EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 1/18/22
PIPELINE NEWS
Wausau Pilot & Review: DNR to host virtual public hearing on Draft Environmental Impact Statement on proposed Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline relocation
Summerland Advocate: Landowners express concerns about proposed CO2 pipeline
KELO: Projects would harvest CO2 for transport in pipelines across five states
Summerland Advocate: Antelope, Holt county officials hear details about proposed carbon pipeline
Radio Iowa: Reynolds says state should invest in carbon capture research
Tri States Public Radio: Pipeline safety a concern
OilPrice.com: Trans Mountain Pipeline Back To Normal Operations After Two-Month Disruption
E&E News: Federal pipeline agency shifts focus to cut methane
Richmond Times-Dispatch: 'How can we take this company seriously?' Hanover leaders left with more pipeline questions after Chickahominy meeting
Press release: Texas LNG, a Glenfarne Group Company, and Enbridge Execute Natural Gas Pipeline Transportation Agreement
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: VOTING RIGHTS IS A CLIMATE ISSUE
Politico: HOUSE DEMS WANT CLIMATE BBB ACTION
Politico: BEING RESPONSIBLE ABOUT NATURAL GAS
STATE UPDATES
Bismarck Tribune: Judge rules against North Dakota's federal oil leasing request
Washington State Journal: New State House Bill Would Make Oil Owners Financially Liable for Oil Spills
Associated Press: Governors turn to budgets to guard against climate change
EXTRACTION
VICE: The World’s Only Coal Carbon Capture Plant Is Regularly Breaking
Reuters: Alberta prioritises oil sands' carbon storage hub, energy minister says
Canadian Press: Oil Sands Alliance to focus on energy industry sustainability, advancing net zero ambitions
Argus Media: Oil sands producers seek pathways of least resistance
Press release: Emissions Reduction Alberta: $30 million to accelerate carbon capture projects in Alberta
E&E News: A CCS ‘hub’ along Gulf Coast? Here’s a road map
Reuters: Factbox: Big Oil's climate targets
Press release: ExxonMobil announces ambition for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
InsideClimate News: On the Defensive a Year Ago, the American Petroleum Institute Is Back With Bravado
Reuters: Operational problems hit Canada's Suncor again, lowering oil production
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
The Pioneer: Blessing the new fire engine: Lincoln Township Fire Department holds push-in ceremony
OPINION
Aberdeen News: Charlie Hoffman: The key to ethanol's success in South Dakota is carbon capture
The Crucial Years: What happens if you greenwash greenwash?
Marcellus Drilling News: FERC to Decide Fate of Operational Weymouth Compressor Thursday
PIPELINE NEWS
Wausau Pilot & Review: DNR to host virtual public hearing on Draft Environmental Impact Statement on proposed Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline relocation
Shereen Siewert, 1/17/22
“The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host a virtual public hearing on Feb. 2 on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement that the department has prepared for the proposed relocation of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline in Ashland, Bayfield and Iron Counties,” the Wausau Pilot & Review reports. “...The DNR has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement to inform decision-makers and the public about the environmental and socioeconomic effects of the proposed relocation and alternatives. The virtual hearing will begin at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022 via Zoom. To attend the hearing and provide oral comments, please register in-advance here… “Members of the public who do not wish to provide testimony during the hearing and only want to listen, can watch a live feed of the hearing on the DNR’s YouTube channel. The public is encouraged to submit written comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement by email or regular mail. Email: DNROEEACOMMENTS@WI.GOV”
Summerland Advocate: Landowners express concerns about proposed CO2 pipeline
By LuAnn Schindler, 1/13/22
“Holt County landowners expressed concerns about a proposed route, established by Summit Carbon Solutions, for a carbon dioxide pipeline that would cross Holt County. The pipeline would also pass through Antelope County, en route to Plainview and Norfolk. Carbon dioxide would be pushed through the pipeline to North Dakota, where it will be injected into the ground,” the Summerland Advocate reports. “A handful of Holt County residents shared concerns about a proposed CO2 pipeline with supervisors during Holt County's Dec. 30 meeting. Diana Steskal, of Atkinson, said landowners are asking supervisors to research pipelines and Summit Carbon Solutions before making any decisions. "We'd like the supervisors to ask the Summit company for an open public meeting, to inform the citizens about the pipeline and let the citizens ask questions," Steskal said. Construction practices, land reclamation, abandonment, proposed route and eminent domain use were suggested topics for consideration. Steskal said from personal research she has conducted, the life of the pipe, in Iowa, is expected to be 20 to 25 years. "Why is there a perpetual easement?" she asked. Landowners would like access to safety data sheets, as required by the Hazard Communication Standard of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration… "If there is a leak or an explosion, the gas can emerge odorless and, sometimes, colorless, that can suffocate all living beings," Steskal said… “She suggested a moratorium be placed on any carbon or oil pipeline, considered in Holt County, until the planning and zoning board and supervisors can research and establish rules for CO2 pipelines. Dr. Robert Randall, of Atkinson, said he hopes supervisors will not make a decision about the pipeline without hearing from Holt County citizens, "whether we're for or opposed." “...Tom Genung, a BOLD Nebraska representative, told supervisors after 12 years of experiencing the Keystone XL pipeline, the hope is the board represents county citizens. "What regulations exist with the pipeline company? Do they have setbacks already in place? Does that coincide with the needs of our folks here in Holt County?" Genung asked. He stressed the importance of knowing and understanding the company's stance on use of eminent domain. "Those are some of the things the board needs to continue to ask. Please represent the people rather than pipeline companies," Genung said. "You get to set the course for this kind of deal."
KELO: Projects would harvest CO2 for transport in pipelines across five states
Rae Yost, 1/17/22
“The public may be used to natural gas and oil pipelines traveling through the countryside. But two new proposed pipelines would carry thousands of gallons of liquid CO2 (carbon dioxide) across South Dakota as well as parts of Iowa and Minnesota,” KELO reports. “Liquid CO2 differs from natural gas. It’s not flammable but it could smother animals and cause illness in people, under certain conditions. Unlike natural gas, which is used to heat and cool homes and businesses, representatives of the two proposed pipeline projects said the liquid CO2 would be stored underground indefinitely, either in North Dakota or Illinois… “Pipelines would capture CO2 from ethanol plants, which would reduce the plants’ overall carbon footprint and allow those plants to sell ethanol at a higher price in markets such as California, which has strict carbon guidelines. Opponents, or at least those with questions, said the proposed pipelines are potentially harmful if they leak and would harm land productivity when constructed. Critics say the pipelines are a way for big companies, even big oil, to capitalize on tax credits at the expense of small landowners. Those with concerns and questions also worry that captured CO2 will be used to extract oil, despite company representatives saying there is no plan to use the CO2 in oil production. “It’s the little guy against the big guy,” Rick Bonander, who lives in Minnehaha County near Valley Springs, told KELO. His property, including an area where bald eagles nest, is within the possible pipeline route for Navigator… “It’s new technology that hasn’t been proven yet,” Peg Furschong, the director of CURE in Montevideo, in southwest Minnesota, told KELO… “Furschong told KELO the organization is working with landowners who may be impacted by the Summit route to get more information and to make sure Minnesota does its due diligence before approving the proposed project.” “...I have concerns about ruptures…,” Iowa landowner Mitch Magill told KELO. “I have huge concerns about the safety of the pipeline.” Magill owns 57 acres in Iowa County, Iowa, where a pipeline could possibly travel through. Magill pointed to the Feb. 20, 2020, rupture in Mississippi. “It’s not a question of if it ruptures, it’s when it ruptures,” Bonander said… “But the pipelines could be tough projects to achieve. While Magill, like Bonander, told KELO this could be a case of small farmers going up against large corporations, he does know that many landowners in his county and in nearby counties are not in favor of the Navigator project.”
Summerland Advocate: Antelope, Holt county officials hear details about proposed carbon pipeline
By LuAnn Schindler, 1/13/22
“A proposed CO2 pipeline will travel through Holt and Antelope counties if the project moves forward,” the Summerland Advocate reports. A representative with Summit Carbon Solutions met with officials from both counties during regularly-scheduled meetings in December. Dayton Murty, representing Summit Carbon Solutions, an Ames, Iowa-based company, provided on overview of the pipeline and outlined environmental and economic benefits, to Antelope County Commissioners on Dec. 7 and Dec. 30, to Holt County Supervisors… “Six Nebraska ethanol plants, including Green Plains, Inc., facilities in Atkinson, Wood River, Central City and York, Husker Ag, LLC, near Plainview and Louis Dreyfus, in Norfolk, have signed on to the project, according to Murty. The preliminary route through Holt County covers 36.88 miles, or approximately 224 acres. The "anticipated" four-inch pipeline will cross Antelope County diagonally, north of Orchard, before entering Pierce County, where a branch will venture northeast to Husker Ag, or continue its trajectory to Norfolk. Pipeline diameters in other areas of the state are anticipated to be six or eight inches, based on an overview map provided by Summit Carbon Solutions… “Holt County Supervisor Don Butterfield asked about easement width. Murty said the perpetual easements will be 50 feet. A permit for the pipeline, when approved, will be in effect for 25 years. "We hope to reapply and keep it going for as long as its safe," Murty said. Butterfield asked if landowners will get back the easement if the pipeline would be decommissioned. "It's perpetual, but we will discuss that with landowners," Murty said.
Radio Iowa: Reynolds says state should invest in carbon capture research
O. KAY HENDERSON, 1/17/22
“Governor Kim Reynolds says carbon pipelines are private sector projects and she does not support direct state investment in any of the pipelines that are proposed,” Radio Iowa reports. “During her Condition of the State address last week, Reynolds called for investment in “carbon capture solutions sustain and build on our leadership in renewable energy.” “...There are now three proposed pipeline projects to carry liquid carbon through the state, with terminals to pick up stored carbon emissions from Iowa fertilizer and ethanol plants. Reynolds told Radio Iowa it’ll be up to the private sector to make their case with landowners and state regulators. “We always have to be conscientious about taking someone’s land and the impact it has on that. This is underground, so it’s disrupted for a little while, but they can still utilize it, as far as the pipelines, but also, I mean it is extremely important to an industry,” Reynolds told Radio Iowa. “I think it is like over 55% of our corn goes to ethanol, so we have figure out a way to balance the two.” Critics of the pipelines say the projects to capture carbon emissions from ethanol plants are a waste of money as the country moves toward electric vehicles. Environmentalists say liquid carbon is a hazardous material and poses a danger as it’s shipped through pipelines and stored underground.”
Tri States Public Radio: Pipeline safety a concern
By RICH EGGER, 1/13/22
“Safety concerns were raised during an informational meeting about a proposed pipeline through the region,” Tri States Public Radio reports. “...At the meeting in Macomb, McDonough County board member Mike Kirby said he’s concerned because pipes sometimes fail. He said if the pressurized liquid is released, it will convert into a gas. “And then that gaseous CO2, (which) is heavier than the air, displaces the air around the leak, so any people or animals in that area of the leak will be asphyxiated due to a lack of breathable oxygen,” he said. Kirby thinks the pipeline could become more dangerous over time as the pipe slowly corrodes.The Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance (CIHCA), which describes itself as a coalition of individuals and organizations committed to creating a sustainable and healthy community for central Illinois, is also concerned about the project. The group said a CO2 pipeline explosion in February 2020, spread a gas cloud over Sartartia, Mississippi, sickening people across the town. Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for Navigator, also said the liquified CO2 can become an asphyxiant. She said that’s why the company strives to work with local EMS crews to make sure they’re well-trained and well-equipped to handle an emergency. “We have a good portion of our budget allocated already for the investment of those tools and technologies,” she said. “There’s a number of different equipment pieces that they could potentially need as part of the tools in their toolbox and we’re ready and willing to provide those.” “...Navigator must also receive a permit from the Illinois Commerce Commission and various permits from other states and the federal government. Burns-Thompson said the project will cost around $3 billion, funded through private equity.”
OilPrice.com: Trans Mountain Pipeline Back To Normal Operations After Two-Month Disruption
Tsvetana Paraskova, 1/17/22
“The Trans Mountain oil pipeline returned to normal operating pressure during the weekend, following a month and a half of operations at reduced capacity after the infrastructure was shut for 21 days as a precaution during rainstorms in British Columbia in mid-November,” OilPrice.com reports. “...Due to the shutdown of the 300,000-barrels-per-day pipeline in November, British Columbia enforced a fuel rationing regime in late November and early December… “The Trans Mountain pipeline is a vital piece of oil infrastructure, shipping crude oil from Alberta west and to U.S. refiners. It is the only pipeline that carries oil from Alberta to the West Coast and has become the subject of a fierce debate between the oil province and British Columbia because of the expansion plans that would significantly increase its capacity.”
E&E News: Federal pipeline agency shifts focus to cut methane
By Mike Soraghan, 1/18/22
“The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is readying its first-ever restrictions on methane emissions and planning to press pipeline companies on the issue in the coming months, marking a significant shift for a federal agency traditionally focused on safety and oil spills,” E&E News reports. “PHMSA was given a broad new responsibility by Congress to limit greenhouse gas emissions, and the "thousands" of inquiries it’s planning to make to companies about their methane emissions this year will be some of the earliest tangible signs of that mandate. "Congress was very clear that we must not just reduce these emissions, but we must do all we can to minimize these emissions," Tristan Brown, PHMSA’s deputy administrator, said in a speech late last year. In late 2020, Congress ordered pipeline companies to update their inspections and maintenance plans to find ways to reduce methane emissions. It ordered PHMSA to check those plans with inspections. Meanwhile, the agency is also writing rules on methane, requiring companies to find and fix leaks. It tells E&E it’s aiming to have a proposed rule published in the Federal Register by May. Participating in President Biden’s climate agenda represents a new focus for PHMSA, a relatively young, small agency that has traditionally viewed leaks through the lens of physical safety. The agency’s environmental efforts previously had been geared toward preventing and dealing with spills of hazardous liquids such as crude oil. Gas pipeline leaks in unpopulated areas, if they didn’t explode or catch fire, were not considered a major safety threat… “Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, a safety advocacy group, pushed back harder, saying the agency and industry need to follow Congress’ mandate. "We’re in a climate crisis," Caram told E&E… “The provisions, which were part of a compromise advanced by then-Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), included language requiring the agency to weigh environmental benefits with safety benefits when tabulating the cost of new regulations. That could make it more difficult for pipeline companies to challenge the rules as too expensive.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch: 'How can we take this company seriously?' Hanover leaders left with more pipeline questions after Chickahominy meeting
Holly Prestidge, 1/13/22
“Hanover County officials had been trying since last summer to get a representative from Chickahominy Pipeline, LLC — the company that wants to build an 83-mile natural gas pipeline through Hanover and four other counties — to a public meeting where residents and county leadership could learn more about the project,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. “But after Wednesday night’s meeting with a project spokeswoman on hand, members of the Board of Supervisors said they still felt left in the dark. “You come in here, and you haven’t told us a thing tonight at all, [and] you didn’t even bring a presentation,” Mechanicsville District representative W. Canova Peterson said to company spokeswoman Beth Minear. “How can we take this company seriously?” “...Board members asked about the pipeline’s projected routes, to which Minear said she can’t offer a detailed map because they don’t have enough surveys completed to be able to determine where the pipeline could go. Board Chairwoman Angela Kelly-Wiecek talked about the lack of transparency with regards to the origins of the project — the people and the companies and investors behind it. To date, Minear and Chickahominy officials have not released information about the investors and have said they will not do so… “The meeting was attended by a small contingent of landowners and those opposed to the pipeline, and streamed online… “Minear said that in other cases, companies use eminent domain to force landowners to allow rights of way, which they’re not doing with this project. When Kelly-Wiecek asked how Minear could be surprised that landowners were opposed to a pipeline built across their land, Minear said that the public opposition thus far has been “a generality,” and that “the folks who have given survey permission are a little hesitant about being vocal…and so it looks like there is more opposition than there is.” Ashland District representative Faye O. Pritchard said she participated in the virtual open house Chickahominy hosted last month, and questioned statements made by Minear then about the local benefit to those who agree to have their land used for the pipeline… “Pritchard responded that the plan appears to be that private investors simply want landowners to agree to let them “violate” private property “for the greater good.”
Press release: Texas LNG, a Glenfarne Group Company, and Enbridge Execute Natural Gas Pipeline Transportation Agreement
1/18/22
“Texas LNG Brownsville LLC ("Texas LNG"), a controlled subsidiary of Glenfarne Group, LLC ("Glenfarne") developing a four million tonnes per annum ("MTPA") liquefied natural gas ("LNG") export terminal in the Port of Brownsville, South Texas, and Enbridge Inc. ("Enbridge") (TSX: ENB) (NYSE: ENB), a leading North American energy infrastructure company, have executed a pipeline transportation precedent agreement for the expansion of the Valley Crossing Pipeline ("VCP") to deliver approximately 720 million cubic feet per day of natural gas to Texas LNG’s export facility for a term of at least 20 years. VCP consists of a 160-mile 42- and 48-inch diameter pipeline originating at Agua Dulce, a major Texas gas hub, and extending to the Port of Brownsville. A 10-mile lateral will be built to extend the pipeline to Texas LNG’s facility, along with the addition of compression facilities on the existing pipeline. VCP’s pipeline header at Agua Dulce, a growing gas pricing and transportation hub in South Texas, interconnects with ten major gas pipeline systems providing access to abundant and competitively priced gas from the Permian and other major gas basins with a total receipt capacity of more than seven billion cubic feet per day. The compression facilities at Agua Dulce will use electric motors which can be powered by plentiful Texas renewable energy, thus reducing CO2 emissions.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Politico: VOTING RIGHTS IS A CLIMATE ISSUE
Matthew Choi, 1/14/21
“Several environmental groups are urging Congress to approve Democrats' voting rights bill currently languishing in the Senate — and any procedural measures necessary to make it happen,” Politico reports. “The legislation is vehemently opposed by Senate Republicans, who cast it as a Democratic power grab. And while all 50 Senate Democrats have signaled their support for the legislation, centrist Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are not willing to change filibuster rules to pass the voting rights measures using their simple majority. The environmental groups, which include the League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists, argue protecting voting rights is vital to get through substantive climate action. "Most Americans support bold action to combat the climate crisis as well as investments in clean air and water, green jobs, affordable clean energy, and a livable future for all," the groups write in a Thursday letter . "But voter suppression, election subversion, partisan gerrymandering, and polluter money thwart the will of the people." Voting rights and environmental advocates worry that state-level efforts to restrict these rights could thwart the ability of communities of color to support clean energy and climate policies.”
Politico: HOUSE DEMS WANT CLIMATE BBB ACTION
Matthew Choi, 1/18/22
“Senate Democrats are still at a stalemate over their reconciliation package and its $555 billion in climate spending. With voting rights legislation and midterms coming up, the laser focus on Democrats’ climate and social spending package is fraying, and many political operatives are afraid the party will have to campaign without a major leg of its domestic agenda,” Politico reports. “It’s leading some House Democrats to push for a trimmed package focused on climate issues to get something on the books as the clock ticks on an existential threat, Pro’s Josh Siegel reports. The push comes as Democrats in the upper chamber signal that climate has high potential for compromise with centrist Energy Chair Joe Manchin. Manchin himself said climate could be easier to agree on, though there remains public disagreement on several key social programs, such as extensions for the Child Tax Credit. “I understand Sen. Manchin may not want to support a lot of social programs in Build Back Better,” Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), told Politico. “That’s a disappointment for a lot of people, but it’s very clear to me we are going to have to refocus on what can get passed." “...It’s really fraught for climate hawks like me to even suggest we cut all the other stuff and just run with our thing because that has the potential to alienate, create a backlash and maybe even take the climate piece down,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Politico. “We have to be smart and inclusive and focus on getting the Senate to deliver as much as they possibly can squeeze through the Manchin threshold.”
Politico: BEING RESPONSIBLE ABOUT NATURAL GAS
Matthew Choi, 1/18/22
“The Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company has a new proposal in front of FERC that hopes to encourage natural gas producers to trade and transport “responsibly sourced natural gas,” Politico reports. “There isn’t a federal standard for how to determine responsible natural gas production, which entails implementing measures such as lessening the intensity of methane and monitoring for leaks of the potent greenhouse gas. The proposal would rely on a third party to certify those measures. But natural gas producers fear the proposal could give the pipeline company too much power as a “gatekeeper” between the certifying parties and producers.”
STATE UPDATES
Bismarck Tribune: Judge rules against North Dakota's federal oil leasing request
AMY R. SISK, 1/14/22
“A judge has denied North Dakota's request for an order forcing the federal government to hold oil lease sales,” the Bismarck Tribune repots. “The Bureau of Land Management is planning to hold such a sale in the first quarter of 2022 after canceling all sales last year. U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor ruled against the state Friday in part because a U.S. Justice Department attorney offered an assurance earlier in the week that the bureau plans to hold the sale imminently. The dispute arose after President Joe Biden early last year issued an executive order pausing oil leasing on federal lands while a review of the leasing program could take place. A number of oil- and gas-producing states sued the federal government to try to force lease sales to resume.”
Washington State Journal: New State House Bill Would Make Oil Owners Financially Liable for Oil Spills
Juan Morfin, 1/16/22
“The financial responsibility for an oil spill will fall on those who own the facilities and vessels that produce and transport oil under proposed House Bill 1691,” the Washington State Journal reports. “The goal is to minimize the permanent long-standing damage that can happen when a catastrophic spill happens,” Rep. Mia Gregerson, D-Kent, the primary sponsor of this bill, told the Journal. The bill requires the owners or operators of oil vessels and facilities to demonstrate their financial ability to pay for its oil damages and to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility (COFR) from the Department of Ecology (Ecology). This COFR will be used to determine whether the party responsible for a vessel or facility is liable for damages caused by an oil spill. Among other things, to demonstrate financial responsibility to Ecology, oil facilities need to show they can compensate federally recognized Indian tribes in a worst-case oil spill situation. Gregerson likens these new requirements to car insurance. “I know by law we're required to have car insurance if we choose to drive on our roads and streets. So we want the same in this case [for oil owners],” she told the Journal.
Associated Press: Governors turn to budgets to guard against climate change
By KATHLEEN RONAYNE, 1/15/22
“Their state budgets flush with cash, Democratic and Republican governors alike want to spend some of the windfall on projects aimed at slowing climate change and guarding against its consequences, from floods and wildfires to dirty air,” the Associated Press reports. “Democratic governors such as California’s Gavin Newsom and Washington’s Jay Inslee have been clear about their plans to boost spending on climate-related projects, including expanding access to electric vehicles and creating more storage for clean energies such as solar. Newsom deemed climate change one of five “existential threats” facing the nation’s most populous state when he rolled out his proposed state budget this past week. In Republican-led states, governors want to protect communities from natural disasters and drought, even as many of them won’t link such spending to global warming.”
EXTRACTION
VICE: The World’s Only Coal Carbon Capture Plant Is Regularly Breaking
Audrey Carleton, 1/11/22
“The longest-running and world’s only carbon capture facility attached to a coal plant reported unsettlingly low emissions reduction numbers toward the latter half of 2021, raising red flags for experts about the viability of the technology and federal investment in it,” VICE reports. “The carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility attached to the Boundary Dam Power Station, near Estevan, Saskatchewan, 120 miles southeast of capital city Regina, reported a sharp drop in captured emissions at the end of last year after challenges with one of its compressor motors forced the facility offline for multiple months. Built with the promise of diverting 90 percent of emissions from a section of Boundary Dam, the facility has had mixed results. Though capable of capturing 1 million tons of CO2 annually, it has never met this goal. As of the end of 2021, the facility is capturing roughly 44 percent of Boundary Dam’s emissions after it shut down for part of June and July and all of August and September, E&E News reported. This was the lowest capture rate the plant has seen since 2015. The facility’s spotty success should serve as a wake-up call for U.S. policymakers throwing support behind CCS technology, Mitch Jones, senior policy advocate at environmental watchdog group Food and Water Watch, told VICE. “Carbon capture is too expensive, and it doesn't work.” “...The CCS facility has the ability to reduce up to 90 percent of the unit’s emissions, SaskPower’s website boasts; it cost CAD $1.5 billion in total to get going, including $240 million from the Canadian government and funding from the provincial government. It was seen as a political gamble at the time for its unknown place in a suite of climate solutions and was deemed a flat-out ‘carbon dioxide shell game’ by critics. In the same year it was launched, the utility was fined CAD $12-million at the time after failing to deliver on its capture and CO2 sales promises. “Carbon capture partnered with coal has just been a boondoggle for the coal industry to receive additional subsidies, and a lifeline for continued use in the face of our worsening climate crisis,” Jones told VICE. “It is unconscionable that this has become the go to climate policy in Washington.”
Reuters: Alberta prioritises oil sands' carbon storage hub, energy minister says
By Nia Williams, 1/44/22
“The government of Alberta, Canada's main oil-producing province, plans to move forward "very, very quickly" on its next carbon sequestration hub in the Cold Lake region that will serve oil sands producers, Energy Minister Sonya Savage told Reuters “Alberta is currently accepting requests for proposals to operate an underground carbon storage hub serving the Alberta Industrial Heartland (AIH) zone near Edmonton. The process to select an operator for another hub near Cold Lake will come "on the heels" of that, Savage told Reuters. "We are going to need to move on Cold Lake very, very quickly after Heartland," Savage told Reuters. "It's a hub that will give certainty to oil sands and heavy oil production." "...CCUS is probably my number one priority file at the moment.” Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, told Reuters his organization considered CCUS to be one of the three most critical decarbonization technologies. Alberta is aiming to aggressively expand its CCUS industry to help cut emissions and safeguard the future of its energy industry as the world aims for net-zero emissions by 2050. Savage's comments show how that plan is taking shape.”
Canadian Press: Oil Sands Alliance to focus on energy industry sustainability, advancing net zero ambitions
By Amanda Stephenson, 1/14/22
“Canada’s largest oilsands companies have formed a new advocacy group they say will help to advance the sustainable development and operation of their industry,” the Canadian Press reports. “The Oil Sands Alliance was established Jan. 1, with membership consisting of oilsands producers Suncor Energy Inc., Cenovus Energy Inc., Imperial Energy Ltd., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and ConocoPhillips. “Al Reid, director of the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero alliance — which, along with other already existing groups like the Oil Sands Community Alliance (OSCA), Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), and the Regional Oil Sands Operating Alliance, will be overseen by the new organization — told CP more details will be released soon… “The industry’s vision of getting to that goal is anchored by a proposed major carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) transportation line that would capture CO2 from oilsands facilities and transport it to a storage facility near Cold Lake, Alta… “Proponents say vastly scaling up CCUS across the oil and gas industry will be necessary if Canada is to have a shot at meeting its climate targets. The federal government has proposed a tax credit for CCUS projects, and oilsands producers have been in talks with Ottawa over the details of that credit. In December, Cenovus chief executive Alex Pourbaix said on a conference call with analysts and reporters that CCUS is not, at this point, an economic technology on its own and that any wide-scale adoption by industry will require “significant government support.”
Argus Media: Oil sands producers seek pathways of least resistance
By Brett Holmes, 1/18/22
“Canadian oil sands firms aim to up spending to lift capacity in 2022, with higher oil prices and more export capacity on the horizon. But government collaboration on carbon reduction plans could provide the long-term certainty investors seek,” Argus Media reports. “Operators are embracing carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) on a scale unseen before in Canada and capital is already flowing to related projects. CCUS is not new to Canada, but the industry's most ambitious carbon capture plan has put the ball back in the federal government's court. The oil and gas sector accounts for a quarter of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, the IEA says. And although the oil sands sector has reduced its emissions intensity by 32pc since 1990, with an additional 17-27pc cut expected over 2018-30, rising oil and gas output means more work is needed to hit 2030 and 2050 emissions goals. The Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero initiative between sixCanadian producers announced in June 2021 targets net zero emissions from oil sands operations by 2050. The proposal includes a trunk line serving oil sands projects connected to a carbon sequestration hub… “ In the meantime, Cenovus, CNRL, Suncor and others are looking to build on 2021's oil sands production records, expecting 2022 capital expenditure and output to climb as a result of higher oil prices and additional export capacity. Producers now have more certainty around export pipelines — be they cancelled or under construction — giving them a clearer path to increasing output.“
Press release: Emissions Reduction Alberta: $30 million to accelerate carbon capture projects in Alberta
1/14/22
“A new $30 million funding opportunity will accelerate development of industrial-scale carbon capture and transportation technology solutions in Alberta. Emissions Reduction Alberta’s (ERA) Carbon Capture Kickstart: Design and Engineering call builds on Alberta’s global leadership in this space, and will fill key knowledge gaps, drive partnerships and innovation, and accelerate project financing and deployment in Alberta. The Government of Alberta is providing $30 million to ERA from the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund. Jason Nixon, Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Parks, and ERA CEO, Steve MacDonald, made the announcement on Friday, January 14, 2022. The Carbon Capture Kickstart funding competition supports pre-construction design and engineering. It is focused on site-specific carbon capture, direct air capture, and carbon transportation infrastructure. Proposals can address emissions across industrial sectors: power generation, cement production, manufacturing, oil and gas, and more. All proposals must target specific large final emitter sites in Alberta. "Carbon capture is necessary to reach large-scale reduction of CO2 emissions. The Carbon Capture Kickstart investment will create shared learnings and provide valuable insights to industry, government, and other stakeholders about the economic and emissions reduction potential of this critical technology in Alberta,” Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks.
E&E News: A CCS ‘hub’ along Gulf Coast? Here’s a road map
By Carlos Anchondo, 1/13/22
A proposal floated by energy companies last year seeks to capture millions of tons of carbon dioxide from industrial sources in the Houston area,” E&E News reports. “A trade group that represents offshore energy industries is recommending nine legislative and regulatory policies that it says could help transform the Gulf Coast into a “hub” for carbon capture and storage technology…”
Reuters: Factbox: Big Oil's climate targets
1/18/22
“The world's top oil and gas companies have set varying targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their operations and the use of the products they sell,” Reuters reports. “Some companies, including BP, Norway's Equinor and Spain's Repsol, aim to reduce some or eliminate all of their emissions in absolute terms by 2050. Others, including Total, are focusing on reducing the carbon intensity of their operations and products… “Reducing emissions will require a well-functioning market for carbon, the scaling up of carbon capture and storage technology and the development of competitive uses of hydrogen, many of the companies have said.”
Press release: ExxonMobil announces ambition for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
1/18/22
“ExxonMobil today announced its ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions for operated assets by 2050, backed by a comprehensive approach to develop detailed emission-reduction roadmaps for major facilities and assets… The net-zero aspiration applies to Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions and builds on ExxonMobil’s 2030 emission-reduction plans, which include net-zero emissions for Permian Basin operations and ongoing investments in lower-emission solutions in which it has extensive experience, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and biofuels… “Sound government policies will accelerate the deployment of key technologies at the pace and scale required to support a net-zero future. ExxonMobil continues to support an explicit price on carbon to establish market incentives and encourage investments in lower-emissions technologies. ExxonMobil is also committed to helping customers reduce their greenhouse emissions by investing in carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and biofuels. Bio-based feed and plastic waste streams provide further opportunities for lowering greenhouse gas emissions.”
InsideClimate News: On the Defensive a Year Ago, the American Petroleum Institute Is Back With Bravado
Nicholas Kusnetz, 1/12/22
“What a difference a year makes. The chief of the nation’s top oil and gas lobby laid out the state of his industry on Wednesday in a presentation that reflected a remarkable turnaround for the sector,” InsideClimate News reports. “A year ago, with President Joe Biden taking office and Democrats seizing control of Congress, the oil industry appeared to face an existential crisis. Policymakers were promising to transition the nation away from fossil fuels, and the American Petroleum Institute’s chief executive Mike Sommers said his industry was ready for a fight. Today, it seems, those fights have largely gone his way, at least so far. While Sommers repeated his warnings from last year against restricting oil and gas development, his tone was less combative… “On the campaign trail, Biden promised to end new oil and gas drilling on public lands and spoke about eliminating billions of dollars in industry subsidies. He promised to move away from oil and towards electric vehicles. But after a bruising year, the administration seems to have abandoned its effort to halt new leasing for oil and gas development, breaking a campaign promise. The president’s signature Build Back Better legislation, which includes sweeping climate provisions, has stalled in the Senate. While Biden has said negotiations on the bill continue, key climate provisions that threatened the oil and gas industry, including a plan to shift power generation toward renewable sources, have been dropped or softened. Others, including expanded tax credits for electric vehicles, remain in doubt… “Sommers spoke about his industry’s investments in carbon capture and storage technology, which he told ICN will be “the way that we’re really going to address this challenge from an industry perspective,” and he welcomed the Biden administration’s focus on the technology. The bipartisan infrastructure bill that Biden pushed through Congress last year included more than $12 billion in funding for carbon capture and removal, and much of that money could flow to oil and gas companies. The Build Back Better legislation also includes an expansion of a carbon capture tax credit that Sommers told ICN his group supports, and which could provide tens of billions in benefits in coming decades if it is enacted.”
Reuters: Operational problems hit Canada's Suncor again, lowering oil production
By Rod Nickel, 1/18/22
“Operational problems at two Suncor Energy (SU.TO) Canadian oil sands sites last month resulted in lower crude production, the company said on Tuesday, marking its latest such issue,” Reuters reports. “Suncor also confirmed the death of a worker on Jan. 6 at its Base plant, which police had reported earlier. Suncor told Reuters a heavy haul truck rear-ended a second truck at the mine, resulting in the death of a driver. The incident is the fourth fatality at a Suncor facility since late 2020, Scotiabank analyst Jason Bouvier told Reuters.“
TODAY IN GREENWASHING
The Pioneer: Blessing the new fire engine: Lincoln Township Fire Department holds push-in ceremony
Shanna Avery, 1/18/22
"Pretty rig," were words used to describe the new, bright red fire engine Lincoln Township Fire Department acquired as a needed replacement,” The Pioneer reports. “Members of the fire department and community gathered on a frigid, but sunny afternoon, Saturday, at the Lincoln Township Fire Station for a push-in ceremony and blessing of a new fire truck. The afternoon began with Richard Steig of T.C. Energy, who used to be in the department, presenting a paycheck for a partial-payment toward the new fire engine to Lincoln Township Fire Chief David Beldon. TC Energy, at an earlier time, contributed money toward new fire pagers, and now toward purchasing the fire truck, a 2022 Pierce pumper with a $295,000 price tag. "It's a God send," Beldon told the Pioneer, describing all the support toward the purchase of the much-needed new fire engine. "The other truck was failing and needed immediate replacement." “...Beldon thanked those who assisted with the purchase of the new engine, including TC Energy, and Lincoln Township Board, who was able to provide enough funding to purchase much needed new equipment to place on the fire engine.”
OPINION
Aberdeen News: Charlie Hoffman: The key to ethanol's success in South Dakota is carbon capture
State Rep. Charlie Hoffman, R-Eureka, is rancher, forage specialist and wildlife enthusiast. He has served as a member of the Judiciary Committee and House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, including two years as Ag Committee chairman. He also serves on the board of the South Dakota Ag Land Trust, 1/14/22
“As a state representative in District 23, it is my mission to ensure our farmers have the support they need to continue feeding and fueling the world. I pay close attention to the trends affecting the industry and listen intently to the concerns of corn growers like my brother,” State Rep. Charlie Hoffman writes for the Aberdeen News. “...Through exciting innovation, ethanol producers created a new market for corn, drastically boosting demand… “Fortunately, multiple ethanol plants in South Dakota are taking steps to bolster their competitiveness for the future. By lowering a plant’s carbon emissions, the fuel it produces becomes marketable in states that require low-carbon standards… “More than 30 ethanol plants in the Midwest, including seven in South Dakota, have joined a project that will help them gain access to these new markets. The project’s developer, Summit Carbon Solutions, will retrofit the plants with the equipment necessary to capture carbon dioxide emissions that would otherwise be released into the air. The carbon will then travel via pipeline to North Dakota, where it will be safely sequestered deep underground… “When considering the future of agriculture and what is needed to ensure our industry thrives for generations to come, I am thrilled to see such innovation here at home… “Facts do matter as I have personally witnessed untruths being spread by certain groups on the scientific scope of this operation… “I encourage all corn growers, local leaders and South Dakotans to join me in supporting Summit Carbon Solutions’ efforts to bolster ethanol and create a secure future for farming.”
The Crucial Years: What happens if you greenwash greenwash?
Bill McKibben, 1/14/22
“Greenwashing began, as it name implies, as a gentle, barely perceptible rain of fibs. Back at the start, it was mostly pictures; it was pretty easy to gauge how much environmental damage a company did by the number of penguin photographs it felt it needed to include in its annual report,” Bill McKibben writes for The Crucial Years. “By 2022, however, greenwashing is the fulltime business of huge numbers of people, desperately trying to defend indefensible industries as the planet’s temperature climbs inexorably higher and as more and more consumers demand action. Most of that work now boils down to different ways of saying: we’re not planning to change the fundamental trajectory of our business any time soon, so can we distract you with some combination of action around the edges and promises about the distant future? Forget gentle shower—we’re talking Category 5, Katrina-scale greendousing. “...Where once one looked for pictures of penguins, the easy new way to figure out who’s greenwashing is to search for the phrase “net zero.” Consider the big banks, for instance, who have joined in a ‘net zero’ alliance, promising great things by 2050. But since they are eager to keep lending vast sums to the fossil fuel industry they too have decided that the best defense is a good offense. Many person-years of work by scientists and of climate advocates will necessarily be spent debunking these moves as the shams they are—and that’s the point. The fossil fuel industry and its allies (which, remember, continue to spend tens of billions of dollars exploring for and developing new oil fields, even as the International Energy Agency declared that new infrastructure investment needed to stop last year if we were to meet the Paris climate targets) is perfectly happy to have everyone engage in a rhetorical battle for years to come, because it keeps them from having to actually change their business model. Confusion is their game plan. If you got away with thirty years of climate denial, why not try to get away with thirty years of playing pretend?”
Marcellus Drilling News: FERC to Decide Fate of Operational Weymouth Compressor Thursday
1/18/22
“This Thursday the five commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will engage in something that is, in our humble opinion, illegal,” according to Marcellus Drilling News. “They will conduct a hearing to discuss whether or not to shut down a fully (and safely) functioning compressor station in Weymouth, Massachusetts that was approved and built during the Trump administration and went online in January 2021 just as power was handed over to the Bidenistas. No country can last if a new administration revisits and overturns regulatory decisions made in previous administrations simply because they don’t like the politics of that administration. It is manifestly unfair and unjust. Don’t like a pipeline built approved and built in a previous administration? Outlaw it. That’s the rogue precedent being set by FERC Chairman Richard “Dick” Glick and his mission to outlaw fossil fuels because he’s a true believer in man-made global warming (euphemistically renamed to be “climate change”). The Weymouth compressor station was the final piece of the $452 million Atlantic Bridge expansion project that was years in the making. Built by Enbridge, the Weymouth compressor can pump an extra 132,705 Dt/d (132.7 million cubic feet per day) of Marcellus gas through Enbridge’s Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline from receipt points in New York and New Jersey. The gas is pushed through the mainline all the way to Maine and (potentially) Nova Scotia, Canada. Anti-fossil fuel fanatics were frustrated that they could not defeat the project and have continued to hound it, hoping to overturn its permits to operate.”