EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 11/24/21
Note to Readers: “Extracted” will not be published on Nov. 25-26. The next edition will arrive on Monday, Nov. 29.
PIPELINE NEWS
Facebook: Gidimt'en Checkpoint [VIDEO]: The RCMP violently raided unceded Gidimt’en territory
VICE: Pipeline Company Wants Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders to ‘Prove’ They’re Indigenous
CHCH [VIDEO]: Hamiltonians hold a rally to support indigenous people being arrested in B.C.
Reuters: Giant pipeline in U.S. Midwest tests future of carbon capture
KIWA: Informational Meetings Planned In Our Area About Proposed Carbon Pipeline
The Hill: Manchin calls on Biden to restore Keystone XL pipeline
Toledo Blade: Ohio energy execs express concerns to Rep. Latta about Line 5, supply chain issues
Athens Messenger: Seven Athens County protesters face felony charges over Minnesota pipeline protests
Jefferson Public Radio: Feds tell Jordan Cove developers to ‘clarify’ their intentions
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: Exxon lobbyist questions urgency of climate’s catastrophic risks
E&E News: EPA forces natural gas plants to make pollution data public
National Law Review: Technical Conference Sparks Debate Over FERC’s Legal Authority To Consider Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Pipeline Certification Review
Politico: A FIRST FOR FERC
STATE UPDATES
Capital and Main: New Mexico’s Draft Plan for Hydrogen a Nonstarter for Environmentalists
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: Environmentalists threaten Premier Kenney with lawsuit over Alberta inquiry remarks
Edmonton Journal: Alberta legislature moves to formally condemn David Suzuki's warnings about pipeline destruction
Reuters: Western Canada to boost oil, gas drilling to pre-pandemic levels - CAOEC
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Kemptville Advance: New Enbridge Courtyard to provide shaded gathering space at Kemptville's Riverside Park
Stratford Beacon Herald: St. Marys' Fire Department to benefit from Enbridge Gas donation
OPINION
AgWeb: Did Biden's Decision to Block Keystone XL Pipeline Permit Cause Gas Prices to Rise?
City & State PA: Shapiro, stop the Mariner East pipeline
Talking Points Memo: The Oil Industry’s Pivot To Carbon Capture And Storage—While It Keeps On Drilling—Isn’t A Climate Change Solution
OilPrice.com: The Oil And Gas Industry Is Facing A $3.3 Trillion Stranded Asset Nightmare
PIPELINE NEWS
Facebook: Gidimt'en Checkpoint [VIDEO]: The RCMP violently raided unceded Gidimt’en territory
11/24/21
“The RCMP violently raided unceded Gidimt’en territory on November 19th, 2021, removing Indigenous women from their land at gunpoint on behalf of TC Energy’s proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline. The raid involved about 50 police, including 20 tactical officers in green military fatigues, with assault weapons and attack dogs who surrounded the camp. During the raid, the RCMP breached two structures - Skïy ze’ Cabin, a cabin built on the proposed drill pad site, and a nearby tiny home. RCMP cut the camp’s satellite internet and radio antenna cords. The police attempted to enter the tiny house, but Cas Yikh supporting chief Sleydo' demanded to see a warrant. Police then broke down the door with an axe and a chainsaw belonging to the land defenders, and arrested everyone inside, including Sleydo’. Police also entered Skïy ze’ cabin with a chainsaw and arrested everyone there, including Dinï ze’ Woos’ daughter, Jocey. For 56 days, Gidimt’en land defenders (under the direction of Dinï ze’ Woos) re-occupied their ancestral Cas Yikh territory, blocking the Coastal Gaslink pipeline from drilling beneath Wet’suwet’en headwaters. The land reclamation known as Coyote Camp was established to protect the sacred Wedzin Kwa. Over the course of November 18th-19th, 32 people were arrested, including 3 journalists and 3 Legal Observers. All land defenders have now been released from prison, with a February 14th, 2022 court date.”
VICE: Pipeline Company Wants Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders to ‘Prove’ They’re Indigenous
Anya Zoledziowski, 11/23/21
“Wet’suwet’en land defenders fighting a pipeline in their territory say the oil and gas company behind the pipeline is asking two people who’ve been arrested to “prove” they’re Indigenous,” VICE reports. “Coastal GasLink (CGL), a subsidiary of TC Energy, is asking Sleydo’, or Molly Wickham, to “provide documentation to ‘prove’ she is Wet’suwet’en, and is seeking conditions that would bar her from returning to her home,” says a statement released by Wet’suwet’en Gidimt’en camp. The statement says the company is also challenging the status of Hereditary Chief Woos’ daughter, Jocelyn Alec, as a Wet’suwet’en person. TC Energy told VICE World News in an email that “under no circumstances” would CGL ask people to prove they’re Indigenous. But the company then confirmed its lawyers asked “relevant contemnors,” a person found guilty of contempt, to confirm to the courts that they are Wet’suwet’en. “This was to ensure access to allow the relevant contemnors to practice their Indigenous rights while under the court’s conditions,” the company said. (VICE World News asked TC Energy what this means and will update the story if we hear back.) “...Coastal GasLink’s proposed conditions of release are punitive, unreasonable, and, in targeting Sleydo’ and Jocelyn, completely racist and sexist,” Jennifer Wickham, a Wet’suwet’en spokesperson and Molly Wickham’s sister, told VICE. “Allowing a private corporation to determine two Indigenous women’s identities and allowing this corporation to deny our inherent rights to be Wet’suwet’en on our territory is a very dangerous precedent.”
CHCH [VIDEO]: Hamiltonians hold a rally to support indigenous people being arrested in B.C.
Dominick Nagy, 11/21/21
“A large message was painted on a downtown Hamilton city street in support of a First Nations fighting against a gas line project in British Columbia. Members of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation are occupying the area which resulted in many raids and arrests by the RCMP,” CHCH reports.
Reuters: Giant pipeline in U.S. Midwest tests future of carbon capture
By Leah Douglas, 11/23/21
“Dan Tronchetti received a letter in August that alarmed him: Summit Carbon Solutions, a company he'd never heard of, wanted his permission to conduct survey work for a 2,000-mile pipeline it planned to route through his Iowa corn and soybean fields,” Reuters reports. “The project, dubbed the Midwest Carbon Express, had ambitions to become the world's largest carbon dioxide pipeline, moving climate-warming greenhouse gases from Midwest biofuels plants to North Dakota for permanent storage underground. But Tronchetti's first concern was for his livelihood. "It would go more than half a mile through prime farmland," he told Reuters. The 65-year-old is among dozens of landowners along the route who are refusing to cede their property to the project, according to Reuters interviews with five landowners, four community groups organizing opposition, several academics and industry sources plus a review of filings with state regulators. The impasse could escalate into potential court battles if Summit tries to seize the land by claiming eminent domain. Such legal fights contributed to the cancellation of the Keystone XL oil pipeline this year… “Iowa, where state law has required Summit to hold public hearings in nearly every county, has emerged as the most contentious. The state's farmers have been outspoken opponents to the project at these meetings, and several – including Tronchetti – are petitioning the Iowa Utilities Board to release the names of other landowners along the route so they can organize. Summit is fighting that effort, according to a Reuters review of the docket, arguing that publishing the list would give advantage to its competitors… “Landowners fear that if they refuse to sign voluntary agreements for Summit to use their land for the pipeline, they could take it under eminent domain laws, as has happened with some oil and gas pipeline projects. Despite that risk, Tronchetti and Bev Kutz, a Nebraska cattle farmer in the path of the pipeline, told Reuters that they and their neighbors had refused to let Summit surveyors onto their property. "This is a private company seeking something that isn't in the best interest of the public," Kutz told Reuters.
KIWA: Informational Meetings Planned In Our Area About Proposed Carbon Pipeline
SCOTT VAN AARTSEN, 11/22/21
“Several public informational meetings are scheduled in the next few weeks to inform landowners in 36 Iowa counties about a proposed large-scale carbon capture pipeline. Navigator Heartland Greenway LLC is the company behind the idea,” KIWA reports. “The pipeline is proposed to span approximately 1,300 miles across five states, including Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota… “Under Iowa Code, the pipeline company is required to hold informational meetings in each county in which real property or property rights would be affected, and the meetings are to be conducted at least 30 days prior to the company filing a petition for a new pipeline permit. The Iowa Utilities Board has scheduled a virtual meeting in addition to the in-person meetings in each affected county and has approved the following schedule of public informational meetings.”
The Hill: Manchin calls on Biden to restore Keystone XL pipeline
BY CAMERON JENKINS, 11/24/21
“Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is calling on President Biden to restore the Keystone XL pipeline as gas prices across the country rise,” The Hill reports. “I continue to call on President Biden to responsibly increase energy production here at home and to reverse course to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be built which would have provided our country with up to 900,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada, one of our closest allies," Manchin said in a Tuesday statement, according to the Gazette in Colorado Spring, Colorado.m"To be clear, this is about American energy independence and the fact that hard-working Americans should not depend on foreign actors, like OPEC+, for our energy security and instead focus on the real challenges facing our country's future," he added. Machin's call for action came shortly after the Biden administration announced a plan on Tuesday to release 50 million barrels of oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to curb rising gas prices, the news outlet noted. In February, Manchin reportedly sided with Republicans who urged Biden to rethink canceling a presidential permit for the pipeline, arguing that pipelines across the country "continue to be the safest mode to transport our oil and natural gas resources, and they support thousands of high-paying, American union jobs.″
Toledo Blade: Ohio energy execs express concerns to Rep. Latta about Line 5, supply chain issues
TOM HENRY, 11/22/21
“U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R., Bowling Green) spent an hour Monday morning hearing officials from the natural gas and propane industries express concerns about the pandemic-driven supply chain backlog, a shortage of commercial truck drivers, and other issues that could complicate efforts to keep Ohioans warm this winter,” the Toledo Blade reports. “But Mr. Latta also made it clear while briefing journalists after the meeting that the ultimate fate of Enbridge’s Line 5 has become a major source of anxiety in Washington as well as the Great Lakes region. “Everybody’s talking about Line 5,” he said. “They find out where you’re from [out in Washington] and they want to talk to you about it.” For the Biden administration, the national debate over pipelines has shifted from Keystone XL to Line 5, Mr. Latta said... “Mr. Latta, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, joined U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R., Jackson, Mich.) and 11 other congressmen — many of them Michigan Republicans — in signing a Nov. 4 letter to President Biden which implored him to keep the pipeline open. Mr. Walberg’s district includes Michigan’s Monroe and Lenawee counties. On Monday, the DeWine administration announced that Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted sent a letter of their own to Mr. Biden, urging him to help keep Line 5 open.”
Athens Messenger: Seven Athens County protesters face felony charges over Minnesota pipeline protests
By Dani Kington, 11/22/21
“A national campaign launched last week calls on Minnesota officials to drop charges against protestors who attempted to stop an oil pipeline, including seven Athens County individuals facing felony charges,” the Athens Messenger reports. “I’m hoping that the felony charge is dropped, but I feel like I had to do what I did,” Athens resident Judy Smucker told the Messenger. “I think about the future of my grandchildren, and I feel like I have a moral obligation to do what I can.” Smucker is among the seven locals facing felony charges for participation in protests designed to block the construction of Embridge Energy’s Line 3, which has since been completed, according to a release from the Canadian company. The pipeline carries tar sands oil and regular crude oil from Alberta to Wisconsin. Protestors argue the pipeline will worsen climate change while violating Native American treaty rights — because spills from the pipeline could adversely impact sensitive areas where Anishinaabe people are guaranteed the right to harvest wild rice, hunt and fish, according to MinnPost. Claudia Sheehan, another Athens County resident facing felony charges due to involvement in the protests, told the Messenger, “The charges should be dropped because we weren’t trespassing — (Embridge was) trespassing. If we respected our treaties, they wouldn’t have been there.”
Jefferson Public Radio: Feds tell Jordan Cove developers to ‘clarify’ their intentions
Liam Moriarty, 11/19/21
“Federal energy regulators want to take another look at the authorization they issued for the Jordan Cove Energy Project in southwest Oregon. It could be a pivotal moment for the controversial project,” Jefferson Public Radio reports. “...After failing to get those permits -- and losing subsequent legal challenges to those denials -- Jordan Cove officials last May said they were “pausing” the project to consider their options. Affected landowners, tribes, environmentalists and Oregon state officials asked FERC to reverse -- or at least put on hold -- Jordan Cove’s authorization. Landowners, in particular, are worried the company could use the eminent domain powers that came with the FERC authorization, even if the project ultimately doesn't get built. Now, FERC wants all parties to submit updated information while it reconsiders. Given the project’s lack of essential state permits, FERC specifically asks Pembina to “clarify” how it intends to move forward. The parties have until December 15th to submit briefs.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: Exxon lobbyist questions urgency of climate’s catastrophic risks
Desmond Butler, 11/24/21
“Just last month, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods assured lawmakers his company neither disputed the scientific consensus on climate change nor lobbied against efforts to cut carbon pollution. But a lobbyist for the oil giant struck a different tone less than two weeks later, according to a recording obtained by the Washington Post, suggesting global warming might not be so dire. Erik Oswald, a vice president and registered lobbyist for Exxon, said during a Nov. 9 panel hosted by the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission in Santa Fe, N.M., highlighted his firm’s financial interest in curbing carbon emissions rather than the dangers posed by climate change. “Is it catastrophic inevitable risk? Not in my mind. But there is risk,” he said, according to a recording that the watchdog group Documented shared with The Post. Oswald emphasized the push to advance technology pulling carbon dioxide out the air as a profit opportunity, rather than a way to mitigate global warming. “The way we think about this is not as the Crusaders who are the climate fix,” he said. “We’re looking at markets.” Exxon spokesman Casey Norton told the Post in an email, “The statements you provided lack appropriate context and are not representative of the company’s positions on important issues, including climate change and carbon capture.” “ExxonMobil has long acknowledged that climate change is real and poses serious risks. In addition to our substantial investments in next generation technologies, ExxonMobil also advocates for responsible climate-related policies.”
E&E News: EPA forces natural gas plants to make pollution data public
By Sean Reilly, 11/23/21
“For the first time, hundreds of natural gas processing plants will have to publicly report emissions of benzene and other hazardous air pollutants,” E&E News reports. “Under a new rule, the facilities would have to report emissions to EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory. The TRI, created by Congress in 1986, is intended to let communities know the types of hazardous pollutants that nearby businesses are discharging. By casting more light on those releases, it’s often credited with increasing public pressure on individual companies to cut them. The requirement, which follows a regulatory battle launched nine years ago, was intensely opposed by industry. It will take effect next year, with the first reports due in July 2023, according to the final rule set for publication in tomorrow’s Federal Register. The minimum estimated compliance costs to industry will amount to at least $11.8 million in the first year, and $5.6 million thereafter, according to EPA. Close to 300 plants could be required to report their emissions, the rule indicates. About 1.4 million people live within 3 miles of one of those plants; adding those facilities to the TRI "will meaningfully increase the information available to the public on releases and other waste management of listed chemicals," it continues.
National Law Review: Technical Conference Sparks Debate Over FERC’s Legal Authority To Consider Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Pipeline Certification Review.
Pierce Atwood LLP, 11/23/21
“On November 19, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (‘FERC’ or ‘Commission’) convened a Staff-led technical conference to discuss methods natural gas companies may use to mitigate the effects of direct and indirect greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) emissions resulting from pipeline construction and expansion projects that are subject to Natural Gas Act (‘NGA’) sections 3 and 7 authorizations by FERC (the ‘Conference’),” the National Law Review reports. “...Environmental stakeholders raised concerns regarding the sufficiency of carbon capture and storage as a physical mitigation measure, expressing skepticism as to the durability of carbon storage technology over long periods of time. However, industry stakeholders expressed support for the use of carbon capture and storage as a mitigation tool, explaining that technology will continue to advance and that such efforts are an important piece of the overall climate effort. With respect to market mitigation measures, environmental stakeholders expressed disfavor of such measures, while industry stakeholders supported offsets while acknowledging their limitations in producing significant reductions in GHG emissions alone.”
Politico: A FIRST FOR FERC
Matthew Choi, 11/23/21
“Elin Katz was sworn in as FERC’s first director of the Office of Public Participation on Monday, an office established by the commission in June to make it easier for people to intervene in often opaque regulatory proceedings,” Politico reports. “Katz was tapped for the role by Chair Richard Glick in October and was previously head of the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel and president of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates. “Honored to be part of ... this great agency and excited for the work ahead!” she said in a tweet.”
STATE UPDATES
Capital and Main: New Mexico’s Draft Plan for Hydrogen a Nonstarter for Environmentalists
Jerry Redfern, 11/22/21
“In mid-November, after months of hinting about an upcoming bill, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration sent a draft Hydrogen Hub Act out to stakeholders for their input. First reactions are not positive,” Capital and Main reports. ““Let’s be crystal clear,” Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, executive director of the Western Environmental Law Center, tells Capital and Main, “this bill isn’t a climate or clean energy bill. It’s a fossil fuels bill.” The 27-page act is designed to make New Mexico a national hydrogen production hub, and 22 of those pages detail tax incentives and tax breaks to promote building production and distribution facilities and other major infrastructure. The rest details how carbon emissions for hydrogen production need to decrease over time and how fresh water cannot be used to make hydrogen if companies are to get the tax breaks… “We see that hydrogen whatever — blue, green, gray — in northwestern New Mexico, it’s a value-added good derived from fracked natural gas source material,” Mario Atencio, a Navajo and a legislative district assistant with the Navajo Nation Council, told Capital and Main. “It’s a non-starter.”
EXTRACTION
Canadian Press: Environmentalists threaten Premier Kenney with lawsuit over Alberta inquiry remarks
Bob Weber, 11/24/21
“A coalition of at least eight environmental groups is threatening to sue Alberta Premier Jason Kenney for defamation if he doesn’t retract and apologize for statements saying a public inquiry found they spread misinformation about the province’s oil and gas industry,” the Canadian Press reports. “The groups, in a letter obtained by The Canadian Press, have given the premier a week before they say they would file a statement of claim against him. “If Premier Kenney doesn’t follow the good advice of his lawyers, he will be served with a lawsuit some time by the end of next week,” said Paul Champ, a lawyer for the environmentalists. The letter, delivered to Kenney’s office Monday, is signed by the Dogwood Initiative, Environmental Defence Canada, Greenpeace Canada, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Sierra Club Canada Foundation, Sierra Club of British Columbia Foundation, West Coast Environmental Law and Research Foundation and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee. They point to Kenney’s reaction to the inquiry, headed by Steve Allan, which looked into whether environmental groups were conspiring to landlock Alberta oil by spreading misinformation about its environmental impacts. Allan’s report, delivered in October, found that “no individual or organization … has done anything illegal. Indeed, they have exercised their rights of free speech.” But the groups accuse Kenney of deliberately twisting Allan’s findings in public statements, social media posts and government websites. Specific documents are referenced in the letter. “These statements are defamatory as they assert that our clients have spread ‘misinformation,'” the letter says.
Edmonton Journal: Alberta legislature moves to formally condemn David Suzuki's warnings about pipeline destruction
Lisa Johnson, 11/23/21
“Alberta’s UCP government moved to formally condemn David Suzuki’s recent warnings about “blown up” pipelines in the legislature Tuesday,” the Edmonton Journal reports. “The motion, introduced by Government House Leader Jason Nixon, denounces “any comments made calling for the intentional destruction of energy infrastructure” as well as “incitements of violent eco-terrorism.” On Saturday, well-known environmentalist Suzuki spoke with CHEK News at an Extinction Rebellion protest on Vancouver Island, warning if politicians don’t take action to reverse climate change amid escalating tensions there could be attacks on infrastructure by protesters. “This is what we’ve come to. The next stage after this, there are going to be pipelines blown up if our leaders don’t pay attention to what’s going on,” Suzuki said. On Tuesday, Nixon said he intended to make a statement in support of the environmental record of the province’s oil and gas industry, and called for Suzuki to apologize for what he deemed a “dangerous” public pronouncement. “I think every single Canadian should be appalled by any comments that can be used to incite violence, that in any way refer to the blowing up of a pipeline, or any type of infrastructure,” said Nixon. Suzuki didn’t directly encourage the destruction of pipelines. When asked Monday by the National Post whether he would support the bombing of pipelines, Suzuki said “of course not.” He added that violence is coming from the government and RCMP against anti-logging and anti-pipeline protesters. At an unrelated news conference, Premier Jason Kenney said Suzuki’s remarks were an “implicit or winking” incitement to violence, and as a public figure he needs to be held to account.
Reuters: Western Canada to boost oil, gas drilling to pre-pandemic levels - CAOEC
11/23/21
“Western Canadian oil and gas producers will drill 27% more wells in 2022 than the previous year, returning to pre-pandemic levels as prices rebound and pipeline projects advance, the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors (CAOEC) said on Tuesday,” Reuters reports. “Companies are likely to drill 6,457 wells, an increase of 1,363 from 2021 and slightly above 2019's total, the association's Chief Executive Mark Scholz told Reuters... “The uptick follows a year in which Enbridge Inc (ENB.TO) completed its Line 3 pipeline replacement project, allowing more oil to flow from Alberta to U.S. Midwest refineries, and as energy consumption recovered as COVID-19 restrictions eased, the CAOEC said. Two more major pipelines, the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion and Coastal Gaslink, are under construction.”
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
Kemptville Advance: New Enbridge Courtyard to provide shaded gathering space at Kemptville's Riverside Park
Paulina Hrebacka, 11/23/21
“In addition to a new four-season pool house building, outdoor rink and splash pad, Kemptville’s Riverside Park will also be getting a new courtyard sponsored by Enbridge Gas,” the Kemptville Advance reports. “The Enbridge Courtyard will include a gazebo structure, outdoor grills, shaded picnic tables, benches, and bike racks thanks to a recent $50,000 sponsorship agreement struck between the Municipality of North Grenville and the natural gas company, as discussed at council’s Nov. 16 meeting.A sum of $25,000 is to be paid this year, with the remaining $25,000 coming in 2022. The project is expected to be completed in spring 2023. At the Nov. 17 announcement of other park improvements to come, Mayor Nancy Peckford explained that when Enbridge heard about the municipality’s “fantastic performance” during the ParticipACTION challenge, the company reached out to offer a sponsorship. “We are already having some conversations with them about natural gas lines,” Peckford explained.
Stratford Beacon Herald: St. Marys' Fire Department to benefit from Enbridge Gas donation
Cory Smith, 11/23/21
“St. Marys’ fire department is one of 50 across the province that will benefit from a $250,000 donation from Enbridge Gas,” the Stratford Beacon Herald reports. “The money will allow the St. Marys’ department to purchase firefighting training materials through Safe Community Project Assist, a program with the Ontario fire marshal’s Public Fire Safety Council that supplements existing training for Ontario volunteer and composite fire departments in the communities where Enbridge operates. “Ongoing education and training are vital for any fire department,” St. Marys fire Chief Richard Anderson said. “We are very grateful for this donation, as it has allowed us to purchase important fire safety education training materials for our firefighters to use to continuously update their knowledge on the newest techniques and information on fire safety.”
OPINION
AgWeb: Did Biden's Decision to Block Keystone XL Pipeline Permit Cause Gas Prices to Rise?
John Phipps, 11/23/21
“During U.S. Farm Report Customer Support segment last weekend, Dave Fenn in Curtis, Washington asked John Phipps the following question: “The economy is a very complex web, but do you really believe that campaign statements and early actions by the Biden administration had no effect on fuel prices? Stopping two major pipeline projects, restricting drilling on federal lands and the general animosity toward carbon fuels production had no effect on prices? Just coincidence?”, AgWeb reports. “In response, John Phipps said: Dave, they may have had some effect but not much, I think. The impact of the pipeline completion was always years in the future. Gasoline prices follow current oil prices, and some other factors like inventories and refining capacity. If Biden were to reverse course tomorrow, it would years for KXL oil to reach refineries in TX. Even then because tar sands oil is heavy and sour requiring specific refineries, most experts expected it would be used replace Venezuelan imports, a similar kind of petroleum. I’m guessing the other pipeline you refer to is Minnesota #3 replacement line, which is about ¾ finished, and has not been cancelled yet. If it comes online the old #3 pipeline will be closed so it will provide little new capacity. The economic impact of opening drilling on federal lands is even farther in the future… “One reason we’re both buying and selling is our refinery locations – many around the Gulf and few on the coasts. Supply doesn’t match up well with where people want to buy gas. Often importing or exporting makes the most sense. Also remember the US has not built a new refinery since 1977. Location is a thus big factor in gas prices, as well as state taxes. If the KXL pipeline cancellation has any impact on gas prices today, it is trivial compared to current oil economics and domestic oil production.”
City & State PA: Shapiro, stop the Mariner East pipeline
Ginny Marcille-Kerslake is an organizer with the group Food & Water Action and has been a leader in the fight against Mariner East in West Whiteland Township, 11/23/21
“As he launches his campaign for governor, Attorney General Josh Shapiro has already shown one major area where he is eager to make a break from Tom Wolf’s legacy: Ending the Mariner East pipeline debacle before it does any more damage to the people and the water of Pennsylvania,” Ginny Marcille-Kerslake writes for City & State PA. “Last month, Shapiro stood in front of Marsh Creek Lake, one of the most infamous sites of Energy Transfer’s construction negligence and announced 48 criminal charges against the fossil fuel company, all the result of a lengthy grand jury investigation into the horizontal drilling techniques employed all across the Mariner East project. The report came as a relief to many of the communities that have suffered years of abuse – including my own. We know firsthand what Energy Transfer has done to our neighborhoods, our quality of life and to some of our state’s environmental treasures. What we need is someone in power to do something about it; if Shapiro is ready to lay out a clear plan for stopping the Mariner East pipeline, many residents would be relieved to hear it… “As Shapiro’s report lays out in detail, Energy Transfer has violated Pennsylvania laws since almost day one of construction. It is simply inconceivable that this project will be safe from leaks or explosions once it is fully operational. Energy Transfer has shown that it cannot be trusted. Shapiro must work from his own report and stop the Mariner East pipeline.”
Talking Points Memo: The Oil Industry’s Pivot To Carbon Capture And Storage—While It Keeps On Drilling—Isn’t A Climate Change Solution
June Sekera and Neva Goodwin, 11/23/21
“After decades of sowing doubt about climate change and its causes, the fossil fuel industry is now shifting to a new strategy: presenting itself as the source of solutions. This repositioning includes rebranding itself as a “carbon management industry,” June Sekera and Neva Goodwin write for Talking Points Memo. “This strategic pivot was on display at the Glasgow climate summit and at a Congressional hearing in October 2021, where CEOs of four major oil companies talked about a “lower-carbon future.” That future, in their view, would be powered by the fuels they supply and technologies they could deploy to remove the planet-warming carbon dioxide their products emit – provided they get sufficient government support… “Seven large-scale CCS projects have been attempted at U.S. power plants, each with hundreds of millions of dollars of government subsidies, but these projects were either canceled before they reached commercial operation or were shuttered after they started due to financial or mechanical troubles. There is only one commercial-scale CCS power plant operation in the world, in Canada, and its captured carbon dioxide is used to extract more oil from wells – a process called “enhanced oil recovery.” “...To be clear, no carbon removal approach – neither mechanical nor biological – will solve the climate crisis without an immediate transition away from fossil fuels. But we believe that relying on the fossil fuel industry for “carbon management” will only further delay that transition.”
OilPrice.com: The Oil And Gas Industry Is Facing A $3.3 Trillion Stranded Asset Nightmare
By Tsvetana Paraskova,11/23/21
“The largest international oil and gas firms wrote down assets worth $150 billion last year when prices crashed with the demand slump in the pandemic. Despite the fact that this year's oil prices are now nearly double compared to the 2020 average, the energy industry faces additional impairments in the coming years and decades, this time due to the investor pressure to slash emissions and start accounting for changes to energy demand in the transition to low-carbon sources,” Tsvetana Paraskova writes for OilPrice.com. “All industries are under pressure to realign their accounting and financing practices to climate change-related risks, but none more so than the large companies in the energy sector whose core business continues to be oil, gas, and coal. The increased scrutiny and pressure on companies from investors and society, as well as uncertainties over long-term demand for fossil fuels, could leave assets, currently estimated to be worth trillions of U.S. dollars, stranded in the future… “If the world's 60 largest listed oil and gas companies continue with a business-as-usual approach, more than $1 trillion of such business-as-usual investment is at risk, including $480 billion in shale/tight oil projects and $240 billion in deepwater projects, financial think tank Carbon Tracker said in a report in September.”