EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 11/1/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Aberdeen News: Summit lawsuits take issue with pipeline moratorium in Brown Co., fee increases in Edmunds
The Dakota Scout: Carbon pipeline company sues Edmunds County and its commissioners
Prairie Public: PSC chair recuses herself from Summit pipeline decisions
Farm Forum: Navigator could begin pipeline route surveys on South Dakota private land
Interlochen Public Radio: Election 2022: What's Line 5 have to do with it?
The Tyee: Coastal GasLink Halts Work on Pipeline Section
Burnaby Now: Trans Mountain pipeline protesters arrested in Burnaby
Vancouver Sun: B.C. First Nation council that approved Kinder Morgan deal breached fiduciary duty: judge
E&E News: ‘Hubris’: LNG plant officials saw trouble days before blast
Reuters: U.S. regulators want more data on Texas Freeport LNG plant before restart
Rigzone: Onshore Oil And Gas Pipeline Spend To Reach $369B By 2028
Minnesota Reformer: Office owned by Line 3 operator purchased by Indigenous activists for cultural museum
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: Biden Accuses Oil Companies of ‘War Profiteering’ and Threatens Windfall Tax
Politico: House GOP Plans Early 2023 Energy Bill, Search For ‘The Next Solyndra’
E&E News: SCOTUS race-in-admissions case could dim Biden EJ ambitions
STATE UPDATES
Willamette Week: Farmers in Clatskanie Drop Permit Appeal That Threatened Huge Renewable Diesel Refinery Along Columbia River
Bakersfield Californian: Consortium looks to apply for $800M in federal support for carbon management
EXTRACTION
Yahoo Finance: Canada's oil industry wants 'even footing' with Americans on carbon capture
Argus Media: Cash grabs and carbon capture in Canada’s oil sands
Bloomberg: A Methane Cloud Highlights Cracks in Canada’s Climate Ambitions
CBS News: LAX terminal evacuated, four workers fall ill due to CO2 gas leak [VIDEO]
OPINION
The Invading Sea: The Inflation Reduction Act helps the environment, but its drilling provisions threaten communities along the Gulf of Mexico
PIPELINE NEWS
Aberdeen News: Summit lawsuits take issue with pipeline moratorium in Brown Co., fee increases in Edmunds
Elisa Sand, 10/31/22
“Both Brown and Edmunds counties are facing federal lawsuits filed by Summit Carbon Solutions and an ethanol plant investor,” the Aberdeen News reports. “The case involving Brown County takes issue with a one-year moratorium on permits for hazardous waste pipelines that was approved earlier this year by county commissioners. In Edmunds County, the suit objects to considerable permit fee increases related to the construction of hazardous pipelines. The freshly filed federal lawsuits claim both counties violated federal law, but for distinctly separate actions. Filing the lawsuits are Ron Alverson, an investor in multiple ethanol plants and founding member of Dakota Ethanol in Lake County, and SCS Carbon Transport, which has filed a permit with the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission to build a 1,900-mile a carbon capture and sequestration pipeline from Iowa to North Dakota… “The Brown County Commission passed a one-year moratorium on the construction of hazardous material pipelines on July 19. The aim is to give the county's Planning and Zoning Department an opportunity to review its zoning regulations. Edmunds County commissioners passed a resolution on April 12 stating the board's opposition to the Summit pipeline. Right after that, the county also increased three fees related to hazardous utilities in the county highway right of way. According to the lawsuits, both actions violate federal regulations, specifically the Pipeline Safety Act, which calls for the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish safety standards for pipeline transportation and pipeline facilities. Because federal law regulates pipelines and safety standards, the local actions conflict with federal regulations and become an obstacle, per the Brown County lawsuit. The lawsuits also claim that the states do not have the authority to adopt safety standards for pipelines and points to Hand County where a moratorium resolution was passed in April and then rescinded in July… “Edmunds County's actions also violate state law, according to the lawsuit filed against the commission. Per state code, fees should be set to cover the cost and expense of supervision or regulation. The lawsuit claims the fees set by Edmunds County go beyond the limits of a fee and more resemble a tax.”
The Dakota Scout: Carbon pipeline company sues Edmunds County and its commissioners
Jonathan Ellis, 10/31/22
“Summit Carbon Solutions opened another front in its bid to build a carbon pipeline through South Dakota, suing Edmunds County and the county’s commissioners Friday,” The Dakota Scout reports. “The company was joined in the lawsuit by Ronald Alverson, a corn farmer and the founder of Dakota Ethanol in Lake County that would be served by the pipeline. SCS and Alverson contend that Edmunds County commissioners violated federal law and overstepped their taxing authority in state law when, on April 12, the commission passed a resolution establishing its opposition to the project. With that resolution came fee increases aimed at the pipeline…”
Prairie Public: PSC chair recuses herself from Summit pipeline decisions
DAVE THOMPSON, 10/31/22
“The chair of the North Dakota Public Service Commission has recused herself from any siting decisions on the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions carbon dioxide pipeline,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. “Julie Fedorchak said she and her husband own land in Oliver County, and a year ago they signed a contract with Summit to store CO2 on their land. She told her two fellow regulators that she wants to avoid any perceived conflict of interest in the case, Prairie Public reported… "The company has pledged to have as much as 100% of the easements required for the pipeline project secured voluntarily," Fedorchak said. "They were nowhere near that amount in the application filed with the commission." “...Fedorchak told PP she supports her PSC colleagues if they want to refrain from making a decision on the project until the company has a more sizable amount of easements received voluntarily… “Fedorchak also told PP carbon capture is an emerging and significant new industry. "Carbon capture and storage is a really important tool for allowing the future use and development of fossil fuels, while also meeting some of the environmental goals that so many in this world think need to be achieved," she told PP. "I have high hopes for North Dakota to find a way to be a leader in this. We have incredible opportunities."
Farm Forum: Navigator could begin pipeline route surveys on South Dakota private land
Dominik Dausch, 10/31/22
“The 30-day interlude before Navigator CO2 Ventures, a Nebraska-based company with designs to build a $3 billion hazardous liquid carbon dioxide pipeline in South Dakota, could enter private property without permission is now over,” Farm Forum reports. “On Sept. 27, Navigator submitted a siting permit application for their Heartland Greenway CO2 project to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, fulfilling a prerequisite in South Dakota Codified Law 21-35-31 that could allow them to conduct land surveys without needing the express permission of landowners on the route of their 1,300-mile pipeline, 111 of which will run through Brookings, Moody, Minnehaha, Lincoln and Turner counties. One day later, Navigator also sent letters to a number of affected landowners, providing them with at least a month's notice of when they plan to enter their properties, fulfilling the other prerequisite of the law. Brian Jorde, an attorney representing a number of landowners who received letters from Navigator, told Farm Forum on Friday the company is operating under the assumption South Dakota's eminent domain laws - that an entity can take private property for public uses - work in their favor and may file lawsuits against landowners who attempt to bar surveyors from accessing their property. According to SDCL 21-35-31, people or organizations to whom eminent domain applies may examine and survey sites for their facilities as necessary. Jorde, however, told the Forum this provision does not explicitly apply to Navigator. "Their interpretation is similar to Summit [Carbon Solutions] in that they only have to send a 30-day notice and they can do drilling and trenching and other invasive efforts on landowner's property," the Omaha, Nebraska-based attorney told the Forum. Jorde previously filed injunctions against Summit Carbon Solutions, another carbon capture company that plans to construct a 2,000-mile pipeline through South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska. Summit sued three sets of Iowan property owners in September for immediate access to their lands, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, while Navigator filed similar injunctions against four sets of landowners in August. Summit has withdrawn at least one request for temporary access as of Oct. 20. Jorde told the Forum Navigator's legal counsel reached out to him and indicated they will not survey land owners under his representation, but he added the development is a warning to landowners to seek legal counsel.”
Interlochen Public Radio: Election 2022: What's Line 5 have to do with it?
11/1/22
“While Line 5 itself is not on the ballot, the debate around the future of the 69-year-old pipeline is linked to many other topics this election cycle. Candidates and voters’ opinions on Line 5 are formed at the intersection of energy security, climate change, clean water, the economy and more,” Interlochen Public Radio reports. “...And since the last election year, the conversation has ramped up. In November of 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer filed suit against Enbridge, the company that operates Line 5. She terminated its easement in the Straits of Mackinac, which has allowed Enbridge to cross those state waters since 1953. Whitmer’s order said Line 5 poses an “unreasonable risk” to the freshwater of the Great Lakes. But Enbridge hasn’t complied with that order – and the company told IPR its working to safeguard the pipeline… “Like many races in Michigan, these candidate’s stances on Line 5 fall firmly along party lines. Barb Conley supports a shutdown, and not the tunnel project. “If a leak happens, not only will it spoil our recreational opportunities but it will also ruin probably all of our tourism,” Conley told IPR. “We’ve got to press for closing Line 5. And I do understand it’s an international issue right at the moment.” “...All 12 of Michigan’s tribal governments say Line 5 and the tunnel project threaten those rights.That’s all litigation that the next state senator from the 37th district will have nothing to do with. But a candidate’s position on Line 5 is reflective of their stance on the environment – and there’s actually some common ground there.”
The Tyee: Coastal GasLink Halts Work on Pipeline Section
Amanda Follett Hosgood, 11/1/22
“Coastal GasLink has halted construction on a section of its pipeline route about 100 kilometres north of Prince George over failures to live up to a compliance agreement with the environment ministry,” The Tyee reports. “The halt follows an Oct. 14 order issued to the company by the ministry, which confirmed the shutdown Monday… “Last week, a spokesperson for TC Energy, the parent company building the pipeline, told The Tyee it was “working with the EAO [Environmental Assessment Office] to understand the specifics behind this order.” But it added that no work had stopped along the pipeline route and it did not believe it was out of compliance with the agreement it signed with the province that aimed to stem the flow of sediment-laden water into waterways… “That appeared to contradict a statement from the ministry that said Coastal GasLink must cease construction activities where work was not following approved plans. “Once CGL fixes activities so the work follows what’s in the work plan, or revises the work plan and gets EAO approval on it, they will be in compliance and can resume work in any area where work had stopped,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy said last week in an email to The Tyee. The spokesperson said that inspectors had found “instances of noncompliance” but added that the environment was not impacted by the infractions… “Under the agreement, the company must develop “work execution plans” for 32 specific sections along the pipeline route where construction has not yet begun. The plans must be developed by a qualified professional, independently reviewed and approved by the EAO before construction can go ahead… “Erosion and sediment-control issues were first identified along the pipeline route two years ago. Since then, the company has been issued more than a half-dozen orders for allowing sediment-laden water to flow into watersheds. It has also received two fines totalling almost $250,000.”
Burnaby Now: Trans Mountain pipeline protesters arrested in Burnaby
Lauren Vanderdeen, 10/31/22
“RCMP descended upon a Trans Mountain pipeline demonstration on Monday morning (Oct. 31) and arrested three protesters,” Burnaby Now reports. “The activists were arrested for criminal contempt of court and released to appear in court at a later date, according to an RCMP press release. The volunteer organization, Protect the Planet, set up tents along the Brunette Fraser Regional Greenway off the 8700-block of Government Street last week, adjacent to the pipeline construction site. The group said it wants to keep watch over the construction activities, particularly those close to salmon-bearing Stoney Creek. The three people arrested were Khursten Bullock, 35, Lorne Salter, 76, and Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta, 79, according to a press release from Protect the Planet. It has set up a second camp outside the injunction zone since the arrests.”
Vancouver Sun: B.C. First Nation council that approved Kinder Morgan deal breached fiduciary duty: judge
Keith Fraser, 10/31/22
“A First Nation council that signed a deal to allow Kinder Morgan to run the Trans-Mountain Pipeline project through its reserve has been found to have breached its fiduciary duty,” the Vancouver Sun reports. “In December 2016, two members of the Peters Indian Band near Hope sued the First Nation’s chief and two council members over a decision to approve payments from Kinder Morgan in connection with the pipeline project. Earlier that year, the three-member council had approved a distribution of Kinder Morgan funds of $30,000 to each member of the First Nation. Andrew Genaille and his sister, Lisa Genaille, claimed that a majority of electors had not given the council consent to dispose of revenues and that the council did not conduct itself in a business-like fashion, including the holding of meetings that were not open to the membership… “The plaintiffs also claimed that the defendants appointed themselves and their immediate family members without competition to multiple paid positions, overpaid themselves and their family members, and paid themselves for meetings with Kinder Morgan without disclosing those payments. They also alleged that the defendants paid themselves bonuses from Kinder Morgan funds that exceeded the distribution to the members… “In her ruling on the case, posted on the court’s website Monday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Julianne Lamb concluded that the defendants had breached their fiduciary duty to the membership… “Victoria Peters was ordered to pay $50,000 in punitive damages, Chief Norma Webb was ordered to pay $25,000 in punitive damages, and Leanne Peters was ordered to pay $10,000 in punitive damages.”
E&E News: ‘Hubris’: LNG plant officials saw trouble days before blast
Mike Lee, Mike Soraghan, 11/1/22
“For at least two days before a pipe exploded at its Texas gas export terminal, Freeport LNG had been trying to figure out what was wrong, records show,” E&E News reports. “The June 8 blast forced the plant to close and took almost a fifth of U.S. liquefied natural gas exports offline. But there is no indication in an investigatory report obtained by E&E News that the company stopped operating to fix the problem before the explosion... “The managers didn’t halt operations because they didn’t want to acknowledge there was a problem in the plant, according to a consultant hired by the company to do an in-house investigation. “It was hubris,” the consultant said in a recorded conversation with investigators from the fire marshal’s office in Brazoria County, where the plant is located. E&E News obtained the recordings and the report under the Texas Public Information Act. The plant’s managers seemed to assume “‘I know everything, and I couldn’t possibly be running a facility that had a line blocked in,’” the consultant added. The managers brought in an outside engineer to troubleshoot the problem with the pipe the day before the explosion. But the fire marshal’s report says that “someone did not listen to him and react to the pipe moving.” The pipe was filled with liquefied natural gas and was likely blocked for four days by an improperly closed relief valve, causing pipes to move on their support structure as pressure built up, according to the investigator’s report… “The fire marshal’s report shows how serious the explosion could have been… “The county investigators weren’t able to obtain photos that the consultant at IFO Group took of the blast damage or the consultant’s final report. An attorney for the law firm King & Spalding LLP declined to release the report and photographs to the county investigators in late August, saying the information was “private” and that the county would receive a copy “as soon as it was released.” Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s energy program, told E&E the company’s secrecy is a bad sign. “They have an obligation to be more forthright with the public.”
Reuters: U.S. regulators want more data on Texas Freeport LNG plant before restart
10/31/22
“U.S. federal regulators have told Freeport LNG to provide information needed for the planned restart of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Texas, the second-largest U.S. LNG export plant, as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for review,” Reuters reports. “Freeport shut on June 8 due to a pipeline explosion. The company has said it expects the 2.1 billion cubic-feet-per-day plant to return to at least partial service in early- to mid-November… “The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said in a filing on Monday that it participated in a call on Oct. 27 with the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and Freeport LNG to discuss "ongoing damage assessments, repair work plans and plans for restart." On that call, FERC said both FERC and PHMSA reiterated the need for Freeport to provide "the status and schedule of implementing the findings, recommendations, and lessons learned resulting from the root cause investigation and assessments" as soon as possible to allow sufficient review time. Freeport cannot restart without regulatory approval.”
Rigzone: Onshore Oil And Gas Pipeline Spend To Reach $369B By 2028
Bojan Lepic, 10/31/22
“Initial findings from Westwood’s upcoming onshore pipeline market forecast indicate that the outlook for oil and gas-related pipelines has improved in 2021, driven by higher commodity prices and a recognition from numerous markets that diversification in supply is required,” Rigzone reports. “Overall, almost 310,000km of new pipelines are forecast to be installed between 2022 and 2028, translating into a spend of $369 billion. Westwood said that the expenditure and number of additional kilometers installed were expected to be led by North America, with pipelines to increase gas offtake capacity in the US’ major shale plays leading demand. The cost per kilometer installed in the region is forecast to be among the highest globally with labor costs and significant legal challenges and permitting issues pushing up costs strongly in the region… “Gas pipelines are forecast to lead demand over the forecast with 205,000km planned to be installed 2022-2028, 66% of the total… “Despite the general positivity, key challenges the industry has faced in recent years remain prevalent. Construction and material costs, which were already impacting the economic viability of many pipeline projects, have risen heavily in 2022 potentially impacting the economic viability of some projects, especially in high-cost regions such as North America. At the same time, public opposition to pipeline projects remains extremely strong, with protests and pressure on financial institutions to stop funding oil and gas-related projects delaying and potentially leading to the cancellation of some projects. This can translate into permitting problems as local counties deny permits, stalling projects regardless of what commodity prices sit at.”
Minnesota Reformer: Office owned by Line 3 operator purchased by Indigenous activists for cultural museum
MICHELLE GRIFFITH, 10/31/22
“A former office owned by Enbridge — operator of the Line 3 oil pipeline in northern Minnesota — was purchased by an Indigenous and environmental rights nonprofit that will turn the building into a treaty rights and culture museum,” the Minnesota Reformer reports. “ Honor the Earth, a local women-led organization, has fought Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline for more than seven years. The nonprofit will turn the Park Rapids office space, which was a former Carnegie library prior to Enbridge’s ownership, into the Giiwedinong Treaty Rights and Culture Museum. Giiwedinong means “in, at, to the north,” in Ojibwe. “We’re going to turn this former Enbridge building into a monument to Indigenous history, culture, treaty and civil rights to help change the narrative in the Deep North, which will likely include at some point a powerful exhibit about the Line 3 struggle,” said Winona LaDuke, executive director and co-founder of Honor the Earth, in a news release.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: Biden Accuses Oil Companies of ‘War Profiteering’ and Threatens Windfall Tax
Peter Baker and Clifford Krauss, 10/31/22
“President Biden threatened on Monday to seek a new windfall profits tax on major oil and gas companies unless they ramp up production to curb the price of gasoline at the pump, an escalation of his battle with the energy industry just a week before the midterm elections,” the New York Times reports. “The president lashed out against the giant firms as several of them reported the latest surge in profits, which he called an “outrageous” bonanza stemming from Russia’s war on Ukraine. He warned them to use the money to expand oil supplies or return it to consumers in the form of price reductions. “If they don’t, they’re going to pay a higher tax on their excess profits and face other restrictions,” Mr. Biden told reporters at the White House. “My team will work with Congress to look at these options that are available to us and others. It’s time for these companies to stop war profiteering, meet their responsibilities to this country, give the American people a break and still do very well.” The president’s embrace of new taxes on the energy industry heartened liberals in his party who have been urging him to take action for months. But it was more of a way to pressure the oil firms than a realistic policy prescription for the short term given that Congress is not even in session and would be even less likely to approve such a measure if Republicans capture one or both houses in next week’s election… “The oil industry accused the president of politicking, noting that gas prices have come down by roughly a quarter since summer. “Rather than taking credit for price declines and shifting blame for price increases,” said Mike Sommers, the president of the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, “the Biden administration should get serious about addressing the supply-and-demand imbalance that has caused higher gas prices and created long-term energy challenges.”
Politico: House GOP Plans Early 2023 Energy Bill, Search For ‘The Next Solyndra’
JOSH SIEGEL, KELSEY TAMBORRINO, 10/31/22
“Republicans are planning a legislative push to try to boost production of fossil fuels and low-carbon sources like renewables, small nuclear reactors and hydrogen if they win control of the House in the midterm election — along with probes of how the Biden administration is spending its hundreds of billions of dollars of newly approved climate money,” Politico reports. “The plan, described by a dozen current and former House lawmakers, aides and outside allies, seeks to build on the political momentum that the GOP claimed on energy policy this year, when jumps in fuel and electricity prices battered President Joe Biden’s popularity and complicated his climate agenda. Conservatives have used the rising costs to paint Biden and his party as hostile to U.S. energy production, even as the country remains the world’s top oil and natural gas producer… “A senior House GOP policy adviser told Politico that Republicans’ permitting legislation — modeled after a broad NEPA overhaul bill introduced in 2020 by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) — would be a starting point of negotiations with congressional Democrats and Biden… “House Republicans are also planning to scrutinize how the Biden administration deploys the $370 billion in clean energy measures that Congress approved in Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act — though that GOP effort could risk undermining investments in energy improvements that would benefit red states.”
E&E News: SCOTUS race-in-admissions case could dim Biden EJ ambitions
Pamela King, 10/31/22
“The Supreme Court on Monday seemed sympathetic to arguments for “race-neutral” policies in college admissions decisions — and their ruling could be a stumbling block for President Joe Biden’s goal to remedy Black communities’ disproportionate exposure to pollution,” E&E News reports. “During oral arguments, some of the most moderate members of the six-justice conservative wing pondered the extent to which race-neutral considerations — such as socioeconomic factors and cultural struggles — could be used to achieve schools’ diversity goals. “Do you think those are appropriate, even if the attempt in adopting them is to reach minority students?” Chief Justice John Roberts asked Patrick Strawbridge, a partner at the firm Consovoy McCarthy PLLC representing the anti-affirmative action group Students for Fair Admissions. Legal observers tell E&E that a ruling endorsing race-neutral approaches could dilute efforts to admit students from underrepresented groups. Depending how broadly the opinion is written, it could also undermine one of Biden’s marquee campaign promises to address disproportionate pollution and climate impacts in Black neighborhoods. Biden’s White House Council on Environmental Quality drew backlash after it unveiled a new screening tool to identify disadvantaged communities for extra federal investment and left out race as a factor. The tool instead focused on factors like pollution-linked health issues and low income.”
STATE UPDATES
Willamette Week: Farmers in Clatskanie Drop Permit Appeal That Threatened Huge Renewable Diesel Refinery Along Columbia River
Anthony Effinger, 10/22/22
“The board of the Beaver Drainage Improvement Company dropped a legal challenge that threatened to delay or even deep-six plans by Next Renewable Fuels to build the largest renewable diesel refinery in the country on land along the Columbia River near Clatskanie,” the Willamette Week reports. “At the same time, the board voted yesterday to reject a settlement agreement from Next that would have paid $3.5 million over 10 years to help the BDIC care for the aging levees in return for full-throated support for Next’s plans and a guarantee never to oppose them. By rejecting the settlement, the BDIC maintains its right to weigh in on the refinery project as it goes through the approval process… “Previous BDIC meetings have been contentious, with landowners in the drainage district speaking out against Next, saying that the proposed $2.5 billion plant at Port Westward, which sits amid the drainage, will foul the air, pave over valuable farmland, and create an earthquake hazard on silty land that sits below river level behind aging levees. The Columbia Riverkeeper and 1000 Friends of Oregon also oppose the plant. Like biodiesel, renewable diesel can be made from nonpetroleum sources such as used cooking oil. Next has said it plans to use waste from fish-processing plants in the Northwest and Asia. Oregon law encourages the use of renewable diesel because it releases far fewer greenhouse gases than petroleum when it’s burned, though it does require the addition of hydrogen, which, in Next’s case, will come from natural gas. The plant needs myriad approvals, including one from the Oregon Department of State Lands that allows it to remove soil or fill in wetlands. Next got that permit in March, but the BDIC appealed it, saying Next’s plans needed further study. The drainage district dropped that appeal yesterday.”
Bakersfield Californian: Consortium looks to apply for $800M in federal support for carbon management
JOHN COX, 10/29/22
“Kern's vaunted future as a carbon management capital may hinge on a cooperative effort coming together locally to compete against other parts of the country for a share of $3.5 billion approved under last year's federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” the Bakersfield Californian reports. “A consortium of oil companies and other organizations is being finalized to prepare a bid for $800 million or more to help make the county home to one of four U.S. hubs that by no later than 2029 would pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere — "direct air capture," or DAC — to begin to slow global warming… “Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the Bay Area, partner to Cal State Bakersfield and the Kern Community College District and now a member of the consortium, see DAC — a form of carbon capture and sequestration, or CCS — as an opportunity for California to make strong progress toward its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045. For the county, they say, it's also a chance to create safe, quality jobs… “But a challenge that will have to be overcome first, evident during a pair of energy-related conferences last week in Bakersfield, is opposition by local environmental justice advocates concerned primarily about safety risks from potential CO2 leaks. None other than Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, called for setting aside CCS in favor of greater focus on producing clean energy… “A central figure in the effort is Long Beach-based California Resources Corp., a leading oil producer in Kern that is probably the furthest along of several local companies pursuing CCS. CRC's fully owned subsidiary Carbon TerraVault has already filed for two permits for permanently injecting CO2 at its Elk Hills property in western Kern. President and CEO Mark A. "Mac" McFarland told the Californian local CCS proponents need to sit down and have a discussion with environmental justice communities about what carbon management means and how it fits within the community." "I think understanding EJ's concerns and working to alleviate those" will be important, McFarland told the Californian, "but we're working on a common problem, so there should be an ability to find common ground."
EXTRACTION
Yahoo Finance: Canada's oil industry wants 'even footing' with Americans on carbon capture
Jeff Lagerquist, 10/31/22
“Canada's oil industry says government incentives to build carbon capture projects are "much more generous" in the United States, a gap the largest companies hope Ottawa will narrow in its promised response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in August,” Yahoo Finance reports. “Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has said Canada needs to "respond to" certain "elements" of the climate spending-heavy IRA, suggesting the first actions on this front will be revealed in the fall economic statement set for Nov. 3. Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said last Tuesday that the US$369 billion in public money earmarked by U.S. lawmakers for energy security and climate change has "created a playing field that is not level" between the two nations… “Mark Cameron is vice-president of external relations for the Pathways Alliance, a net zero-focused partnership between six of Canada's largest oil sands producers: Suncor Energy (SU.TO)(SU), Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO)(CVE), Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO)(CNQ), Imperial, MEG Energy (MEG.TO), and ConocoPhillips Canada (COP). The group claims to collectively represent about 95 per cent of Canada's oil sands production. "We're encouraged to hear Ottawa acknowledge the need to ensure Canada is on even footing with the United States and other countries to incentivize major emissions reduction investments," Cameron told Yahoo Finance Canada in a statement. Earlier this month, the Pathways Alliance announced the centrepiece of its net-zero-by-2050 pledge, a conditional $24.1 billion investment on a carbon capture and storage facility and pipeline in northern Alberta, along with other emissions reduction projects. The first phase calls for an investment of $16.5 billion by 2030. However, the Pathways Alliance has not made a final investment decision on the project. When it was announced, president Kendall Dilling said the group is looking for more financial support before it pulls the trigger. He told The Canadian Press the federal investment tax credit for carbon capture and storage projects, rolled out earlier this year, targets only a fraction of lifetime costs for facilities… “At the same time, Cameron told YF financial backing from foreign investors will be increasingly hard to come by, with Norway and the Netherlands emerging alongside the U.S. as popular destinations for carbon capture investors.”
Argus Media: Cash grabs and carbon capture in Canada’s oil sands
Brett Holmes, 10/31/22
“Canada's four largest crude producers — Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus, Suncor and Imperial Oil — made a combined C$12.5bn ($9.2bn) of profit in the second quarter, but rising cash flow has seen them stand by their relatively new mantra of giving back to shareholders rather than allocating capital for greenfield projects. This trend is expected to continue in the third quarter,” Argus Media reports. “Fiscal discipline combined with a steady march higher in prices and improved access to downstream markets has made 2022 one of the strongest years on record for Canada's oil sands region — and a cash-flow paradise… “The Pathways Alliance — comprising the four largest producers, MEG Energy and US firm ConocoPhillips — this month unveiled plans for phase one of its net-zero investment that would put C$16.5bn towards a system where carbon from more than 20 oil sands sites in northern Alberta would be collected and transported for storage in provincial underground resources. A further C$7.6bn of projects could contribute to the goal of reducing the group's emissions by a total of 22mn t CO2 by 2030 before ultimately getting to net zero by 2050 through further initiatives. The alliance appears ready to embark on its carbon capture mega-project, but needs the provincial government, and the federal government of prime minister Justin Trudeau, to provide financial support comparable to that seen in Europe. Capital and operating costs at carbon capture projects in Norway and the Netherlands are covered in part by the government. Co-funding from the governments of Canada and Alberta, realistic emissions reductions targets, and a competitive regulatory environment are needed to proceed, the alliance says.”
Bloomberg: A Methane Cloud Highlights Cracks in Canada’s Climate Ambitions
Aaron Clark, Zahra Hirji, and Akshat Rathi, 10/31/22
“Canadian regulators said they were unaware of a methane cloud spotted by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P satellite last month near gas pipelines, highlighting a disconnect between the nation’s climate ambitions and its emissions, which are the second highest per capita among G-20 countries,” Bloomberg reports. “...Geoanalytics firm Kayrros SAS, which analyzed data from Sentinel-5P, identified the Sept. 28 plume. The French-based firm estimated the methane cloud had an emissions rate of 11 metric tons an hour. If the event lasted an hour at that rate, it would have the same short-term climate impact as the annual carbon emissions equivalent from about 200 US cars. Kayrros attributed the cloud to the oil and gas sector. Both federal and local regulators told Bloomberg they weren’t informed of the plume, observed near the Albertan town of Lloydminster, close to the Saskatchewan-Alberta border in an area dense with oil and gas infrastructure… “Still, the responses suggest holes in the country’s emissions reporting and tracking efforts and paint a picture at odds with the climate progress Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country had made in an interview with Bloomberg Green in Ottawa on Oct. 18. Trudeau said that if Canada’s oil and gas operators reduce their emissions intensity there is room for the nation to expand its production. Many climate scientists and activists argue that expanding fossil fuel output is incompatible with averting catastrophic climate change, because existing infrastructure contributes so much emissions already through intentional releases and accidental leaks.”
CBS News: LAX terminal evacuated, four workers fall ill due to CO2 gas leak [VIDEO]
Kara Finnstrom, 10/31/22
“Kara Finnstrom reports from LAX, where four people fell ill Monday morning after being exposed to a [carbon dioxide] gas leak in a utility room. One person was said to be in critical condition. Officials evacuated the terminal due to the possible threat to the public, which has since been lifted,” according to CBS News.
OPINION
The Invading Sea: The Inflation Reduction Act helps the environment, but its drilling provisions threaten communities along the Gulf of Mexico
Joanie Steinhaus is the Gulf Program Director with the Turtle Island Restoration Network where she teaches youths and communities about the impacts that they have on the environment, 10/28/22
“When President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act two months ago, the bill’s shortcomings—new leases for offshore drilling and other fossil fuel giveaways—were lost in the heraldry,” Joanie Steinhaus writes for The Invading Sea. “...The single most important thing we can do for the ocean is cut emissions. So it’s worth celebrating that the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) investment in clean energy and other climate solutions will help the U.S. slash harmful greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 40%. Additionally, it strengthens hurricane forecasting and invests in coastal restoration projects, which will help protect vulnerable families and businesses from severe storms and rising seas. While these provisions are good news for the ocean, other parts of the bill undercut these benefits at the expense of the ocean and the Gulf’s frontline communities. The IRA also delivered a huge handout to the fossil fuel industry by mandating lease sales for oil and gas drilling that had previously been on hold due to legitimate environmental concerns… “The passage of the bill also set the stage for “side deal” legislation that would undermine environmental laws that give these communities a voice in the development and siting of fossil fuel projects… “Fortunately, Biden has an immediate opportunity to minimize the damage that from the IRA’s mandated oil and gas lease sales. The Department of Interior can adopt a 5-Year-Plan with no new oil and gas leasing and thereby uphold Biden’s campaign promise… “In addition, the President must reject the Schumer and Manchin side-deal. The irony that our nation’s most extensive climate bill hinged on the expansion of oil and gas production is not lost on Americans. The window to fight climate change is rapidly closing. While America is taking an important step forward, we should not undermine that progress with further expansions in fossil fuel development that continue to affect frontline communities.”