EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 12/14/21
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Biden asks tribes to weigh in on high-stakes pipeline talks
MI Biz: Tribal leaders say state’s consultations on Line 5 are lacking
The Detroit News: State lawsuit seeking closure of Line 5 will get new hearing in new year
Facebook: Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light: On December 14th, one year after the start of direct action to stop construction, we are renewing our calls to the US Army Corps of Engineers to order a federal Environmental Impact Statement
Natural Gas Intelligence: TC Energy Sees North America Natural Gas Demand Rising 25% by 2030
Grist: A Missouri gas company figured out how to keep its illegal pipeline running
Marcellus Drilling News: PA DEP Signals Reissue of Erosion & Sediment Permits for ME2 Pipe
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Reuters: U.S. lawmaker introduces bill to eliminate carbon credits for oil recovery
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Pa. Shakes Up Methane Debate With Final Oil And Gas Plan
Daily Breeze: LA to seek federal infrastructure bill funds to remediate orphaned oil wells
WUWM: Menomonee River oil spill causes concerns for Milwaukee waterways
KUNC: Geothermal energy could mean a renewable future for Colorado's oil fields
Public News Service: Critics: Oil-Gas Panel's New Proposal Stops Short of Protecting Taxpayers
EXTRACTION
Guardian: Revealed: Biden administration was not legally bound to auction gulf drilling rights
Food & Water Watch: Environmental Groups File FOIA Request Over Interior Secretary’s Illegal Sale of Public Waters to Oil and Gas Industry
Bloomberg: Saudi Oil Minister Says Global Production Could Plunge 30% This Decade
CLIMATE FINANCE
OilPrice.com: Banks Put Pressure On Oil Companies To Go Green
OPINION
Virginia Mercury: Regulators should respect citizen water monitors and reject the pipeline permit
Financial Post: Varcoe: Oilsands' megaproject days may be over, but it will remain a potent force well beyond 2050
Globe and Mail: Deals in the oil sands are coming, as Canada’s biggest energy companies put cash and science to work
The Hill: Biden's renewable energy rush is making gas prices skyrocket
PIPELINE NEWS
E&E News: Biden asks tribes to weigh in on high-stakes pipeline talks
By Hannah Northey, 12/14/21
“The Biden administration has invited Great Lakes tribes for input on unprecedented, upcoming talks with Canada over the fate of a contentious pipeline that’s creating what sources say is a rift between the two countries,” E&E News reports. “At issue in the fight over Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5 is a dispute resolution process set out by the "Transit Pipeline Treaty of 1977" that Canada invoked for the first time for this case… “Because the negotiations are unprecedented, experts tell E&E there’s no way to tell when talks will start, how long they will last or if the results will be public… “But Aaron Payment, chair of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, confirmed the State Department invited his tribe to weigh in on the treaty talks with Canada. Payment joined Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribes last month in calling on President Biden to support Whitmer’s efforts to decommission the pipeline, citing tribal fishing and hunting rights in the pipeline area that date back to an 1836 treaty… “The Biden administration’s inviting the Great Lakes tribes to weigh in is notable given how little is known about how treaty talks would proceed… “Just how large a role Great Lakes tribes will play is unclear, but members have been vocal in calling on the Biden administration to halt the pipeline and an underwater tunnel replacement project… “In a letter first reported by POLITICO, Canadian officials on Friday laid out for Senate leaders that provisions in the "Build Back Better" bill are “discriminatory toward Canada, Canadian workers and our auto industry.” They formally threatened retaliatory tariffs against the auto sector and other parts of the U.S. economy if the provisions remain intact. When asked about the treaty negotiations, an Enbridge spokesperson told Politico any attempt to shut down Line 5 would have “serious ramifications” under the pipeline treaty and raise “substantial questions” about federal law relating to interstate commerce and federal jurisdiction on pipeline safety issues.”
MI Biz: Tribal leaders say state’s consultations on Line 5 are lacking
BY ANDY BALASKOVITZ, 12/10/21
“A little more than a year after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered Enbridge to shut down the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac, the state retreated on its key lawsuit seeking to close the twin pipelines,” MI Biz reports. “While the move late last month was meant to shift the legal focus to Attorney General Dana Nessel’s separate effort in state court, Indigenous tribal leaders who are united in their Line 5 opposition have expressed cautious optimism to Whitmer’s move — with an emphasis on cautiousness. “While I can understand the legal nuances that are in play while you’re reaching such a decision, it was concerning,” Whitney Gravelle, president of Bay Mills Indian Community in the Upper Peninsula, told MI Biz of Whitmer’s decision. “The only calculus I can see here is that a stronger battle remains in state court.” Moreover, Gravelle and at least one other tribal leader tell MI Biz the Whitmer administration’s consultations with tribes over Line 5 have been insufficient given a 2019 executive directive that Whitmer issued promising stronger state-tribal relations. “On this issue, I think it’s fallen short,” Aaron Payment, chairperson of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, told MI Biz. “Gov. Whitmer is the first to give specifics (about mandating consultation with tribes), but I would say sometimes the devil gets lost in the details. As it relates to Line 5 or the wolf hunt, in a lot of these issues we get relegated to basically another constituency. I think it’s her intent, but I would like to see more direct attention from the governor. You would expect these consultation sessions would happen at a higher level rather than administrative staff that are often four or five rungs below.” Gravelle expressed similar criticism. “I think there’s a fundamental misunderstanding between what tribal consultation means to tribes and what tribal consultation means to the state and federal governments,” Gravelle, a graduate of Michigan State University’s College of Law who formerly served as Bay Mills’ tribal attorney, told MI Biz “It’s this constant battle that we’re not just a box to check when you’re taking action and making decisions that affect our lands or our resources.”
The Detroit News: State lawsuit seeking closure of Line 5 will get new hearing in new year
Beth LeBlanc, 12/13/21
“Michigan's renewed focus on a state lawsuit seeking the shutdown of Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipeline will get its first hearing in the new year,” The Detroit News reports. “Ingham County Circuit Judge James Jamo has scheduled a Jan. 7 status conference on the case, which has been on pause for almost a year while Michigan and Enbridge debated the state's shutdown order in federal court. U.S. District Judge Janet Neff in November ruled that a separate state lawsuit removed to federal court would remain there because of the federal implications of a Line 5 closure… “Jamo had paused the 2019 case in January 2021 as he awaited Neff's decision in federal court. But before staying the case, in June 2020, Jamo had ordered a temporary shutdown of Line 5 after damage to an anchor support was discovered about a week prior. Enbridge's case challenging the shutdown order for Line 5 remains pending in federal court. Last week, Neff issued a scheduling order in the case that will push any initial decisions on motions for a judgment in the case into April.”
Facebook: Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light: On December 14th, one year after the start of direct action to stop construction, we are renewing our calls to the US Army Corps of Engineers to order a federal Environmental Impact Statement
12/10/21
“The fight continues to Stop Line 3! On December 14th, one year after the start of direct action to stop construction, we are renewing our calls to the US Army Corps of Engineers to order a federal Environmental Impact Statement. Before the Line 3 emergency becomes catastrophic, we come together on December 14th to call on the Army Corps of Engineers in St. Paul to order a federal EIS through peaceful protest. Date/Time: December 14, 2021 at 5:00 PM Location: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 180 Fifth St E Ste 700, St. Paul, MN 55101-1678”
Natural Gas Intelligence: TC Energy Sees North America Natural Gas Demand Rising 25% by 2030
ANDREW BAKER, 12/13/21
“TC Energy Corp. expects North American natural gas demand to grow 25% by 2030, a top pipeline executive told investors earlier this month,” Natural Gas Intelligence reports. “Demand would mainly be driven by coal-to-gas switching in the power sector and global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG), TC’s Tracy Robinson, president of the Canada natural gas pipelines unit, said at the annual investor day. Gas supply from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) and the Appalachian Basin, two of the main sources of gas flowing on TC pipes, is set to grow by a combined 13 Bcf/d by the end of the decade, Robinson said… “For 2021, TC expects to bring more than $1.3 billion worth of pipeline projects into service in Canada, part of a larger expansion underway since 2017… “TC management said in its 3Q2021 report to shareholders it expects CGL “project costs to increase significantly along with a delay to project completion compared to the original project cost and schedule.” This is because of the “scope changes, previous permit delays…and the impacts from Covid-19, including a British Columbia provincial health order,” the company said. In the United States, meanwhile, natural gas demand is set to grow by 22% between 2020 and 2030, said TC’s Stanley Chapman III, president of U.S. and Mexico natural gas pipelines. LNG exports are expected to drive the growth, augmented by pipeline flows to Mexico.”
Grist: A Missouri gas company figured out how to keep its illegal pipeline running
Jena Brooker, 12/14/21
“Thousands of Missourians received an alarming email from their utility company last month: Unless federal regulators allowed a new natural gas pipeline in the region to keep operating, as many as 400,000 St. Louis residents could be without heat this winter,” Grist reports. “The message came from Spire Missouri Inc., a natural gas utility serving some 1.2 million customers in Missouri. “The level of panic was something I had not seen,” Dawn Chapman, a St. Louis resident and co-founder of Just Moms STL, a group that educates people about Superfund waste sites in the area, told Grist. Missouri Representative Cori Bush called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, to investigate the nature of Spire’s claims. “I am gravely concerned that Spire Inc. may be actively weaponizing the fears of our community members,” she wrote in a November 17 letter, “many of whom are low-income individuals, families with small children, and older adults — for their own personal gain and profit.” “...But environmental advocates and politicians are saying Spire is fear-mongering to gain support for its pipeline. “They are scaring people into defending their now-illegal pipeline,” Michael Berg, political director of the Sierra Club Missouri Chapter, told Grist.
Marcellus Drilling News: PA DEP Signals Reissue of Erosion & Sediment Permits for ME2 Pipe
12/13/21
“In August of this year, co-CEO of Energy Transfer, Tom Long, said “the final phase of the Mariner East Pipeline is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2021”. So much for that prediction,” Marcellus Drilling News reports. “A few major hurdles were recently scaled in order to finally complete the project, including a slight reroute in the Marsh Creek Lake area (see PA DEP Approves ME2 Plan to Finish Pipe Thru Marsh Creek Lake Area). However, there are still a few other locations where work needs to be buttoned up across the state as well. Energy Transfer (and its subsidiary Sunoco Pipeline) needs to finish up cleanup and site restoration work where the Mariner East 2 pipeline was installed. In order to do that, they need erosion and sediment control permits. The original permits in a number of locations are now up for renewal in 15 counties, including Berks, Blair, Cambria, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Huntingdon, Indiana, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, Washington, and Westmoreland. The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) published a notice over the weekend in the Pennsylvania Bulletin signaling their intent to renew ME2’s erosion and sediment control permits.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Reuters: U.S. lawmaker introduces bill to eliminate carbon credits for oil recovery
By Leah Douglas
“California lawmaker Ro Khanna introduced a bill into the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday that would prevent investors from securing carbon capture and sequestration tax credits if the carbon is used to boost oil production,” Reuters reports. “The bill has little chance of being adopted into law, but reflects deep political divisions in Congress over whether and how carbon capture can be used as a tool in the fight against climate change. The tax credit, known as 45Q, allows companies to earn money for every ton of carbon that they capture off a polluting facility and store underground. That includes carbon injected into oil fields to push trapped oil out of the ground, something the industry calls enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Khanna's bill would revise 45Q by eliminating any credit for captured carbon used for EOR, which environmentalists say defeats the purpose of carbon capture by promoting the carbon-intensive fossil fuels industry. Currently, 95% of carbon capture and storage (CCS) capacity in the United States is for EOR, according to data from the Global CCS Institute. "We shouldn't be subsidizing (EOR) if this is going to be increasing carbon," Khanna told Reuters. "If the technology advances, we can consider it." The bill, titled the End Polluter Welfare for Enhanced Oil Recovery Act, is co-sponsored by Raul Grijalva of Arizona, chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, and Mike Quigley of Illinois, both Democrats like Khanna. It is supported by twenty green groups including Food & Water Watch, the Sierra Club, and Sunrise Movement.”
STATE UPDATES
E&E News: Pa. Shakes Up Methane Debate With Final Oil And Gas Plan
12/13/21
“Pennsylvania regulators released draft final rules last week to cut methane emissions from existing oil and gas wells, disappointing some environmental advocates who said the state didn’t go far enough,” E&E News reports. “The plan, which has been in development more than two years, applies to existing oil and gas wells and associated facilities. It includes a broad carve-out for oil and gas wells that produce less than 15 barrels of crude a day. Pennsylvania is the second-largest gas-producing state after Texas. The state Department of Environmental Protection said in a presentation that the final rules will lead to more methane reductions than a previous draft, about 200,000 tons a year compared to about 75,000 tons. But environmental groups said the partial exemption for low-producing wells allows those operations to continue polluting unabated. ‘This inadequate rule includes a gaping exemption for tens of thousands of well sites that produce less gas, but that can emit more pollution,’ John Otis Minott, director of the Clean Air Council, told E&E.
Daily Breeze: LA to seek federal infrastructure bill funds to remediate orphaned oil wells
MARGARET SHUTTLEWORTH, 12/10/21
“Los Angeles officials joined U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland today to discuss opportunities through the new infrastructure bill to fund the remediation of Los Angeles’ idle oil wells,” the Daily Breeze reports. “There are a total of 5,000 oil wells identified statewide eligible for a portion of the $4.7 billion in remediation funding through the infrastructure bill, Uduak-Joe Ntuk, California’s Oil and Gas Supervisor, told the Breeze. His agency, the California Geologic Energy Management Division, is working to submit an application for the funding. The state will be competing with about 30 other states for portions of the funds, he told the Breeze. Haaland noted that Los Angeles County has “one of the highest concentrations of oil and gas wells of any city in the entire country, with some recent estimates suggesting that 500,000 people in L.A. live within half a mile of a well.” “I’ve spent the day seeing firsthand how legacy pollution impacts people in the neighborhoods they live in. Kids who are relegated to having baseball practice next to oil pump jacks and gas wells, children who have grown up with bloody noses and the loss of the adults in their lives to cancer,” Haaland said. “These wells can have serious impacts on the health and well-being of the community and the planet, from contaminating groundwater to seeping toxic chemicals and methane gases. That’s not acceptable,” she added.
WUWM: Menomonee River oil spill causes concerns for Milwaukee waterways
Susan Bence, 12/13/21
“Last week, word spread that a concerning amount of oil had made its way into the Menomonee River,” WUWM reports. “It was later learned that Komatsu, the mining company, had discharged 400 gallons of used oil through a stormwater outfall near the company's Menomonee Valley site. The outfall empties directly into the river. While Komatsu has taken responsibility for the spill and the clean up, some worry about removing the oil. There are also concerns about its potential impact on the river and the life in and around it. That includes concerns from Milwaukee Riverkeeper Cheryl Nenn. She stood along the Menomonee River Friday, just east of the Brewers’ stadium, and looked straight into the storm sewer that delivered the equivalent of eight 50-gallon drums of oil into the river one week earlier… “If anyone knows Milwaukee’s rivers, it’s Nenn. Her job title is riverkeeper and she coordinates ongoing water quality monitoring on the Milwaukee, Kinnickinnic and Menomonee rivers… “Cheryl Nenn worries time and weather are working against cleanup… "I can tell here — there is oil getting past the boom, unfortunately. They did replace this yesterday, we were out here, and they put a new one in. The problem is, it's very hard to deal with these types of spills, which is why prevention is key," Nenn told WUWM… “Nenn told WUWM there’s much more to be learned, including exactly what type and how much oil was spilled. Despite the unknowns, the riverkeeper fears the ripple effects of oil that makes its way down to the river’s bottom of the food chain. “We’re definitely concerned about long-term impacts to the macroinvertebrates, the little critters on the bottom of the river, and the fish and the birds and humans eating the fish.”
KUNC: Geothermal energy could mean a renewable future for Colorado's oil fields
Rae Solomon, 12/6/21
“The grasslands north of Fort Morgan in eastern Colorado are a hive of energy production. Clusters of spinning wind turbines mark the horizon. And, of course, oil and natural gas operations are everywhere. As far as oil fields go, this one is roughly middle-aged. Wells here are still comfortably profitable. But that won’t last forever,” KUNC reports. “That’s why the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Committee is in the process of hashing out rules to determine how much money oil and gas operators will be required to set aside to pay for plugging wells at the end of their useful lives. The rules are meant to prevent orphan wells, which happen when an operator abandons a well and leaves the state on the hook to clean it up. But emerging advances in renewable technologies could help extend the operating life of aging oil wells and help address Colorado’s orphan well problem… “According to Maria Richards, geothermal lab coordinator at Southern Methodist University, every oil and gas well doubles by default as a geothermal well… “But the oil and gas industry has never treated that heat as an asset to be tapped... “Jennifer Miskimmins, department head of petroleum engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, tells KUNC repurposing an oil well as a geothermal operation could be an efficient and cost-effective way to bring more geothermal production online… “Selena Derichsweiler and Ben Burke of Transitional Energy estimate that up to 65% of wells in Colorado are good candidates for geothermal energy production. This could extend the life of aging wells by decades — and keep them profitable long enough for operators to pay for their own clean up, plugging and abandonment.”
Public News Service: Critics: Oil-Gas Panel's New Proposal Stops Short of Protecting Taxpayers
Eric Galatas, 12/14/21
“The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has released new draft rules to ensure taxpayers are not on the hook for abandoned oil and gas wells, but critics say the commission has failed to address the need to monitor wells into the future,” Public News Service reports. “Kate Christensen, oil and gas campaign coordinator for 350 Colorado, told PNS wells are plugged with concrete, which can crack. She pointed to a plugged well in Erie that was discovered to be leaking significant amounts of toxic methane close to an elementary school. "There's another one in Broomfield that has cost the town half a million dollars," Christensen pointed out. "It was already plugged and abandoned, and started leaking methane into a neighborhood. So these financial assurances don't take that into account at all." Christensen argued the commission should also require companies to set aside enough money to ensure orphan wells can be fully restored. The commission's proposal allows for blanket bonds ranging from $1,500 to $15,000 per well, but Christensen noted the true reclamation costs are between $8,000 and $1.9 million. Oil and gas companies have chaffed at higher bonding requirements, and claim stricter rules could slow production and cost jobs.”
EXTRACTION
Guardian: Revealed: Biden administration was not legally bound to auction gulf drilling rights
Oliver Milman, 12/13/21
“Last month, the US government held the largest-ever auction of oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico’s history, offering up more than 80m acres of the gulf’s seabed for fossil fuel extraction,” the Guardian reports. “The enormous sale, which took place just four days after crucial UN climate talks in Scotland, represented a spectacular about-turn from Joe Biden’s previous promise to halt offshore drilling and was denounced by outraged environmental groups as a “huge carbon bomb”. The president’s administration insisted it was obliged to hold the lease sale due to a court ruling in favor of a dozen states that sued to lift a blanket pause placed on new drilling permits by Biden. But a memo filed by the US Department of Justice before the lease sale acknowledges that this judgement does not force the government to auction off drilling rights to the gulf. “While the order enjoins and restrains (the department of) interior from implementing the pause, it does not compel interior to take the actions specified by plaintiffs, let alone on the urgent timeline specified in plaintiffs’ contempt motion,” wrote government lawyers to the federal court in Louisiana in August. The issuance of new drilling permits would require further steps under federal laws, the memo states, adding that “the court’s order does not compel the agency to act in contravention of these other authorities”... “The administration has been misleading on this, to put it mildly, it’s very disappointing,” Thomas Meyer, national organizing manager of Food and Water Watch, told the Guardian. “They didn’t have to hold this sale and they didn’t have to hold it on this timeline. “We know this will exacerbate the climate crisis, it undermines US credibility abroad and it contradicts a campaign promise by Biden. If the administration was taking the climate crisis seriously they would be fighting tooth and nail to keep every molecule of fossil fuel in the ground. They are nowhere near to doing that.”
Food & Water Watch: Environmental Groups File FOIA Request Over Interior Secretary’s Illegal Sale of Public Waters to Oil and Gas Industry
12/13/21
“Environmental organizations Food & Water Watch and the Action Center on Race and the Economy, along with youth advocacy groups Earth Uprising and One Up Action, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request today seeking records related to the recent leasing of more than 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas extraction. The FOIA request was submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and seeks any and all communications related to the lease sale between Interior Secretary Haaland, DOI and BOEM officials, White House officials including John Kerry, Gina McCarthy, Ron Klain, David Hayes, members of Congress and their staff including Senators Manchin and Sinema, and the oil and gas industry. Meanwhile, a newly uncovered memo indicates that the Biden administration was presented with a legal analysis confirming that it was not required to go ahead with the lease sale, just weeks before it claimed it was legally compelled to conduct the sale quickly… “Today, youth climate leaders from Earth Uprising, Grounded, and One Up Action who attended COP26 also submitted a letter to Secretary Haaland urging her to reject the bids from the illegal sale of public waters in the Gulf of Mexico to ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron and other major polluters. “The Biden Administration’s official position is that they were forced to conduct this sale by the court. But we’ve done our homework and we know that is not true. If the court did not compel the administration to sell our public waters to the very companies responsible for the climate crisis and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, then what did?” said Kevin Patel, Founder and Executive Director of One Up Action.
Bloomberg: Saudi Oil Minister Says Global Production Could Plunge 30% This Decade
By Salma El Wardany, 12/13/21
“Saudi Arabia said global oil production could drop 30% by the end of the decade due to falling investment in fossil fuels,” Bloomberg reports. “We’re heading toward a phase that could be dangerous if there’s not enough spending on energy,” Oil Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said in Riyadh. The result could be an “energy crisis,” he said. The minister said daily oil output may fall by 30 million barrels by 2030. He urged energy companies and investors to ignore “scary messages” about oil and gas… “Their views differ from what most climate activists say is necessary to slow the warming of the planet. The International Energy Agency, which advises rich countries, has called for the cessation of new investment in fossil fuels if the world is to neutralize carbon emissions by 2050.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
OilPrice.com: Banks Put Pressure On Oil Companies To Go Green
By Irina Slav, 12/13/21
“Earlier this month, Citi’s chief executive Jane Fraser said the bank might have to drop some clients if they don’t fit in with its climate targets. The message, sent at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit, was basically “Green up or die.” If this sounds like arm-twisting, it’s because it is. On the other hand, it can equally successfully be argued this is a form of positive discrimination for the greater good. Whatever perspective one chooses, banks have their sights on the oil and gas business. At least officially,” OilPrice.com reports. “In Europe, which is far ahead of the United States on green commitments and is trying to impose them on even less-willing businesses, the pressure is centralized. Faced with the threat of higher capital requirements if they keep serving polluting businesses, European lenders are raising prices for such businesses, denying their loan requests and, in some cases, directly dropping clients... “For the banks, it’s all about risk management. Lenders are being told by report after report that they risk losing a lot of money under this or that grave climate scenario. So they are managing the risk by cutting their exposure to businesses linked to the grave scenarios. Regulators are adding urgency to this drive, too.”
OPINION
Virginia Mercury: Regulators should respect citizen water monitors and reject the pipeline permit
David Sligh is the conservation director for Wild Virginia, an environmental nonprofit. He is an environmental attorney and a former Virginia Department of Environmental Quality engineer, 12/14/21
“An encounter this summer with the Department of Environmental Quality shocked me but may provide a valuable glimpse at the way some DEQ leaders regard the people they serve. That apparent disregard or disdain for the public’s role in decision-making, has popped up several times during major gas pipeline cases. It continues to this day,” David Sligh writes for the Virginia Mercury. “We must hope the State Water Control Board rejects DEQ’s recommendation to allow further discharges and habitat disruption by the Mountain Valley Pipeline, given that it is, in part, grounded in the department’s apparent disrespect for the opinions of those most affected… “Shockingly, DEQ asserted in its message to the board that “many commenters mischaracterize, or intentionally fail to accurately characterize the violations that are resolved in the enforcement settlement.” In other words, DEQ is saying that members of the public lied in comments to the board. I find it deplorable that our public officials make such an accusation without showing proof. Where is the evidence that these “many commenters” were trying to mislead or misrepresent? More importantly, isn’t DEQ obligated to address the substance of the comments without attempting to slur the commenters?.. “Virginians will continue to play our roles in the decision-making processes affecting our waters. We ask the board to make sure our contributions are valued. One vital step in fulfilling that promise would be to reject the flawed, harmful attempt by MVP to discharge more pollution to hundreds of our valuable waterbodies.”
Financial Post: Varcoe: Oilsands' megaproject days may be over, but it will remain a potent force well beyond 2050
Chris Varcoe, 12/13/21
“The Canada Energy Regulator doesn’t have a crystal ball to predict the future, nor do I. But its new energy outlook report offers an intriguing glimpse of what the next three decades may hold for oil and natural gas producers in this country,” Chris Varcoe writes for the Financial Post. “Released this week, the study shows plenty of change ahead as the Canadian energy complex evolves with new pressure points, decarbonization challenges and shifting consumption patterns. Here are two themes that warrant a deeper look: During the early days of the pandemic when crude prices tanked, oilsands production was slashed as companies scrambled to stem big financial losses. Some observers wrote the oilsands off. One provocative headline asked: Has the coronavirus killed the oilsands industry? Umm, no. That narrative overlooked a couple of points. Yes, it does cost a lot of upfront money to build a major new oilsands project. Between 1996 and 2015, capital investment in the oilsands hit $262 billion. But once the capital is invested, these developments tap into proven long-life reserves that can churn out oil for decades. Given the relentless focus of producers to cut costs since the 2014 price crash, operations have become more resilient to commodity price gyrations.”
Globe and Mail: Deals in the oil sands are coming, as Canada’s biggest energy companies put cash and science to work
Andrew Willis, 12/14/21
“If you want to know who will be diners, and who will be dinner, in the coming round of consolidation in Alberta’s oil sands, all you need to do is check membership in Calgary’s least exclusive club,” Andrew Willis writes for the Globe and Mail. “Back in June, five of Canada’s largest energy companies launched an alliance called the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero. The group is investing in innovations such as carbon capture and bitumen processing technology to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from their properties by 2050. To join the club, chief executive officers simply had to publicly commit to spend what it takes to responsibly develop one of the largest fossil fuel reserves on the planet… “Notable by their absence from this list are a handful of global energy companies with long-standing ties to the oil sands as minority partners in projects run by Pathways alliance members. Right now, players such as California-based Chevron, Europe’s Total, BP, Shell, and China’s CNOOC and Sinopec are out of the club. The decision to snub the Pathways partnership is the latest sign of what’s long been expected in the energy sector – an Alberta exit by the majority of foreign investors in the oil sands. In a recent report, a team of analysts at RBC Capital Markets said: “Given the ESG – and mainly E – headwinds that continue to blow across oil sands investments, a further exodus of international oil companies from Canada is conceivable.”
The Hill: Biden's renewable energy rush is making gas prices skyrocket
Bryan Bashur is a federal affairs manager at Americans for Tax Reform and executive director of the Shareholder Advocacy Forum, 12/13/21
“The Biden administration exacerbated the inflation of gas prices by both restricting the supply of oil and pressuring banks and asset managers to divest from traditional energy projects. The result of these flawed policies is weakened purchasing power for consumers and more reliance on foreign countries to keep the United States powered,” writes for The Hill. “President Biden is restricting America’s ability to produce its own oil and is instead relying on foreign countries, some of which have governments run by totalitarian regimes, to produce more oil to lower gas prices. Biden’s decision to cut off avenues for more domestic supply of oil by canceling the Keystone XL pipeline and limiting exploration on federal lands and waters gives the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) significant leverage over American energy consumption… “According to Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma, oil and gas producers are unable to access capital, because the Biden administration is “putting so much pressure on banks not to lend to us in the name of climate change.” “...Earlier this year, Texas enacted a bill to prohibit banks and investment firms that boycott oil and gas investments from receiving state contracts or managing state investments, such as pension and retirement funds for state employees. Other states that follow this model are on the right track to removing political favoritism from finance and preserving the economic security of their municipalities. Keeping the power on and making sure energy is affordable for all Americans should be the primary objective. Biden and the Democrats’ plan to slowly suffocate the oil and gas industry will make all Americans worse off.”