EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/9/23
PIPELINE NEWS
WSLS: Mountain Valley Pipeline protestor arrested after locking themself to ‘sleeping dragon’ device to halt construction
Harvest Public Media: Plans for carbon dioxide pipelines raise safety concerns for small town responders in the Midwest
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: New Lincoln County CO2 pipeline setback ordinance may fall into the 'safety' trap
NWestIowa.com: Navigator suspends Iowa pipeline permit
KCHA: Republican Interveners Question Carbon Pipeline Safety, Easements
Canadian Press: Trans Mountain route change will 'desecrate' sacred site: Secwepemc knowledge keeper
Reuters: Trans Mountain to start line fill on Canada oil pipeline next quarter
WV News: Proposed Hope Gas pipeline in North Central West Virginia to cost 'multiple millions'
RBN Energy: Appalachia Gas Basis Outlook In A Pipeline-Constrained World
Offshore Energy: Enbridge CEO calls on Canada to boost support for LNG development
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Will The Oil And Gas Lobby Line Up Behind Scalise?
Politico: AEA Backs Scalise For Speaker
E&E News: Enviros join UAW picket lines in pursuit of climate goals
Reuters: US would struggle to block Exxon’s politically unpopular megadeal
E&E News: Red states raise specter of 'major questions' NEPA brawl
E&E News: Inside Interior’s Oil And Gas Meetings
PBS: Regulatory gaps leave communities at risk of chemical disasters, advocates say
STATE UPDATES
Associated Press: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs law requiring big businesses to disclose emissions
KUNM: Tribes At Odds Over Drilling Ban Around Ancient Chaco Canyon
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Only half of New Mexico's oil and gas operators are following state air pollution rules
EXTRACTION
Reuters: OPEC leaders make case for fossil fuels at Riyadh climate event
Bloomberg: Aramco, Siemens Energy to Sign Direct Air-Capture Deal
OPINION
Government Accountability Project: On the Future of Democracy and the Environment: The Mountain Valley Pipeline
PIPELINE NEWS
WSLS: Mountain Valley Pipeline protestor arrested after locking themself to ‘sleeping dragon’ device to halt construction
10/8/23
“A protestor of the Mountain Valley Pipeline was arrested Saturday for halting work on the Virginia side of Peters Mountain in the Jefferson National Forest,” WSLS reports. “According to Appalachians Against Pipelines, the protestor, named “Mickey,” prevented clearing on the mountain for a full day by locking themself to a “sleeping dragon” before being extracted and arrested around 8 p.m. Saturday… “The group said Mickey was charged with three misdemeanors and bail was set at $2,500… “According to the group, the rally site was the same site where an aerial blockade prevented MVP access to Peters Mountain for 57 days in 2018.”
Harvest Public Media: Plans for carbon dioxide pipelines raise safety concerns for small town responders in the Midwest
Grant Gerlock, 10/9/23
“Proposed projects would add more than 3,000 miles of new carbon pipelines through rural parts of the Midwest. Some emergency officials are concerned about safety, especially after a rupture on a similar pipeline three years ago,” Harvest Public Media reports. “When Andy Alexander moved into his grandparents’ farmhouse a few years ago, he knew he was moving in next to the Dakota Access oil pipeline. It chugs away about one-eighth of a mile from his doorstep under rows of corn ripening from green to gold. Then he learned another pipeline could go right next to it. “They’re proposing that they put a carbon dioxide pipeline running parallel to the oil pipeline that’s currently here,” Alexander told HPM… “An oil spill would be an environmental disaster, Alexander told HPM, but he is actually more afraid of a release of carbon dioxide. He imagines an invisible cloud of CO2 drifting close to the ground, displacing oxygen along the way. “And as it displaces that oxygen, I’ll no longer be able to breathe,” he told HPM. “Depending on the weather it could spread all the way through town.” “...Alexander, 43, is one of the youngest members of Fremont’s small volunteer fire department. He wonders how he would reach people at the elementary school half-a-mile away if a carbon dioxide release cuts him off from town.”
Sioux Falls Argus Leader: New Lincoln County CO2 pipeline setback ordinance may fall into the 'safety' trap
Dominik Dausch, 10/6/23
“Lincoln County landowners, bolstered by a series of recent defeats suffered by two major carbon capture companies with plans to build carbon dioxide pipelines in the region, are using the momentum to stage a fresh attempt to keep said transmission lines out of the county,” the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. “About 60 landowners convened at the Lincoln County Courthouse Friday morning to submit a request for a new pipeline setback ordinance to the county's planning and zoning board. Rep. Karla Lems, a property owner from Canton whose legislative district covers Lincoln, Turner and Union counties, told Argus Leader on Friday a new ordinance written for and included in the request would implement setbacks — buffer zones in which pipelines could not be built — of 1,855 feet from any residence, school, business, healthcare facility and other structures. "We got that number from Navigator [Heartland Greenway's] own findings that that is the setback that they had said would be a reasonable setback from a six to eight inch pipe," Lems told the Argus Leader. The submitted ordinance also includes stipulations in which carbon dioxide pipelines would not be able to be sited on "sites of historical or archaeological significance, or farms designated as Century Farms by the State of South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and therefore may not be built upon without the explicit written consent of the landowner." “...Lems told the Argus Leader the momentum in pushing the adoption of the ordinance is in the favor of the landowners and the counties after the PUC denied Summit Carbon and Navigator's permit applications… “"So when you say the federal government and PHMSA will be the ones to regulate safety, I think that they are talking about, you know, the gauge of the steel that the pipe is made out of, the welds that make it be done, how far apart the shut off valves, that is 'safety,'" Jensen told the Argus Leader… "How can you look at Navigator's plume model, how far this could go, how can you look at things like Satartia and see the people that went to the hospital, whether they died or not ... and not use the word safety," Jensen told the Argus Leader.
NWestIowa.com: Navigator suspends Iowa pipeline permit
Elijah Helton, 10/8/23
“Navigator CO2 has canceled its application to build a carbon-capture pipeline in Iowa, at least for the time being, citing various roadblocks,” NWestIowa.com reports. “It’s the latest in a series of slowdowns from the company in its procedural pursuit of a project that would run through numerous ethanol plants in five states… “Pushback has been fierce from some landowners, activist groups and state officials throughout the Midwest. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, the state’s equivalent to the IUB, denied Navigator’s permit outright Sept. 26. A week later, the company confirmed that it was pausing land acquisition efforts in South Dakota and parts of Iowa. The suspension expanded across the entire Hawkeye State after pulling back from the IUB… “Anti-pipeline activist Jess Mazour was thrilled with the news. She has worked for the Sierra Club against carbon-capture pipelines for more than two years. “It’s a huge win for us, and there’s a lot of reasons behind it,” Mazour told NWestIowa.com… “Opposition to potential land seizures has been a key sticking point for many landowners, including anti-pipeliner Amy Solsma, whose farm is next to Navigator’s route east of Sanborn. She has been a vocal N’West Iowa voice against both pipelines. “I’m happy to see that Navigator is suspending their plans,” Solsma told NWestIowa.com. “I’m sure they are waiting to see how the IUB meeting with Summit goes and will re-evaluate next year. With the surrounding states’ hesitancy, it is another encouraging sign that common sense will prevail.”
KCHA: Republican Interveners Question Carbon Pipeline Safety, Easements
Mark Pitz, 10/8/23
“The Republican Legislative Interveners for Justice are challenging Summit Carbon Solutions’ request for a permit to build almost 700 miles of underground carbon capture pipeline in Iowa,” KCHA reports. “...Attorney and State Representative Charley Thomson of Charles City, an Intervener, told KCHA Summit’s lack of disclosure of the project’s risks could make the voluntary easements signed by landowners invalid. Thomson adds that he’s talked with landowners which signed easements early in the process, who are now having “buyer’s remorse” about the pipeline and the perceived benefits of carbon dioxide sequestration… “Thomson told KCHA he anticipates eminent domain legislation to be a big topic when the Iowa legislative session convenes in January. Thomson told KCNA the state also needs to look at whether the IUB should have the authority to grant eminent domain.”
Canadian Press: Trans Mountain route change will 'desecrate' sacred site: Secwepemc knowledge keeper
Alessia Passafiume, 10/8/23
“A Secwepemc law called X7ensq't says that if you disrespect the land and don't take care of it properly, the land and the sky will turn on you,” the Canadian Press reports. "It's a serious law," Mike McKenzie, a Secwepemc knowledge keeper, told CP. He told CP he wonders "how much farther" people want to go in violating it. McKenzie was speaking about the Trans Mountain Corp., which last week resumed construction close to Pipsell, or Jacko Lake, near Kamloops, B.C., after a federal regulator approved a change to the Trans Mountain pipeline route. McKenzie, who has been a vocal critic of the pipeline expansion, told CP he believes the destruction of the site is a continuation of cultural genocide. "Without that place, we lose a big part of ourselves," McKenzie, who noted the Secwepemc creation story takes place in Pipsell, and their laws and customs are born from that land, told CP. "This is our Vatican. This is our Notre Dame. This is a place that gives our people an identity and kept our people grounded since time immemorial." “...A written response that Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation provided to the regulator said a change in construction methodology would cause "significant and irreparable harm" to its culture. It added that it did not provide free, prior and informed consent for the route deviation, as prescribed under the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples… “It has already been plagued by construction-related challenges and delays. And the projected price tag has since spiralled: first to $12.6 billion, then to $21.4 billion and most recently to $30.9 billion, the capital cost estimate as of March. "If that isn't the land and the sky turning on this company, I don't know what is," McKenzie told CP.
Reuters: Trans Mountain to start line fill on Canada oil pipeline next quarter
Nia Williams, 10/6/23
“Line fill on the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion will start in the first quarter of 2024 and take about six to seven weeks to complete, the Canadian government-owned corporation building the project said on Friday,” Reuters reports. “...We expect commercial operations to commence near the end of Q1 2024," a Trans Mountain spokesperson told Reuters. Trans Mountain has previously forecast a first quarter in-service date for pipeline operations. However, there had been speculation within the Canadian energy industry that the expansion project could face further delays after a dispute with an Indigenous group in British Columbia over a route change request, which Trans Mountain won last week.”
WV News: Proposed Hope Gas pipeline in North Central West Virginia to cost 'multiple millions'
Charles Young, 10/9/23
“The proposed Hope Gas project to construct a natural gas pipeline from western Monongalia County to northern Marion County will cost “multiple millions,” according to a company official,” WV News reports. “Hope Gas recently submitted an application to the West Virginia Public Service Commission requesting permission to proceed with the project, but the figures relating to the company’s investment are redacted in the publicly available documents.”
RBN Energy: Appalachia Gas Basis Outlook In A Pipeline-Constrained World
Sheetal Nasta, 10/9/23
“Appalachian natural gas producers and marketers are adapting to a new status quo — a world where new pipeline takeaway capacity out of the Northeast is hard to come by and is more or less capped ad infinitum,” RBN Energy reports. “Without the assurance of pipeline expansions, regional gas producers are no longer drilling with abandon in hopes that the capacity will eventually get built. Instead, producers are practicing restraint by slowing drilling activity, delaying completions and choking back producing wells to manage their inventory during periods of lower demand and prices… “Pipeline constraints are nothing new for Appalachian gas producers. Over the past decade, Appalachian natural gas production (blue line in Figure 1) rocketed up to more than 35 Bcf/d, often straining infrastructure and pummeling local price basis — at least until the next tranche of pipeline capacity came online. In recent years, however, Appalachian gas producers have settled into maintenance mode, keeping production relatively flat, even in 2022, despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the resulting energy security crisis, and low storage inventories sending supply basin gas prices rocketing to $9/MMBtu, the highest in over a decade. Among the pressures keeping production flat, producers have battled a number of headwinds since the pandemic, from inflation to shortages of materials and labor, along with hedges entered in late 2020 and 2021 that didn’t allow them to immediately benefit from the lofty gas prices seen last year. However, far and away the biggest constraint for Appalachian producers has been the increasingly grim prospects for new pipeline takeaway capacity.”
Offshore Energy: Enbridge CEO calls on Canada to boost support for LNG development
Aida Čučuk, 10/9/23
“Greg Ebel, President and CEO of Canadian pipeline and energy company Enbridge, has urged Canada to show leadership to the world in lowering global emissions, reducing energy poverty and supporting the progress of Indigenous communities in the country,” Offshore Energy reports. “In an address to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Ebel reportedly stated that climate change is a pivotal moment and Canada has an opportunity to show leadership, noting that the opportunity is natural gas. “The world recognizes the value of Canada’s vast natural resources and the impact those resources can have for energy security, reliability – and importantly – reducing global emissions. Our goal as individuals, as a nation and as a global community must be to reduce emissions across our planet as a whole. And LNG (liquified natural gas) helps get us there,” said Ebel. Enbridge’s CEO called on the Canadian Government to champion the sustainable production of natural gas and to reduce barriers to the responsible development of LNG, urging governments to create the conditions for investment in LNG exports to help global nations switch from coal power generation to lower-carbon natural gas.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Will The Oil And Gas Lobby Line Up Behind Scalise?
KELSEY BRUGGER, 10/5/23
“An influential conservative energy group is throwing its weight behind House Majority Leader Steve Scalise in the race for speaker. The American Energy Alliance’s backing could launch a wave of fossil fuel support for the Louisiana Republican, who has long been a supporter of his state’s oil and gas industry. ‘Majority Leader Scalise has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to advancing market-oriented energy and environmental policies that expand economic opportunity and give Americans, not Washington bureaucrats, the power to make their own energy choices,’ said Tom Pyle, president of the AEA. Scalise has led the House Energy Action Team, or HEAT, and stood out for his blunt opposition to carbon taxes, Pyle noted. That position is the same reason environmentalists — even those on the right — fear a Scalise regime. Scalise is among the Republicans who regularly question the science behind human-made climate change. AEA and its affiliate, the Institute for Energy Research, has received significant funding from fossil fuel-linked sources including organizations backed by brothers Charles and David Koch, the group American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers and the Edison Electric Institute.
Politico: AEA Backs Scalise For Speaker
10/6/23
“Conservative group American Energy Alliance on Thursday threw its support behind House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s bid for House Speaker, calling him the best candidate to push back on the Biden administration’s ‘disastrous’ energy policies and ‘advance a pro-America, pro-freedom energy agenda as Speaker.’ ‘When it comes to ensuring that consumers have access to affordable, reliable, American-made energy, there is no greater champion in Congress than Majority Leader Steve Scalise,’ the group’s president, Thomas Pyle, said in a statement. He praised Scalise’s leadership of the House Energy Action Team, a group of Republicans that pushes domestic energy production, and opposition to carbon taxes. Americans for Tax Reform also backed Scalise on Wednesday, citing his success in ‘leading the charge to kill the Left’s carbon tax’ and pass the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In the early running, Scalise appears to be in a two-horse race for Speaker with House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), though a potential visit to the Hill by former President Donald Trump could throw a wrench in the race. The GOP is planning a ‘candidate forum’ on Tuesday before holding an internal vote on Wednesday.”
E&E News: Enviros join UAW picket lines in pursuit of climate goals
Hannah Northey, Mike Lee, 10/6/23
“A coalition of the nation’s largest climate and environmental groups — emboldened by President Joe Biden’s historic appearance on the picket line — will be joining striking workers this weekend across the country,” E&E News reports. “But their vision goes beyond securing better wages for the workers building electric vehicles. They see the United Auto Workers strike as playing a central role in their push for workers’ rights and curbing pollution in industries that supply the automakers. The goal is not limited to just today’s steel mills and aluminum foundries, but also the future battery plants and mines needed to power the electric future. “UAW is a huge start to that because it puts other workers in a better position to say, ‘We want to be at the table’ in determining what this transition to a low-carbon economy means,” Matthew Groch, a senior director for heavy industry decarbonization at the advocacy group Mighty Earth, told E&E. Autoworkers and the green movement have had a rocky relationship in the past, but environmentalists see the labor movement as crucial to fighting climate change… “We recognize that a victory here, when UAW gets the demands it wants from the automakers — this is gonna be a signal for the rest of the auto industry,” Yong Kwon, a senior policy analyst at the Sierra Club, told E&E. And the environmentalists consider unions a key role to cleaning up the car industry’s suppliers. A unionized workforce would likely help those heavy industries cut pollution, and the carmakers could help create demand for low-emissions materials since the auto industry is the biggest buyer of emissions-intensive aluminum and certain kinds of steel, Chris Alford, a senior strategist with the Sunrise Project, told E&E.”
Reuters: US would struggle to block Exxon’s politically unpopular megadeal
10/6/23
“The White House may have blamed Exxon Mobil for high energy prices taking their toll on consumers, but would struggle to thwart the top U.S. oil producer’s contemplated $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, five antitrust lawyers and experts said on Friday,” Reuters reports. “Deal negotiations between Exxon and Pioneer are advanced but have not yet led to an agreement, Reuters reported on Thursday. The acquisition would give Exxon ownership of the largest producer in the biggest U.S. oilfield… “The White House wrote to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) chair Lina Khan in 2021 asking her to scrutinize deals in the sector for “anti-consumer behavior,” and the antitrust regulator subsequently slowed down the approval of many of them as it reviewed them. These transactions were eventually allowed to be completed, and the regulator has not sued to thwart an oil and gas production deal since 2000. The lawyers and experts interviewed told Reuters the FTC would face an uphill struggle in challenging Exxon’s attempted acquisition of Pioneer. This is because oil and gas companies have been effective in arguing that U.S. mergers alone cannot stifle competition, as commodity prices are dictated by supply and demand forces in a vast global market… “Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse criticized Exxon for deploying money it earned from “gouging using a corrupt internal cartel… to double down on polluting the planet, pushing even more costs and dangers on consumers.”
E&E News: Red states raise specter of 'major questions' NEPA brawl
Niina H. Farah, 10/5/23
“Republican attorneys general are teeing up another "major questions" fight with the Biden administration over its proposal for how agencies handle environmental reviews of significant federal actions and rules,” E&E News reports. “In public comments led by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, 24 red states warned that revisions to the Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act implementing rules attempt to "transform" the landmark environmental law from a procedural statute to a vehicle that would accelerate a transition away from fossil fuels. The attorneys general compared the NEPA proposal to an Obama-era power plant emissions rule struck down by the Supreme Court in the 2022 case West Virginia v. EPA… “The comments come in response to CEQ's proposed second phase of NEPA rulemaking released this summer, which would reverse many of the changes the Trump administration made to how agencies analyze environmental effects of regulations or major projects like pipelines and highways… “A separate 18-state coalition led by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) came out largely in support of the Biden rules in their own comments to the agency… “But Democratic attorneys general also listed some critiques of the proposal. They urged CEQ to reintroduce language requiring agencies to "devote substantial treatment" to its analysis of alternatives. "Additionally, the States urge CEQ to codify some of CEQ’s existing guidance on the consideration of GHGs [greenhouse gases] into the NEPA regulations to ensure agencies properly consider the potential impacts from GHG emissions associated with federal agency actions," they wrote.
E&E News: Inside Interior’s Oil And Gas Meetings
Robin Bravender, 10/5/23
“In March 2022, the Interior Department’s second-in-command huddled with representatives from Exxon Mobil, Chevron and the trade group representing domestic oil and gas companies, his calendars show. The meetings involving Interior Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau and oil and gas representatives came as the Biden administration was publicly feuding with the industry over its production as gas prices soared as a result of Russia invading Ukraine. Beaudreau’s calendars from March 2022 — the most recent released publicly by the department — offer a glimpse into which oil and gas industry representatives scored sit-downs or calls with top Interior Department officials during that turbulent time. Interior announced Wednesday that Beaudreau is stepping down at the end of this month — a move that came as a surprise to industry representatives and environmentalists alike. Republicans and energy industry representatives often don’t see eye to eye with the Biden administration on energy policy, but they see Beaudreau as someone who was willing to hear them out — and they’re bummed that he’s leaving.”
PBS: Regulatory gaps leave communities at risk of chemical disasters, advocates say
John Yang. Kaisha Young, Sam Weber, 10/7/23
“Eight months after a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, people are still waiting for answers about long-term health and environmental consequences,” PBS reports. “What happened isn’t uncommon — on average, there’s a chemical incident in the U.S. every two days. John Yang reports from North Carolina, where one city is trying to move forward after a chemical disaster in 2022.”
STATE UPDATES
Associated Press: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs law requiring big businesses to disclose emissions
SOPHIE AUSTIN, 10/7/23
“Large businesses in California will have to disclose a wide range of planet-warming emissions under a new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Saturday — the most sweeping mandate of its kind in the nation,” the Associated Press reports. “The law requires more than 5,300 companies that operate in California and make more than $1 billion in annual revenues to report both their direct and indirect emissions. That includes things like emissions from operating a building or store as well as those from activities like employee business travel and transporting their products. The law, SB 253, will bring more transparency to the public about how big businesses contribute to climate change, and it could nudge them to evaluate how they can reduce their emissions, advocates say. They argue many businesses already disclose some of their emissions to the state. But the California Chamber of Commerce, agricultural groups and oil giants that oppose the law say it will create new mandates for companies that don’t have the experience or expertise to accurately report their indirect emissions. They also say it is too soon to implement the requirements at a time when the federal government is weighing emissions disclosure rules for public companies.”
KUNM: Tribes At Odds Over Drilling Ban Around Ancient Chaco Canyon
Alice Fordham, 10/4/23
“There are a number of roads into Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico, and all of them will rattle your bones for miles. But at the end, visitors are rewarded with a craggy expanse of rust-colored cliffs and high desert grasslands, cradling remnants of massive, elaborate stone buildings left by a culture that thrived here a millennium ago. Standing in the largest of them, now known as Pueblo Bonito, geographer Phillip Tuwaletstiwa walks through a honeycomb of small rectangular rooms, and larger circular structures known as kivas. Some of the walls align with the cycles of the sun and the moon. ‘I hate to say a number,’ he says, ‘but it has 600-plus rooms in it. And it was probably four storeys high.’ A single burial chamber within this structure, discovered in 1896, contained thousands of turquoise beads and sculptures. Other artifacts found in the structure, like copper bells and remains of macaws, came from far away and indicate extensive regional relationships.”
Carlsbad Current-Argus: Only half of New Mexico's oil and gas operators are following state air pollution rules
Adrian Hedden, 10/8/23
“Oil and gas operators were put on notice that state regulators in New Mexico planned to redouble efforts to enforce air pollution restrictions, using a combination of satellite, air and on-the-ground monitoring this month,” the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports. “The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) said Thursday it found only 50 percent of oil and gas facilities in the state complied with the agency’s air quality regulations between July 2022 and July 2023, after new rules were enacted last year. These called for more stringent leak detection and monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by oil and gas facilities throughout New Mexico, chemicals that form cancer-causing ground-level ozone – also known as smog… “Starting in October, NMED planned to increase its collection of air monitoring data from the Permian Basin and in the northwest San Juan Basin where air quality also drew concerns amid heavy natural gas production. Violators could be referred to the EPA and U.S. Department of Justice, Kenney told the Argus, for further enforcement actions potentially leading to fines and revocation of permits extraction companies need to operate.”
EXTRACTION
Reuters: OPEC leaders make case for fossil fuels at Riyadh climate event
Aziz El Yaakoubi and Pesha Magid, 10/8/23
“OPEC heavyweights said on Sunday oil and gas should not be stigmatised in the climate debate and that the industry had a role to play in an orderly energy transition,” Reuters reports. “Energy ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, the three largest members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), have gathered in the Saudi capital Riyadh for the U.N. MENA climate week. "The three of us here as major hydrocarbon producers also have a responsibility to the world to provide the transition with enough hydrocarbon resources to make sure we are transitioning at a responsibly priced manner," UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on a panel that grouped the three countries… “Ahead of COP28, countries are divided between those demanding a deal to phase out planet-warming fossil fuels, and nations that say coal, oil and natural gas have a continued role combined with technology to capture their emissions. "We have had 27 COPs, and you might be surprised to learn that 17 of them have been hosted in fossil fuel-producing nations," Jaber said. "The fact is, energy is fundamental to everyone, everywhere." Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman also said the industry should not be stigmatised and the world still needed hydrocarbons. "There is a case for us to be in oil and gas," he told the audience.
Bloomberg: Aramco, Siemens Energy to Sign Direct Air-Capture Deal
Matthew Martin, 10/8/23
“Aramco and Siemens Energy AG will sign an agreement Monday to build a pilot project for carbon capture and storage, as the Middle East’s biggest oil producer Saudi Arabia seeks new ways to tackle emissions,” Bloomberg reports. ““We believe direct-air capture will work, but needs more innovation and technologies to bring the costs down,” Aramco’s chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, said at an event Sunday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as he announced the project. Extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere rather than sources of emissions, the direct-air method is the costliest application of carbon capture, according to the International Energy Agency.”
OPINION
Government Accountability Project: On the Future of Democracy and the Environment: The Mountain Valley Pipeline
Adam Arnold, 10/6/23
Democracy and environmental protection in the United States face common challenges, namely the influence of money on politics and the tendency of industry to concern itself with short-term profit rather than long-term sustainability and public safety,” Adam Arnold writes for the Government Accountability Project. “Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) illuminates these concerns admirably. His machinations and his opportunistic reliance on an ethically-suspect Supreme Court have paid off for him, at the expense of the environment and the voting public. The Supreme Court’s approval of construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVPL), which will transport natural gas from West Virginia through Virginia to North Carolina, gave the win to Senator Manchin, who threatened to explode 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) unless it left room for fossil fuel projects like the MVPL. Hailed as the best effort yet to address climate change, the IRA is falling short of its potential through the undue influence of Senator Manchin and other short-sighted public officials, and their corporate backers. Since the IRA’s passage, Manchin has railed against its implementation regarding green energy projects, seemingly forgetting that combatting climate change is a principal goal of the IRA. The Senator then proceeded to double down on his anti-democratic ideals, not only coercing funding for the MVPL into the deal that raised the federal debt ceiling earlier this year, but including provisions to make further litigation against the pipeline’s construction illegal. This outrageous giveaway to corporate power is what the Supreme Court ultimately approved. Lamentably, the Biden Administration has also proceeded to undermine its own environmental goals by permitting construction to go forward. In the short-term, the fossil-fuel-loving Senator seems to have done well for himself and his state. In the long term, his failure as a leader will likely be his epitaph. Instead of leading his state away from unsustainability and developing ways to adapt to a future which cannot rely on dirty energy sources, he has chosen the path of corporate greed, and indifference to human health and the environment.”