EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 11/5/21
PIPELINE NEWS
Politico: Crude awakening on Line 5
Globe Gazette: Impacted landowners call on Summit Carbon Solutions to release their names
Bismarck Tribune: Pipeline slated to store ethanol's CO2 emissions in Oliver, Mercer counties
KSDK: Spire STL Pipeline gets widespread support after concerns over shutdown's potential impact
OilPrice.com: Enbridge Line 3 Could Reduce Crude-By-Rail Imports From Canada
Virginia Mercury: At issue in Chickahominy Pipeline hearing: Just what is a public utility?
MassLive.com: Springfield activists speak out on the steps of city hall against the proposed $33M Eversource gas pipeline
KFGO: Temporary permit granted for pipeline operating since 2014
CNN: State Department offers $10M for information on Colonial Pipeline hackers
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Press release: Anti-Fossil Fuel Protest Meets U.S. Interior Secretary at COP26
DeSmog: Just Two Countries Mention Need to Cut Fossil Fuel Production at COP26 ‘Greenwashing’ Stands
DeSmog: These 11 Climate Science Deniers are Attending the COP26 Climate Summit
STATE UPDATES
Inforum: Project Tundra responds to concerns of carbon dioxide leakage at landmark permit hearing
Colorado Sun: Oil and gas regulators dial back rules that keep industry from sticking Colorado with bill for orphan wells
Center for Biological Diversity: Santa Barbara Commission Vote Puts Exxon Oil Trucking Plan on Thin Ice
EXTRACTION
NPR: Earth has 11 years to cut emissions to avoid dire climate scenarios, a report says
Reuters: U.S. shale producers signal more oil coming, as OPEC counts on restraint
JWN Energy: Emissions cap on oil and gas sector must consider what is 'achievable': Cenovus CEO
E&E News: Energy Transfer CEO on net-zero targets: ‘It is insanity’
Freedonia Group: US Crude Petroleum Consumption, Production Expected to Remain Below Pre-Pandemic Levels Through 2025
CLIMATE FINANCE
E&E News: Greens praise fossil fuel financing pact. How significant is it?
Press release: Morgan Stanley Sets 2030 Emissions Targets, But Fails to Rule Out Financing for Fossil Fuel Expansion
The Energy Mix: Banks Decide for Themselves How Net-Zero Works in Carney’s $130-Trillion Alliance
High Country News: Can younger generations spur corporations to divest from fossil fuels?
OPINION
Dickinson County News: Concerns over Summit carbon pipeline
Inforum: Carbon capture is North Dakota’s next opportunity
Canada Action: Canada's Natural Resources Sector Should Be a Climate Action Model at United Nations COP26
National Observer: I want to believe Biden and Trudeau on climate, but some pieces just don't fit
CBC: The oil and gas emissions cap is a dose of cold reality for a warming world
Financial Post: Do the new federal limit on emissions spell the end of growth in the oilsands?
Financial Post: Varcoe: Hydrogen has the potential to be Alberta's next oilsands in importance
PIPELINE NEWS
Politico: Crude awakening on Line 5
11/4/21
“The Biden administration is probing the possible economic impact of shutting down the contentious Line 5 pipeline at the center of a dispute between Michigan and Canada,” Politico reports. “Environmentalists, Indigenous groups and Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have all been calling for the closure of the nearly 70-year-old pipeline, saying it was just one accident away from environmental catastrophe. They have been drawing parallels to the administration’s stonewalling of the then-under-development Keystone XL pipeline — and saying a similar move on Line 5 could show it is serious about transitioning from fossil fuels. But the administration is also facing ballooning fuel prices, and shutting down a gas artery could be politically disastrous, especially with Republicans never tiring of using fuel prices as a cudgel against Biden’s energy policy. The administration is currently just looking into what the economic impacts of shuttering the pipeline would be and hasn’t made a decision on its fate. Shutting the pipeline would also open a huge rift with the Great White North. Canada’s government invoked a decades-old international treaty to prevent Michigan from closing the line, bringing the administration deeper into the fray. “The Canadians have forced their hand,” said an oil industry source with knowledge of the effort, and who described the Department of Energy as holding “ongoing discussions” to determine Line 5’s impact on markets. “They won’t have to take a position tomorrow, but they will have to take one soon.”
Globe Gazette: Impacted landowners call on Summit Carbon Solutions to release their names
11/3/21
“During the last week of October more than three dozen Iowa landowners submitted comments asking the Iowa Utilities Board to require Summit Carbon Solutions to release the names and contact information of proposed pipeline impacted landowners,” the Globe Gazette reports. “According to a Nov. 1 Iowa Sierra Club news release, the company owned by Bruce Rastetter requested that the landowner list remain private and does not want landowners to communicate and organize against the pipeline. It was noted that 143 pages of comments were submitted in just two days, with more anticipated. The Office of Consumer Advocates, a division of the Iowa Department of Justice, filed a similar request on Sept. 14, stating that "OCA requests that the board require the mailing lists to be filed publicly or take other steps to ensure affected landowners have appropriate access to the lists." "I am a land owner in Hancock County," Carol Nordquist wrote. "The pipeline proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions is slated to run across my land. I am asking that the names of all landowners impacted by this pipeline be released to the public." "I am a farmer and landowner in the path of the Summit Carbon Pipeline. I want my name released to other farmers and landowners. It is time for the IUB to make a ruling. I think the IUB should not rule in favor of Summit Carbon's request to keep the list of names sealed," Dan Tronchetti submitted… “Landowners against the pipeline are encouraging other landowners not to sign voluntary easements with Summit Carbon Solutions or Navigator Ventures, according to Jessica Mazour of the Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club.”
Bismarck Tribune: Pipeline slated to store ethanol's CO2 emissions in Oliver, Mercer counties
AMY R. SISK, 11/4/21
“A pipeline aiming to pick up carbon dioxide produced by ethanol plants across the Midwest is slated to inject the gas underground in Oliver and Mercer counties, and discussion surrounding the project is heating up,” the Bismarck Tribune reports. “The Midwest Carbon Express pipeline would cross under the Missouri River north of Bismarck, transporting as much as 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. Pipeline developer Summit Carbon Solutions says that would be equal to removing the annual carbon emissions of 2.6 million cars. Summit announced the pipeline this past spring, and the company has met with farmers in recent weeks to explain the project… “The pipeline project has drawn praise from North Dakota officials, but some people in other states have already expressed opposition, including farmers and environmentalists in Iowa. News reports there indicate critics have economic and safety concerns. “This is just the latest case of someone insisting on putting a pipeline or an easement on our property," farmer Beth Richards told Iowa Public Radio earlier this month. "I’ve lost track of how many times our family has had to deal with this." Some farmers say they worry the company might resort to eminent domain to build the project, a process in which unwilling landowners would be forced to let the pipeline cross their property, according to the Globe Gazette of Mason City, Iowa. Boeshans said he's optimistic Summit can negotiate agreeable terms with all landowners along the route. He acknowledged eminent domain was a possibility in some spots, "but that's not where we start," he told the Tribune. "What I hear consistently from landowners is strong support for the project," he told the Tribune. "They understand the value of it. On most of this land, there's corn growing on the surface of it, especially if you go east of Bismarck." “...The North Dakota Oil and Gas Division, meanwhile, is considering ways it could help facilitate more carbon dioxide pipelines. The division wants to use artificial intelligence and other technology to model ideal corridors and routes for future lines.”
KSDK: Spire STL Pipeline gets widespread support after concerns over shutdown's potential impact
Holden Kurwicki, 11/3/21
“The Public Utilities Commission of Missouri sent a letter to federal regulators urging them to grant Spire an immediate extension to operate the STL Pipeline, which they say is necessary to provide adequate natural gas supply to the entire region,” KSDK reports. “We had plants in southern Missouri that were shut down because they couldn’t get enough gas to the plants,” Ray McCarty, President of the Associated Industries of Missouri, told KSDK. Now, McCarty is concerned it could happen all over again with the looming closure of the 65-mile Spire STL Pipeline. “We can’t imagine what the impact would be shutting that thing down when we’re going into the winter heating season,” McCarty told KSDK. “I think we’re officially in that now. We just see that as being potentially dangerous not just for the homeowners out there but think of where everyone works.” The STL Pipeline has drawn bipartisan support from Sen. Roy Blunt and Mayor Tishaura Jones.”
OilPrice.com: Enbridge Line 3 Could Reduce Crude-By-Rail Imports From Canada
Charles Kennedy, 11/4/21
“The recent start of operations of the Enbridge Line 3 replacement pipeline could cut shipments of crude by rail from Canada to the United States, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Thursday,” OilPrice.com reports. “Earlier this year, Enbridge completed the Line 3 replacement project and set the in-service date for the oil pipeline for October 1, 2021, marking the completion milestone of the project that has been delayed for years and faced many court battles. The project replaced the existing 34-inch pipe with new 36-inch pipe for 13 miles in North Dakota, 337 miles in Minnesota, and 14 miles in Wisconsin. The average annual capacity of Line 3 after replacement is 760,000 barrels per day (bpd), which is a capacity increase of 370,000 bpd compared to the capacity of the original Line 3. With doubled capacity to carry crude from Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada to Superior, Wisconsin, Enbridge’s Line 3 now could reduce the need of crude transportation by other means, especially by rail, the EIA noted… “Between 2005 and 2020, U.S. crude oil imports from Canada more than doubled to an average of 3.6 million bpd. As a result, Canada’s share of total U.S. crude oil imports increased and reached a record-high share of 61 percent last year, the EIA said in April.”
Virginia Mercury: At issue in Chickahominy Pipeline hearing: Just what is a public utility?
SARAH VOGELSONG, 11/4/21
“Exactly what makes a company a public utility was the debate Wednesday as regulators weighed whether or not the state needs to give approval for the construction of a gas pipeline across five Central Virginia counties,” the Virginia Mercury reports. “Chickahominy Pipeline “is not a public utility because while it will be transporting natural gas for heat, light or power, it will not be doing so for sale,” argued attorney Eric Page of Eckert Seamans on behalf of the company. Rather, he said, Chickahominy Pipeline will simply be transporting natural gas between a third-party supplier and its purchaser, Chickahominy Power, LLC, a company that has been seeking for several years to build a natural gas plant in Charles City County. “There is no mercantile relationship between Chickahominy (Pipeline) and CPLLC with regard to the natural gas,” continued Page, using an abbreviation for the company developing the power station. “Chickahominy is not selling natural gas to CPLLC. Rather, the third-party supplier is selling gas to CPLLC.” “...The plans have provoked controversy in both Charles City County, where the large plant would be constructed and operated by a private owner to sell electricity into the regional grid, and across four other counties the pipeline would cross… “During Wednesday’s hearing on that question, held virtually before SCC Hearing Examiner Matthew Roussy, local governments, Virginia Natural Gas, regulatory staff and attorneys with the Southern Environmental Law Center representing environmental and grassroots opposition groups all insisted that Chickahominy Pipeline is by law a public utility.”
MassLive.com: Springfield activists speak out on the steps of city hall against the proposed $33M Eversource gas pipeline
Douglas Hook, 11/4/21
“Eversource has proposed a roughly $33 million pipeline for the city of Springfield that has been gaining opposition from advocacy groups over the potential dangers it could pose,” MassLive.com reports. “One of the litanies of arguments made by anti-pipeline advocates is the Merrimack Valley gas explosions that rocked the communities of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover and highlighted the danger of gas pipelines if something goes wrong. “Fossil fuel pipelines are dirty, dangerous, and detrimental to public health and the environment. Building new fossil fuel infrastructure is incompatible with what is scientifically necessary to combat the climate crisis,” said U.S. Sen. Ed Markey. “We don’t need more pipelines just to improve profits for gas companies. We need environmental justice to improve the lives of everyone who lives in Springfield and Longmeadow. We need climate action to improve the health and safety of our future.” Markey’s representative Jossie Valentín read the senator’s statement regarding the pipeline on the steps of city hall. In addition to Valentín, there were representatives from the Springfield Climate Justice Coalition (SCJC), Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts and Community Action Works in attendance.
KFGO: Temporary permit granted for pipeline operating since 2014
Paul Jurgens, 11/4/21
“North Dakota regulators have given temporary approval to a natural gas pipeline in McKenzie County that has been operating for years without a state permit,” KFGO reports. “North Dakota Public Service Commission Chairwoman Julie Fedorchak told KFGO she’s not sure why the 2.6-mile Caliber Midstream pipeline has been operating since 2014 without proper permitting. The pipeline connects a natural gas processing plant with the nearby Northern Border Pipeline which is a major export pipeline taking gas produced in the Bakken and Canada to markets in the middle of the United States. Caliber is planning changes to the Midstream pipeline and wants to allow gas to flow either direction, including from Northern Border to a trucking facility next to its Hay Butte processing plant.”
CNN: State Department offers $10M for information on Colonial Pipeline hackers
Sean Lyngaas, 11/4/21
“The US State Department is offering up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of senior members of a Russian-speaking ransomware gang that forced major US fuel operator Colonial Pipeline to shut down in May,” CNN reports. “The announcement Thursday from State Department spokesperson Ned Price also included an offer of $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone who conspires to participate in a hack involving so-called DarkSide ransomware, which was used in the Colonial Pipeline incident… “The Colonial Pipeline incident shut down fuel deliveries to the East Coast of the US for days, prompting long lines at gas pumps in multiple states. It also put ransomware higher on the national security agency for the Biden administration, which since the incident has issued multiple cybersecurity policy directives. The pipeline company, which delivers an estimated 45% of fuel consumed on the East Coast, paid the hackers $4.4 million to unlock the computers. The Justice Department was able to recover $2.3 million of that money by seizing cryptocurrency assets.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Press release: Anti-Fossil Fuel Protest Meets U.S. Interior Secretary at COP26
11/4/21
“Leaders from the Build Back Fossil Free campaign unfurled a large banner today at the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow urging the Biden administration to halt federal oil, gas and coal expansion on public lands and oceans. The protest preceded Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s appearance at the summit. “No New Federal Fossil Fuels,” read the banner, which was unfurled just outside the COP26 venue. Despite lawsuits, calls by millions of Americans to halt federal fossil fuel expansion, and the president’s own promise to tackle the climate crisis with the urgency it requires, the Biden administration is planning oil and gas lease sales across 80 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico and hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands. The Gulf sale is scheduled for Nov. 17, just days after the Glasgow climate talks. Biden has abandoned campaign promises to end new federal oil and gas leasing and drilling. His administration has approved 3,091 new drilling permits on public lands at a rate of 332 per month, outpacing the Trump administration’s 300 permits per month in fiscal years 2018-2020. This leasing poses a disproportionate threat to Black, Indigenous and other people of color and low-income communities… “In April more than 200 groups filed comments with the administration, demanding a formal climate review of the federal fossil fuel programs under the National Environmental Policy Act, Federal Lands Policy Management Act, Endangered Species Act and other laws.”
DeSmog: Just Two Countries Mention Need to Cut Fossil Fuel Production at COP26 ‘Greenwashing’ Stands
Adam Barnett and Rich Collett-Whiteon, 11/4/21
“Only two of the 35 stalls lauding countries’ green credentials at the COP26 UN climate summit mention the need to cut fossil fuel production — the chief cause of the carbon emissions driving climate change,” DeSmog reports. “The summit’s official “blue zone” includes large corporate-style pavilions run by some of the world’s leading producers of oil, gas, and coal, including the United States, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Germany, and Qatar. They highlight the countries’ environmental efforts while failing to mention their massive and ongoing trade in fossil fuels. Of the two exceptions, Denmark and South Africa, the first did not mention Denmark’s role as the largest oil producer in the European Union, while South Africa’s stall was sponsored by the country’s top coal companies… “When asked by DeSmog, officials running the other 33 stalls — meant to inform people about countries’ climate action — were unable to point to information in the pavilion about the production of fossil fuels… “Environmental campaigners say the lack of focus on fossil fuel extraction is an example of how the subject has been “taboo” at UN climate talks and accuse the countries of “greenwashing” their polluting activities. Jean Su, energy justice director at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Desmog: “Refusing to confront fossil fuels at the premiere climate change conference is beyond climate denial, it’s climate atrocity...The most important climate action all countries can take is to kick their fossil fuel addiction, but tragically few have the courage to confront that reality. We urge all leaders to put people and the planet over the profit of the fossil fuel industry.”
DeSmog: These 11 Climate Science Deniers are Attending the COP26 Climate Summit
Rich Collett-Whiteon, 11/3/21
“A total 11 climate science deniers have secured passes to the UN COP26 climate summit taking place in Glasgow, Scotland, including Myron Ebell, the head of former US President Donald Trump’s transition team at the Environmental Protection Agency,” DeSmog reports. “The president of the notorious Heartland Institute, which recently held a rival conference in Las Vegas ahead of the COP26 conference, and the head of policy at the UK’s principal climate science denial group are also among those who were given badges. The delegates have access to the official “Blue Zone” area of the conference, where negotiations — which are restricted to government delegations — and a variety of side-events are being held. Many of them are also speaking at an alternative two-day “Climate Reality Forum”, live-streamed from an undisclosed location in the city. The news has been met with anger from environmental groups who point to the difficulty representatives of Indigenous communities and low-income countries vulnerable to climate change have had in gaining access to the summit. “The fact that climate deniers are allowed space at COP, while Indigenous peoples are fighting to get inside speaks to the performative functions of the COP,” Jennifer K. Falcon from the Indigenous Environmental Network told DeSmog. “The world is on fire, sea levels are rising, food and water shortages are already hitting Black, Indigenous and frontline communities of the global majority,” she added, “and climate deniers are given direct access to world leaders to continue the status quo of killing our planet.”
STATE UPDATES
Inforum: Project Tundra responds to concerns of carbon dioxide leakage at landmark permit hearing
Adam Willis, 11/2/21
“Scientists and executives behind Project Tundra appeared before North Dakota regulators Tuesday, Nov. 2, to discuss permitting of the high-profile carbon capture proposal in a hearing that focused in part on the safety of the company's underground storage process,” Inforum reports. “Grand Forks-based Minnkota Power Cooperative’s Project Tundra, the billion-dollar plan to retrofit Milton R. Young coal plant in Oliver County for carbon capture, would be the largest facility of its kind in the world if it succeeds, and state leaders hope it could also provide a blueprint for the decarbonization of other coal-fired power plants in North Dakota and beyond… “Regulators fielded testimony from Minnkota representatives and scientists with the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center, which has led research on carbon capture projects in the state, on the technical processes of storing the carbon dioxide underground, as well as several letters raising concerns about possible leakage of the carbon dioxide stored underground. Those concerns were dismissed as "rank hearsay" by Minnkota attorney Lawrence Bender, a Bismarck-based oil and gas lawyer…“Project Tundra and Red Trail are part of a growing roster of carbon capture ventures in North Dakota that have cropped up in response to a federal tax credit that pays companies to permanently bury their carbon dioxide. Minnkota faced criticism in the last year from environmental groups who argue their project will draw on large amounts of taxpayer funding for a low probability of success… “Shannon Mikula, an attorney with Minnkota, told regulators on Tuesday that Project Tundra expects to make its decision about moving forward with financing in late 2022, a delay of about a year from timelines previously disclosed by the company… “Mikula also told regulators the company is keeping an eye on potential options for selling captured carbon dioxide to boost oil production in the Bakken further down the road. That process, known as "enhanced oil recovery," was central to Project Tundra's revenue model early on, but Minnkota abandoned the plan in favor of simple storage, which receives higher payouts from the federal tax credits.”
Colorado Sun: Oil and gas regulators dial back rules that keep industry from sticking Colorado with bill for orphan wells
Mark Jaffe, 11/4/21
“Trying to balance a mandate to ensure the state is not stuck with abandoned oil and gas wells against the financial needs of the industry, Colorado regulators have issued a revised plan that has buoyed operators and left environmentalists in despair,” the Colorado Sun reports. “Gone from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s initial draft rule for financial assurance is a set dollar-value for plugging each of the state’s 52,000 wells. And gone are definitions of inactive and low-producing wells, seen as key metrics for assessing the risk of orphan wells in the state. In their place, plugging fees will be determined by operators based on “demonstrated” costs, blanket bonds would likely cover tens of thousands of wells and there is a new and looser definition of inactive wells. It is the “inactive” designation that under the rules requires a company to take action to plug a well or put up added financial assurances that it will be plugged… “The response from environmental and community groups, however, has been one of dismay. “It seems the commission gathered a whole bunch of data and got scared and retreated,” Andrew Forkes-Gudmundson, deputy director of the League of Oil and Gas Impacted Coloradans, a nonprofit community group, told the Sun. “They realized that the oil and gas industry is in a significantly weaker condition than they thought it was and that even modest financial assurance reform would be unattainable for the industry.”
Center for Biological Diversity: Santa Barbara Commission Vote Puts Exxon Oil Trucking Plan on Thin Ice
11/3/21
“The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission voted today to recommend denial of ExxonMobil’s proposal to transport oil by tanker trucks along hazardous California highways. The plan would help the company restart three drilling platforms off the Santa Barbara coast. Today’s 3-2 final vote finalizes the commission’s Sept. 29 conceptual decision to recommend denial. In the few weeks between the two votes, the state has seen the disastrous oil spill off Huntington Beach, an oil tanker truck accident and fire in Santa Maria, and the Alisal Fire that threatened the ExxonMobil’s Las Flores Canyon oil processing facility, where trucks would load crude. The commission’s denial recommendation will now go to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors for a final decision. ExxonMobil’s plan calls for up to 24,800 oil-filled truck trips a year on coastal Highway 101 and hazardous Route 166, 24 hours a day 7 days a week, for up to seven years or whenever a new coastal oil pipeline is completed. ExxonMobil’s three offshore platforms near Santa Barbara were shut down in 2015 after the Plains All American Pipeline ruptured and spilled thousands of gallons of oil.”
EXTRACTION
NPR: Earth has 11 years to cut emissions to avoid dire climate scenarios, a report says
SCOTT NEUMAN, 11/4/21
“The current rate of greenhouse gas pollution is so high that Earth has about 11 years to rein in emissions if countries want to avoid the worst damage from climate change in the future, a new study concludes,” NPR reports. “Despite dipping in 2020 because of the global pandemic, greenhouse gas emissions are on track to return to pre-pandemic levels, according to the annual Global Carbon Budget report. The findings, currently under review before publication, underscore that the urgency of cutting emissions is even greater than previously thought if the world is to avoid a rise in average global temperatures that is greater than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels… “At current levels of emissions, there's a 50% chance that a rise in temperatures of 1.5 C by the end of this century will be locked in by 2033. With no reductions, more dire scenarios are equally likely — with a 1.7 degrees C increase inevitable by 2042 and a 2 degrees C jump unavoidable by 2054… “The authors note that reaching net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, which is the goal of those pushing climate action at the Glasgow summit, "entails cutting total anthropogenic [human caused] CO2 emissions" by an amount "comparable to the decrease during 2020."
Reuters: U.S. shale producers signal more oil coming, as OPEC counts on restraint
By Liz Hampton and Sabrina Valle, 11/3/21
“U.S. shale producers' decision this year to resist pumping more oil even as prices surge could be nearing an end, according to company executives,” Reuters reports. “Several major oil companies, including BP Plc (BP.L), Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), are planning to increase output or shale spending next year, undercutting OPEC's tight supply management that has pushed crude oil prices above $80 a barrel as global demand for fuel rebounded more swiftly than many anticipated. "As oil prices rise, it's increasingly likely that oil production growth resumes," Josh Young, chief investment officer of energy investor Bison Interests, told Reuters. The gains, however, will remain below the rate of pre-COVID-19 increases… “The planning uptick in shale will come from larger companies and particularly from the Permian Basin, the top U.S. shale field. The change follows pressure from the White House for more production as retail fuel prices rise. Permian output is forecast to hit 4.89 million bpd in November, just below the peak 4.91 million bpd of March 2020 before the pandemic hit. The remaining shale regions, however, have lagged, producing a quarter less oil than at their peak in early 2020. On Tuesday, BP said it would increase spending on its U.S. shale holdings next year by $500 million. Exxon last quarter grew shale output by 30% to about 500,000 bpd and could add two more drilling rigs ahead, its chief executive said last week. Chevron this quarter will add two rigs and well-completion crews, adding to output in early 2021. Hess Corp (HES.N) plans to increase its shale output by up to 8% this quarter over last after adding a rig in North Dakota's Bakken shale field.”
JWN Energy: Emissions cap on oil and gas sector must consider what is 'achievable': Cenovus CEO
11/4/21
“The chief executive of one of Canada's major oilsands producers said he’s not opposed to a federal cap on greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector, as long as the government realizes that large-scale emissions reductions will take years to achieve,” JWN Energy reports. “In an interview Wednesday, Cenovus Energy Inc. CEO Alex Pourbaix drew a comparison between Canada's current decarbonization plan and the multi-billion dollar campaign to reconstruct Europe after the Second World War. “It's kind of like the equivalent of the Marshall Plan after World War Two,'' Pourbaix said. “This is something that can be done, but there are limitations on how quickly it can be done, and it very much has implications on Canadians' quality of life with the cost of doing these things.'' “...Pourbaix pointed out that Cenovus and four other major oilsands companies have already committed to the same goal, through a formal alliance announced earlier this year called the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero. “So the concept of a cap is not really problematic,'' he said. “The bigger issue is what is the cap, and if there are interim targets, what are they and when are they achievable by.''
E&E News: Energy Transfer CEO on net-zero targets: ‘It is insanity’
Mike Lee, 11/5/21
“The head of Energy Transfer LP, the pipeline company that built the Dakota Access line, sees a long future for oil and natural gas despite the transition to cleaner-burning fuels and the coronavirus pandemic’s economic turmoil that slashed oil demand,” E&E News reports. “Kelcy Warren, the executive board chairman of Dallas-based Energy Transfer, rejected the idea that companies’ and governments’ adopting net-zero goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions would eliminate petroleum use. During a question-and-answer session at a Texas Oil & Gas Association conference in Dallas, Warren was asked about a Dallas Morning News editorial that said net-zero carbon emissions policies would ultimately mean oil was no longer needed. “It is insanity for them to even say such things," Warren said. Oil and gas are used in a range of products, from fertilizer to facial cosmetics, he and others said. “Can you imagine a world without makeup?” he said… “But Warren, a billionaire energy magnate, expressed with near-certainty that the world isn’t changing for oil and gas companies. “As long as I’m in this business — and hopefully, my son follows my footsteps — I’m worried more about peak supply, truthfully,” he said. “I think the demand will be there.”
Freedonia Group: US Crude Petroleum Consumption, Production Expected to Remain Below Pre-Pandemic Levels Through 2025
11/4/21
“US consumption of crude petroleum is forecast to see 2.2% annual gains in volume terms through 2025, according to Crude Petroleum: United States, a report recently released by Freedonia Group. Increasing passenger miles traveled will raise demand for petroleum fuels and biofuels. Freight delivery fleets will log more miles traveled on planes, trains, ships, and trucks as economic growth and increasing e-commerce activity generate more freight. Expanding plastics production will support more crude petroleum demand as a feedstock. However, gains from 2020 to 2025 are not expected to offset pandemic-related declines from 2019 to 2020… “Production of crude petroleum in the US is forecast to rise 2.8% annually in volume terms through 2025. Production will benefit from demand's return to growth after the COVID-19 pandemic triggered declines in 2020. In addition, rising exports, caused by global economic growth (especially in China and India) and accompanying demand for petroleum products, will support gains. Advances will primarily reflect increasing outputs of crude oil and natural gas plant liquids (NGPLs) as a consequence of rising production from shale, along with increasing offshore oil production. However, demand is not expected to reach 2019 levels over the forecast period, which will constrain production growth.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
E&E News: Greens praise fossil fuel financing pact. How significant is it?
Jael Holzman, 11/4/21
“Green groups cheered an international pact reached today to halt government funding for fossil fuel projects in other countries, while analysts cautioned against making bold claims about the climate impacts of yet another informal pledge among nations,” E&E News reports. “Billions of dollars for oil, gas and coal projects could be off the table following commitments made by the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and 17 other countries at the global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland… “To the extent you start to constrain [financing] or make financing available for alternatives, that can be helpful. The problem with some of these announcements is it’s very hard to ascertain the true impact,” Ben Nelson, lead vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s Investors Service, told E&E. Pledges are necessary but “not a sufficient step to really decarbonize the power sector,” Jane Nakano, a senior fellow in the energy security and climate change program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told E&E. That’s because while public financing for lower-income countries still plays somewhat of a role in supporting fossil fuel projects around the world, private sources of capital dominate the space, Nakano said. In addition, agreements like these offer no clear-cut details on “which [non]government institution finances how much and where,” she told E&E. “I think it’s definitely encouraging, but again, this is more or less a set group of countries, so there’s still work to be done.” Making matters even more difficult will be the absolute stranglehold oil and gas currently has in the world economy, Nelson said. Comparatively speaking, moving beyond oil and gas will be a “much larger challenge than coal” on the issue of financing, Nelson told E&E.
Press release: Morgan Stanley Sets 2030 Emissions Targets, But Fails to Rule Out Financing for Fossil Fuel Expansion
11/4/21
“Today, Morgan Stanley announced new 2030 targets to reach its commitment to net-zero financed emissions by 2050. Last year, Morgan Stanley became the first major US bank to make a net-zero by 2050 commitment and it is one of the first major US banks, following JPMorgan Chase, to set interim 2030 targets. The interim targets set goals for 35, 29, and 58 percent reductions by 2030 in “financed emissions lending intensity” from the bank’s auto manufacturing, energy, and power portfolios, respectively. The bank does not set absolute emissions targets. While Morgan Stanley claims its targets are aligned with the “Net Zero Scenario” emissions pathway laid out by the International Energy Agency (IEA), it does not rule out support for companies expanding oil, gas and coal — despite the IEA’s finding that no investment in new fossil fuels is needed beyond current production. “It's not complicated: achieving net-zero financed emissions by 2050 means stopping funding for the expansion of fossil fuels,” said Sierra Club Fossil-Free Finance Campaign Manager Ben Cushing… “Current best practice among the biggest global banks includes: Ending support for companies expanding oil and gas and committing to exit oil and gas by 2030 (La Banque Postale); Ending support for companies expanding coal and committing to exit coal by 2030 in the OECD and EU and 2040 in the rest of the world (BNP Paribas, UniCredit and other banks); Morgan Stanley’s targets are tightly integrated with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials, the important carbon footprinting initiative on whose steering committee Morgan Stanley serves.”
The Energy Mix: Banks Decide for Themselves How Net-Zero Works in Carney’s $130-Trillion Alliance
Mitchell Beer, 11/3/21
“UN climate finance envoy Mark Carney’s Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero only brought together a highly-touted US$130 trillion in global financial clout by assuring participating institutions they could set their own pathways to achieving net-zero, with or without a commitment to end fossil fuel investment, then counting on sustained public attention to keep them on track,” The Energy Mix reports. “The rules guiding the formation of the Glasgow Financial Alliance (GFANZ) make no explicit mention of a fossil investment phaseout “because the rules are outcome-specific rather than process-specific,” a spokesperson told The Mix. “The overall commitment is to reduce your emissions in line with a 1.5°C trajectory, and it’s up to individual banks to do that.” But “there’s not a rule about fossil fuel financing because it’s up to individual banks how to get to that trajectory.” “...Under the alliance rules, “each institution will find the proper way forward, rather than trying to fit into a common standard,” the spokesperson said. After that, the purpose of the public accountability process built into the GFANZ mandate “is that their progress is there for the world to see.” The spokesperson acknowledged that approach could put a lot of pressure on financial institutions that are searching for reliable guidance, at a time when fossil companies are reassuring them about unproven carbon capture technologies that ultimately delay clean energy investments and distract from ever-louder calls to rapidly phase down fossil fuels. “That’s a really good question,” he said, but alliance organizers ultimately opted to “give them an outcome to deliver on, and be scrutinized for it.”
High Country News: Can younger generations spur corporations to divest from fossil fuels?
Sarah Sax, 11/4/21
“Bulging gray rain clouds threatened to open up on a crowd of protesters last Friday morning in Seattle. A few hundred people, mostly high schoolers and university students, held banners and hand-painted signs that read “Youth demand climate justice,” “Stop the money pipeline” and “It’s our turn to lead,” High Country News reports. “...The “Fossil Free Future” campaign aims to engage a growing number of young people to boycott banks, insurers and other companies that fund fossil fuel projects, not just by withholding their money but also their future labor… “The high school and university students join a growing number of climate campaigns, from shareholder activism to university divestment campaigns, that are calling for institutions to stop financing fossil fuel projects. But the power that they hold over companies goes beyond just their money. As baby boomers retire, the U.S. faces a growing recruitment crisis… “A coalition of groups, including future coalition and 350.org helped mobilize hundreds of youth activists who took over several blocks in Seattle last Friday.”
OPINION
Dickinson County News: Concerns over Summit carbon pipeline
Bonnie Ewoldt, Milford, 11/2/21
“Many Iowans are unaware of a plan by Summit Carbon Solutions to run a buried CO2 pipeline through 31 counties. The fact that the proposed route passes near populated areas raises concerns about public safety. The company claims, “Safety is and always will be our top priority,” but downplays the dangers of liquid CO2,” Bonnie Ewoldt writes for the Dickinson County News. “This CO2 is not a harmless gas. In order to flow through a pipeline, it must be compressed under supercritical pressure into a liquid form. Liquid CO2 is an asphyxiant and caustic agent, rated toxic and hazardous by OSHA. When mixed with water, it forms carbonic acid — dangerously poisonous and corrosive… “Summit’s stated allowance of 500-foot (0.03 mile) from dwellings is ridiculously inadequate. Risk assessment trials by the Saxion University of Applied Science in the Netherlands concluded, “The risk assessments for the existing CO2 pipelines show distances to a harmful threshold from 1 km to 7.2 km [0.6 miles to 4.2 miles].” Summit’s safety distance of 0.03 mile is half the lowest acceptable space. Summit Carbon Solutions must provide justification for the 500-foot safety distance. Carbon capture is “a disposal method whose safety and reliability remain unproven.” (MIT – 7/29/19). The CO2 pipeline will be threat to public safety. Iowans must look elsewhere to solve our carbon emissions problem. Summit does not have the solution.”
Inforum: Carbon capture is North Dakota’s next opportunity
Ryan Thorpe is the Chief Operating Officer of Tharaldson Ethanol in Casselton, N.D., 10/22/21
“Over the past decade and more, North Dakota has embraced emerging industries that produced job creation and economic growth well beyond the national average,” Ryan Thorpe writes for Inforum. “...Carbon capture and sequestration, particularly within the ethanol industry, is at the top of that list. While I certainly recognize there are differing opinions when it comes to the impact of carbon emissions, the economic benefits of carbon capture and sequestration are undeniable. A number of states have adopted low carbon fuel standards and several other states are considering similar policies. These markets pay a premium for fuels with reduced carbon intensity, or CI, scores… “Importantly, the captured CO2 will be transported through a new state-ofthe-art pipeline system to just outside of Bismarck where it will be permanently and safely sequestered. The permanent storage here in North Dakota represents an additional economic opportunity that will provide meaningful compensation to local landowners and an ongoing source of economic development for the state in the years to come. Just this fall, state officials granted approval for the first carbon dioxide storage project in North Dakota and Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms noted that those approvals represented a “landmark day” for the state. I agree and strongly believe that carbon capture and sequestration should be an important part of our state’s future particularly the Midwest Carbon Express project.”
Canada Action: Canada's Natural Resources Sector Should Be a Climate Action Model at United Nations COP26
11/3/21
"Canadian energy should stand as a model for progress on climate action this week in Glasgow", says Canada Action, a grassroots-built coalition. "Canada should be a preferred global supplier of our energy and other resources. We're a world leader in emission intensity reductions, water recycling, carbon capture utilization and storage, methane emission reductions, renewables, clean-tech and innovation. We're one of only a few global oil and gas producers with carbon pricing," said founder and spokesperson Cody Battershill. In response to the emissions cap announcement, Battershill pointed out that "Even before PM Trudeau's announcement, many Canadian Oil and Gas companies had announced their realistic, workable plans to achieve net zero. Emissions reduction has long been a central focus." "...We hope the roughly 20,000 people descending on Glasgow during COP26 will recognize Canada's world-leading climate action not only on the energy front but also in forestry, mining, agriculture and other sectors in which GHG emissions continue to decline."
National Observer: I want to believe Biden and Trudeau on climate, but some pieces just don't fit
Kairn Carrington, 11/4/21
“I have spent the last two days listening to leaders of G-20 countries, almost all white men over 50, promising to do everything they can to eliminate the “existential threat to human existence as we know it”. Thanks Joe Biden for making it so clear,” Kairn Carrington writes for the National Observer. “...I just watched these two men stand in front of the world and pledge to avoid catastrophe by keeping the global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees. Yet both countries continue to give out permits for new oil and gas development. Earlier this year the International Energy Agency, the world’s premier energy modelling entity which historically has supported the oil industry, did its first analysis of what the energy mix would be in a 1.5 degree world. They made it very clear that there was no place for any oil and gas expansion.. In their own words “there is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply”. Yet Canada’s oil sands continue to increase production. The Feds have pledged to cap oil sands emissions, but that is well beside the point, because 80 per cent of the emissions come from downstream consumption of Canada’s oil. Meanwhile, Biden just days before was lobbying OPEC countries to produce more oil to bring down consumer prices. New oil and gas development is not possible in a 1.5 degree world. Trudeau and Biden have known this for a good while. So what are they thinking? Are they being disingenuous? Cowardly? Do they imagine that there is still time? Do they have a macro-strategy that we have yet to discern? Do they think it is someone else’s problem?”
CBC: The oil and gas emissions cap is a dose of cold reality for a warming world
Aaron Wherry, 11/4/21
“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's restatement this week of a promise to implement a declining cap on greenhouse gas emissions from Canada's oil and gas industry — coupled with some of the reaction his comments provoked — is reality setting in,” Aaron Wherry writes for the CBC. “Informed by rigorous science, the nations of the world have decided that global greenhouse gas emissions need to reach net-zero by 2050 in order to limit the catastrophic effects of climate change. Canada has agreed to do its part by getting its national emissions to net-zero by mid-century. Every major federal party agrees with that goal. Chris Severson-Baker, Alberta regional director for the Pembina Institute, told the CBC that a legislated emissions cap has been "a long time in coming." "In order to have a credible position behind the pledges that we've made and that we're trying to encourage the rest of the world to make, we need to actually have an answer for how we're going to deal with oil and gas emissions in the future.” Producers should perhaps feel lucky that the federal government is focusing on emissions, Severson-Baker said. Some environmentalists have called for an outright cap on production. If everyone agrees on the destination, the logical next step is to figure out how to get there. And a gradually tightening emissions cap is one way to ensure you make steady progress and arrive on time… “The answers will include technologies like carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS). In addition to proposing an emissions cap, the federal government is also consulting on plans to provide an investment tax credit for CCUS. One industry association has suggested that such a tax credit should cover 75 per cent of costs — Pembina has proposed 50 per cent — while Premier Jason Kenney's government in Alberta reportedly has asked for $30 billion over the next ten years in federal support.”
Financial Post: Do the new federal limit on emissions spell the end of growth in the oilsands?
Chris Varcoe, 11/4/21
“A new federal limit on greenhouse gas emissions is coming for the Canadian oil and gas industry,” Chris Varcoe writes for the Financial Post. “Does it mean the end of growth for a key sector of the economy? Will it cause investment, jobs and production to shift outside of the country? Or will it activate massive spending in new emissions-reduction projects? So many questions. So little clarity. So much is at stake… “Aside from the federal government’s plan to cap oil and gas emissions, Ottawa has already established a national price on carbon, which is set to rise to $170 by the end of this decade. While the U.S. and more than 100 other countries have signed on to reducing methane emissions by 30 per cent by the end of 2030, Canada has gone further, announcing a planned cut of 75 per cent… “But Premier Jason Kenney vowed earlier this week his government will fight any anti-oil push to “leave it in the ground.” As for future oil and gas production increases in Canada, that will depend on several factors, including commodity prices, investor pressure and the ability of companies to move product to markets. “It obviously depends on where the cap is set,” said Pourbaix. “I expect on a go-forward basis, you will continue to see growth, but it’s going to be a lot more measured.” “A cap on oil and gas emissions, if it is too stringent and too soon, will reduce and throttle production output,” said Birn. “And when it does that, those production barrels aren’t necessarily going to disappear from the world. They just won’t be produced by Canada.”
Financial Post: Varcoe: Hydrogen has the potential to be Alberta's next oilsands in importance
Chris Varcoe, 11/5/21
“If you want to know how big the potential prize is for Alberta to grow its hydrogen industry, Associate Natural Gas Minister Dale Nally is quick to provide the answer,” Chris Varcoe writes for the Financial Post. “Think of the oilsands, he says. Nally’s new Alberta Hydrogen Roadmap, to be released Friday, details a number of ways to measure success in the province for the emerging sector under a “transformative” future outlook. It projects tens of thousands of jobs created during the construction of new projects, Alberta’s GHG emissions falling by five per cent and more than $30 billion in capital investment being attracted by 2030. “For me, that is the minimum. I think we could do well more than that,” Nally told the Post. “This is an opportunity for Alberta to create generational wealth for the province. We have an opportunity to be a leader in clean, affordable energy.” “...Nally compares the potential for Alberta’s hydrogen sector to the opportunity presented to the Lougheed government in the 1970s by the oilsands industry. “It will not replace the oilsands, but I absolutely believe it could be as impactful as the oilsands, in terms of investment, in terms of jobs, in terms of royalties,” said the Morinville-St. Albert MLA. “It is as big an opportunity for Alberta today as perhaps 50 years ago when Peter Lougheed was looking at the oilsands,” Layzell said in an interview. “We have got to make it work — and we have to demonstrate that it can work.”