Midwest. “...You might think Exxon executives would immediately pull in the reins and sweep its research under the rug. Instead Exxon shared the primer, believing transparency would give the company a leg up in helping shape potential future greenhouse gas laws… “Facing growing public and congressional awareness of the threat of fossil fuels, Exxon financed a campaign to throw shade on climate science. Exxon was instrumental in establishing the Global Climate Coalition, whose major goal was to relegate climate science to the dustbin and keep the oil flowing. Now decades of Big Oil carbon dioxide deception is coming home to roost. California has joined a growing list of states filing lawsuits and complaints claiming Big Oil, and in particular Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP and oil’s major trade group the American Petroleum Institute, even now continue to deceive the public over the impact of greenhouse gasses on the atmosphere… “American Petroleum Institute senior vice president and general counsel Ryan Meyers issued the requisite boilerplate: “This ongoing, coordinated campaign to wage meritless, politicized lawsuits against a foundational American industry and its workers is nothing more than a distraction from important national conversations and an enormous waste of California taxpayer resources. Climate policy is for Congress to debate and decide, not the court system.” Well Mr. Meyers, that ship has sailed. I don’t know if California can actually win this lawsuit, but it’s high time the public at large learned of Big Oil’s deceptions in the name of profit. See ya in court.”