EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 12/2/21
PIPELINE NEWS
Herald and News: Final nail in the coffin for Jordan Cove pipeline project
Courthouse News Service: Oregon natural gas project extinguished
E&E News: Jordan Cove project dies. What it means for FERC, gas
CentralJersey.com: PennEast confirms cancellation of $1 billion pipeline project to FERC
Reuters: Canada says talks with U.S. over pipeline dispute should start soon
WTOL: As Michigan Gov. Whitmer pursues shutting down Enbridge Line 5, other politicians and pipeline workers weigh in
Associated Press: Pipeline documents case headed to North Dakota high court
Iowa Sierra Club: IUB RULES THAT LANDOWNER LIST IS CONFIDENTIAL
Chronicle Times: Should CO2 pipeline landowners be kept secret?
Politifact: No evidence that Biden canceling an oil pipeline caused higher U.S. gas prices
Eastern Door: Kanien’kehá:ka Among Land Defenders Arrested
Los Angeles Times: Fishing in Orange County resumes after oil spill near Huntington Beach
Natural Gas World: CANADA’S TC ENERGY SEES NORAM GAS DEMAND STRENGTH
Press release: Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation Announces Close of Northern Courier Pipeline System Deal
Reuters: Kinder sees blast-damaged part of Arizona natgas pipe down for months
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Industry slams oil and gas reforms in bid to sway Manchin
InsideClimate News: Fossil Fuel Companies Stand to Make Billions From Tax Break in Democrats’ Build Back Better Bill
E&E News: Biden backtracked on drilling ban. What it means for CO2
InsideEPA: Environmentalists, Industry Clash Over EPA’s Oil & Gas Methane Plan
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Exxon to hold spending at $20 billion to $25 billion through 2027
Bloomberg: Exxon’s new greenhouse gas targets trail competitors’ goals
OPINION
Toronto Star: RCMP raids on Indigenous land defenders risk causing irreparable damage to our constitutional order
Fort Dodge Messenger: Carbon capture will enhance ethanol industry and support Iowa’s corn growers
PIPELINE NEWS
Herald and News: Final nail in the coffin for Jordan Cove pipeline project
By Alex Schwartz, 12/1/21
“The Canadian company behind the Jordan Cove Energy Project has officially pulled the plug on their natural gas export terminal and pipeline planned for Southern Oregon. In a brief to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the project’s manager wrote Wednesday that they’ve “decided not to move forward with the project,” the Herald and News reports. “That marks the end of a years-long permitting saga that began back in 2004, when a fossil fuel company later acquired by the Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation proposed a terminal near Coos Bay to import liquefied natural gas from Pacific Ocean trade routes… “The past year and a half brought mostly defeats for Pembina — local permits they had received were overturned, and FERC upheld Oregon’s denials of key state permits. Pembina placed the project on pause in May, and FERC announced in November that they would consider staying project’s federal approval, requesting briefs from Pembina and other interested parties to inform their decision. On Wednesday, citing those obstacles, Jordan Cove officially pulled out of Southern Oregon in a brief submitted to FERC. They requested that the commission revoke their federal authorization… “This is amazing news," Klamath Tribal Chairman Don Gentry told the News. "We knew the project wasn’t viable because of all the risks that it brought to our communities ... “this is a significant relief for our members who have been so concerned about the impacts for our members and the region as a whole.” “...This is a great day for landowners along the pipeline route, and a great day for Oregon,” Deb Evans, who owns land in Klamath County along the planned pipeline route, told the News. “This has been a long time coming, and we are so relieved that the threat of eminent domain is no longer hanging over us.”
Courthouse News Service: Oregon natural gas project extinguished
KARINA BROWN, 12/1/21
“A liquified natural gas pipeline and export terminal planned for southern Oregon won’t move forward, according to documents filed Wednesday with federal regulators. The Canadian company behind the project said it was too hard to secure the state permits necessary to proceed,” Courthouse News Service reports. “...Central to Wednesday’s announcement was a legal challenge mounted by a coalition of tribes, landowners, about a dozen environmental groups and the state of Oregon that appealed FERC’s approval of the project to the D.C. Circuit… “FERC then asked Jordan Cove to “clarify whether they plan to move forward with the projects as authorized,” and to do so by Dec. 1. Jordan Cove’s response, filed on the day of the deadline, said the company has “decided not to move forward with the project” and asked FERC to cancel its federal permit. The company’s request ended months of speculation that the project could be resurrected and that the company could take the land of people living along the pipeline route. “The fact that they still had a federal certificate was a threat,” Deb Evans, a local landowner who had refused to sign an easement and the lead plaintiff in the D.C. lawsuit, told CNS. “In our minds, it was just a matter of time until they were going to drag us into court.” “...The dilemma faced by landowners along the pipeline route inspired U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to introduce laws that would prevent companies from using eminent domain to seize private land where they want to build export pipelines.”
E&E News: Jordan Cove project dies. What it means for FERC, gas
By Niina H. Farah, Miranda Willson, Carlos Anchondo, 12/2/21
“The developer of an Oregon liquefied natural gas export terminal told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the first time yesterday it would not move forward with the embattled project, putting to rest years of uncertainty for landowners,” E&E News reports. “...The announcement adds to a debate about the role of natural gas at a time of high prices and as industry groups are pressuring the Biden administration to clarify exactly how LNG exports fit into its broader climate agenda. It also may influence FERC’s ongoing review of how it approves gas projects. Pembina’s move is a win for landowners who have been steadfastly opposing the project for years, David Bookbinder, chief counsel for the Niskanen Center and attorney for some of the landowners affected by the pipeline, told E&E… “Now that it has been canceled, the Jordan Cove case provides additional evidence that FERC must scrutinize natural gas proposals and fully consider whether they are in the public interest, Gillian Giannetti, an attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Sustainable FERC Project, told E&E… “Bookbinder predicted the cancellation would have limited impact on planned LNG terminals elsewhere in the U.S. There is still a significant market for LNG, and Gulf Coast states have been "more than happy" to build export terminals, Bookbinder told E&E. For the Oregon project, 30 percent of landowners affected by the pipeline had held out on signing away their land, an unusually large amount of opposition that continued over 15 years, according to Bookbinder.”
CentralJersey.com: PennEast confirms cancellation of $1 billion pipeline project to FERC
ANDREW HARRISON, 12/1/21
“PennEast Pipeline Company has confirmed to federal officials that the member companies have stopped all further development of the $1 billion pipeline project,” CentralJersey.com reports. “In a letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Jeffrey England, the PennEast Pipeline project manager, said member companies determined that further development could not move forward due to the challenges in acquiring certain permits needed for construction to begin such as a water quality permit and other wetlands permits for the New Jersey portion of the project. Confirming to the federal agency what had been previously stated in September about the project being canceled due to legal and regulatory hurdles… “The project has faced pushback from local residents, environmental organizations and the state. “Today’s acknowledgement from PennEast that it’s project is dead puts to rest any speculation that the company is still seeking to build the pipeline. It also confirms that this unneeded project will not take our lands, pollute our waters or undermine our transition to a clean energy future,” Tom Gilbert, campaign director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation and ReThink Energy NJ, told CJ. “This pipeline was never necessary and PennEast’s efforts to sell its solution in search of a problem have failed.”
Reuters: Canada says talks with U.S. over pipeline dispute should start soon
12/1/21
“Formal talks between Canada and the United States over a disputed Michigan pipeline should start soon, Ottawa said on Wednesday, the latest development in an affair souring bilateral relations,” Reuters reports. “...Michigan's governor said on Tuesday she would dismiss her lawsuit against the pipeline in federal court, clearing the way for a separate case in state court. Canada's foreign ministry said the move did not affect talks under the 1977 treaty. "We expect the formal negotiations to begin soon," ministry spokeswoman Clara Trudeau told Reuters, noting that "Canada has consistently supported the continued, safe operation of Line 5, and raised it with the U.S. government at every level"... “Canada's federal Trade Minister Mary Ng is due to raise the matter during three days of talks in Washington this week, her office told Reuters.
WTOL: As Michigan Gov. Whitmer pursues shutting down Enbridge Line 5, other politicians and pipeline workers weigh in
Dan Cummins, 12/1/21
“Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer withdrew a federal lawsuit against the Enbridge Line 5 Pipeline on Tuesday, but said she would pursue shutting it down through state courts,” WTOL reports. “...Much of the 540,000 barrels a day are sent through another underground pipeline from Sarnia, Ontario to northwest Ohio's BP refinery and the Toledo Refinery. The process employs 1,200 people in our area, which is vital to northwest Ohio's economy. Scott Hayes from the Toledo Refinery tells WTOL Line 5 is very low-risk for oil leaks. “The company that owns and operates it is willing and is $100 million into a project to build a new stretch of tunnel in the bedrock, encased in concrete," Hayes explained, "which would be used for other utilities that Michigan sorely needs to get to the U.P., like data, natural gas, other utilities. It would be multi-use and they’re willing to pay for it." “...U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green, looks at it from a practical point of view. “The Left doesn’t understand there are consequences, and the other part of it is it's not just that we’re going to see massive fuel prices this year. This fall, talking propane up 50% from last year, 45% for natural gas," Latta said. "And I’m telling you, this will hit people in the wallet real fast and the administration always comes back with 'we don’t know what we’re going to do' and it’s very simple what we need to do.”
Associated Press: Pipeline documents case headed to North Dakota high court
JAMES MacPHERSON, 12/1/21
“A legal battle is headed to North Dakota’s Supreme Court over access to thousands of documents related to the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline and the company that oversaw security during construction,” the Associated Press reports. “Pipeline developer Energy Transfer and its subsidiary Dakota Access LLC last year sued the state board that regulates private investigators and security firms, seeking the return of some 16,000 documents. The Houston-based company argues the records are confidential and could present a security risk if released publicly. Arguments in the case likely will be held in January or February, state Supreme Court clerk Petra Hulm told AP. The security company, North Carolina-based TigerSwan, gave the documents to the North Dakota Private Investigative and Security Board during a two-year-long fight over whether the company operated illegally without a license in North Dakota while the pipeline was under construction in 2016 and 2017… “Separately, litigation has arisen over release of the documents to the media. First Look Institute Inc., the nonprofit publisher of The Intercept, sued North Dakota last year, seeking to obtain the documents, under the state’s open records law… “The Intercept, which is an online news organization, is currently soliciting support from North Dakota media organizations, asking them to file an “amicus” or friend-of-the-court brief. Jack McDonald, a Bismarck attorney and media lobbyist, told AP groups representing North Dakota newspapers and broadcasters, would likely sign on to the lawsuit.”
Iowa Sierra Club: IUB RULES THAT LANDOWNER LIST IS CONFIDENTIAL
11/29/21
“Yesterday the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) ruled in favor of Summit Carbon Solution’s request to keep the list of impacted landowners confidential,” according to the Iowa Sierra Club. “This ruling comes despite hundreds of comments and requests by landowners, everyday Iowans, and the Office of Consumer Advocates with the Iowa Department of Justice demanding that the list be made public. The IUB failed to cite why the landowner list is exempt from Iowa’s Open Records Law. In continued bad faith, Summit is allegedly using the list to harass, intimidate and bully landowners in an effort to gain access to their property. As the objections posted with the IUB & Summit’s responses reflect, Summit is denying Iowans the power of open communication and organized efforts from a greater number. Summit seems to know that they can’t stand against us when we stand united as many. On more occasions than those described above, Summit has shown lack of transparency and unfair bias. “It is shameful that the Iowa Utilities Board is denying the basic right to communicate to 15,000 Iowans who are threatened by the Summit pipeline. It is shocking the abuse that the landowners are having to endure. The Land Agents and Surveyors aren’t being honest or respectful. Without the ability to communicate with each other, landowners are at a disadvantage,” claimed Jess Mazour, Conservation Program Coordinator with the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter.
Chronicle Times: Should CO2 pipeline landowners be kept secret?
11/29/21
“Iowa regulators have agreed to keep secret the names of thousands of individual landowners in the path of Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed carbon sequestration pipeline, saying property owners' right to privacy outweighs the public's interest,” the Chronicle Times reports. “...The Iowa Utilities Board, however, did order Summit to release the names of businesses, cities, counties and other government entities that own land in the path of the Ames company's proposed $4.5 billion pipeline. The three-member board was split over the decision: Richard Lozier and Josh Byrnes ordered that individual landowners' names and addresses be kept confidential. Geri Huser dissented, saying she would release the property owners' mailing addresses but not their names. "I believe governmental agencies are duty-bound under Iowa’s open records law to release as much information as possible," Huser wrote. The Sierra Club Chapter of Iowa, Food & Water Watch and other groups and individual landowners who oppose the pipeline asked the board to require the company to release the names of landowners in the pipeline's path. "It is obvious the only reason Summit wants to keep the names secret is to prevent, or at least make it more difficult for, landowners to communicate with each other, to organize a response to Summit, and to protect their property rights," wrote Sierra Club attorney Wallace Taylor in a filing opposing Summit's request for confidentiality… “Landowners who oppose the project are aware of it and can join coalitions that want to fight it, the majority said in its ruling.”
Politifact: No evidence that Biden canceling an oil pipeline caused higher U.S. gas prices
12/1/21
“President Joe Biden’s decision to cancel the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline, which was not in operation, did not cause the recent increases in U.S. gasoline prices,” Politifact reports. “A post that blames President Joe Biden for higher gas prices in the United States cites lower prices in three other major oil-producing countries, saying: "Gasoline in Russia $2.10, Kuwait 78 cents, Saudia (sic) Arabia 98 cents. Nobody shutting pipe lines down there." It ends with an abbreviation that is known to be a taunt directed at Biden. The Nov. 19 post, which alludes to Biden’s Jan. 20 decision to revoke permits for the Keystone XL oil pipeline project in the Plains, was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Gas prices are lower in those three countries than in the U.S. But the post goes too far in suggesting that the canceled pipeline project is to blame, or that the project would have made much difference in gasoline today’s prices if it had continued. Experts say the recent increases in U.S. gas prices are due mainly to a lack of oil production, much more than any actions taken by Biden, such as canceling the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. "The pipeline shutdown has absolutely nothing to do with gas prices," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, told Politifact. "Prices are higher because production has lagged behind, not because there isn't enough pipeline capacity — there is." “...Experts say rising gas prices are due to an imbalance of supply and demand, and aren’t affected by the pipeline project. We rate the claim False.”
Eastern Door: Kanien’kehá:ka Among Land Defenders Arrested
Marcus Bankuti, 11/29/21
“On the morning of November 18, helicopters were whipping the air above the Gidimt’en checkpoint in Wet’suwet’en territory,” Eastern Door reports. “Given the history of the Wet’suwet’en struggle against the encroachment of the Coastal GasLink (CGL) oil pipeline, it was an ominous sight for the land defenders below. There was a feeling about what could happen next, Layla Staats, a Kanien’kehá:ka documentary filmmaker from Six Nations who had travelled to northern BC to tell the story of the Wedzin Kwa river at which they were camped, told the Door. They knew it could happen, and then it did. The RCMP moved in to enforce an injunction, raiding the blockade at the 44-KM mark of the Morice Forest Service Road. “That moment of standing on a bridge with assault rifles and barking crazy dogs and 100 RCMP, and they’re marching towards you: there’s so much fear in those moments,” she told the Door… “Fourteen land defenders were arrested that day; Staats later learned one girl evaded capture by spending the day hiding in an outhouse… “The raids were just the latest in a nearly three-year saga as CGL, owned by TC Energy, has pressed on with its plans to build an oil pipeline to service global markets. The pipeline is set to run through Wet’suwet’en territory, despite the refusal of the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s hereditary chiefs to allow it.”
Los Angeles Times: Fishing in Orange County resumes after oil spill near Huntington Beach
NATHAN SOLIS, 11/30/21
“Fishing can resume along the Orange County coast Tuesday afternoon, after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife determined it is safe to eat seafood taken from the waters after an oil spill in early October,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “An estimated 25,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the ocean from a ruptured pipeline off the coast of Huntington Beach. Sticky black crude washed ashore along beaches across Southern California, and the Orange County shoreline was closed to recreational and commercial activities, including surfing, swimming and fishing… “John Doughty, owner of JD’s Big Game Tackle in Newport Beach, estimates he lost $10,000 to $15,000 in sales during the fisheries closure… “Amplify Energy, the Texas company that operates the pipeline, is facing multiple federal lawsuits filed by businesses, residents and property owners hurt by the spill. And the environmental fallout includes the deaths of bottlenose dolphin, three California sea lions and an array of birds, according to the UC Davis Oiled Wildlife Care Network… “State officials determined it was not healthy to consume fish taken from the water after the spill because of chemicals in oil that can increase the risk for cancer.”
Natural Gas World: CANADA’S TC ENERGY SEES NORAM GAS DEMAND STRENGTH
DALE LUNAN, 12/1/21
“Canadian energy infrastructure giant TC Energy expects natural gas to play a “pivotal” role in North America’s energy future, executives at its virtual investor day said December 1,” Natural Gas World reports. “All forms of energy, CEO Francois Poirier said, will be needed as energy systems around the world transition to a lower-carbon future, which supports the company’s vision to be the premier energy infrastructure company on the continent. But natural gas will be the pre-eminent source of new demand between now and 2030, he added, which explains the decidedly gas-centric focus of its current C$29bn (US$22.7bn) capital programme: C$23.4bn will go to natural gas pipeline projects in Canada, the US and Mexico, with another C$4.3bn dedicated to power and storage projects. Liquids pipeline projects account for only C$200mn of the total programme… “Over the next 10 years, TC Energy expects North American natural gas demand to increase by 25%, with growth coming from all sectors but driven “most dramatically” by coal-to-gas conversion efforts and rising global demand for LNG, said Tracy Robinson, TC Energy’s executive vice president and president of both its Canadian natural gas pipelines division and Coastal GasLink, the C$6.6bn pipeline that will deliver Montney gas to the Shell-led LNG Canada liquefaction terminal on Canada’s west coast.”
Press release: Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation Announces Close of Northern Courier Pipeline System Deal
11/30/21
“Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) is proud to announce that the Northern Courier Pipeline System sale has closed, marking the end of years of collaboration and negotiations among all partners and making the Astisiy Limited Partnership (Astisiy), comprised of Suncor Energy and the eight Indigenous Communities, the official owners of a 15 per cent stake in the Northern Courier Pipeline System (NCPS). AIOC would like to congratulate all parties involved in this historic deal. Astisiy is comprised of three First Nations and five Métis Communities: Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Chipewyan Prairie First Nation, Fort McMurray First Nation, Fort Chipewyan Metis Local 125, Fort McKay Metis Nation, Fort McMurray Local Council 1935, Willow Lake Metis Nation and Conklin Metis Local 193. To ensure these Indigenous Communities were able to participate in this monumental business deal, the AIOC was proud to provide the communities with a $40 Million loan guarantee as well as Capacity Grant funding to support their financing… “This loan guarantee secured the direct Indigenous ownership of pipeline infrastructure within the traditional territories of all Communities involved, ensuring each has access to sustainable revenue streams stemming from the operation of the NCPS. These own-source revenue streams will help bring prosperity and equity to each Indigenous Community involved in today’s exciting announcement.”
Reuters: Kinder sees blast-damaged part of Arizona natgas pipe down for months
12/1/21
“U.S. energy company Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI.N) expects part of its El Paso natural gas pipeline to remain out of service for "several months" following a blast in Arizona that killed two people in August,” Reuters reports. “The company told customers on Tuesday that activities were underway to return a portion of the blast-damaged El Paso Line 2000 for limited operation at reduced operating pressure for the sole purpose of conducting an inspection on the line, including recently installed pipe. Kinder said the incident remained under U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation. The rupture on El Paso's 30-inch (76-centimeter) Line 2000 forced the company to reduce pressure on the pipeline, limiting gas flows to California at a time when the state was using more of the fuel to generate power… “The NTSB said the damaged pipe was installed in 1985 and previously transported crude oil. It was converted to gas service about 20 years ago and was acquired by Kinder Morgan in 2012.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
E&E News: Industry slams oil and gas reforms in bid to sway Manchin
By Emma Dumain, Nick Sobczyk, Jael Holzman, 12/2/21
“A coalition of fossil fuel industry groups directly asked Sen. Joe Manchin yesterday to reject proposed increases to royalty rates for oil and gas leasing on federal lands, a potential warning sign for yet another climate provision in the Democrats’ massive social and climate spending package,” E&E News reports. “ Addressed only to the West Virginia Democrat whose swing vote status could make or break the future of the reconciliation bill in the Senate, the letter targeted a larger suite of reforms to the federal oil and gas program contained in H.R. 5376, the House-passed, $1.7 trillion measure. That included banning oil and gas drilling in the Pacific, Atlantic and Eastern Gulf and creating new annual pipeline fees. “We seek to be constructive partners in the development of thoughtful and balanced national policy to address climate change,” wrote the fossil fuel groups, among them the American Petroleum Institute, National Ocean Industries Association and Independent Petroleum Association of America. “However, punitively targeted provisions … will hinder, not help this effort.” The backlash against royalty rate hikes could be most persuasive to Manchin, who has already expressed fears that climate action could make rising inflation worse.”
InsideClimate News: Fossil Fuel Companies Stand to Make Billions From Tax Break in Democrats’ Build Back Better Bill
Nicholas Kusnetz, 12/1/21
“With the Senate turning its attention to President Joe Biden’s climate and social policy bill in the coming weeks, lawmakers are poised to expand a key tax credit that energy industry lobbyists and some experts say could unleash an important climate tool,” InsideClimate News reports. “But the legislation, which includes changes to a tax credit for removing carbon dioxide from smokestacks or the atmosphere, could also funnel tens of billions of dollars to fossil fuel companies and other polluters over the next two decades. The House passed the bill last month. Together with the bipartisan infrastructure bill enacted in November, which included more than $12 billion in funding for carbon capture and carbon removal technologies, the Build Back Better legislation would hand fossil fuel companies nearly every item on their carbon capture wishlist. Perhaps the most important change in the bill is a 70 percent increase in the value of the tax credit. The payouts from the expanded credit could be so large that, if energy companies reach the scale they say they can, it could largely wipe away their corporate income tax bills, according to recent comments by Erik Oswald, an ExxonMobil lobbyist. “If you did this at scale, like the gigatons of sequestration I was talking about,” companies’ federal income taxes “would be entirely eaten by that,” he said in a recording obtained by the watchdog group Documented and provided to Inside Climate News. Some industry executives have said that the changes could finally make the finances work for projects including gas-fired power plants fitted with carbon capture equipment.”
E&E News: Biden backtracked on drilling ban. What it means for CO2
Benjamin Storrow, 12/2/21
“Joe Biden was on the campaign trail in New Hampshire last year when he made one the flashiest pledges of his presidential run. “And, by the way, no more drilling on federal lands, period. Period, period, period,” he told voters in February before the election. Fulfilling the pledge has been a challenge,” E&E News reports. “A federal judge in Louisiana blocked the administration’s pause on new oil and gas leases on federal land over the summer. And when the Interior Department released long awaited recommendations for overhauling its leasing program last week, it was silent on the topic of banning new leases. It prompted cries from some environmental groups that the president had violated a major campaign pledge. But analysts say measuring the emissions impact is complicated. “The leasing ban numbers are not trivial, but they are not going to make or break an NDC commitment or something like that,” Brian Prest, a fellow at Resources for the Future, told E&E, referring to the commitments countries make to cut emissions under the Paris climate accord.” “...The bottom line is if you want to affect emissions you have to lower demand,” Marianne Kah, a former chief economist at ConocoPhilips Co. who now serves as a senior researcher at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, told E&E.
InsideEPA: Environmentalists, Industry Clash Over EPA’s Oil & Gas Methane Plan
11/30/21
“Environmental and public health groups are offering early pitches on how EPA could strengthen its proposed oil and gas methane rules -- including with stepped-up inspections for smaller operations and prohibiting routine gas flaring -- as they also endorse EPA’s concept of bolstering community monitoring of emissions leaks,” InsideEPA reports. “However, representatives of the oil and gas sector are expressing a range of preliminary concerns about the Nov. 2 proposal, including the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of some requirements, while also pressing EPA for additional time to submit formal comments on the plan. The competing views came during EPA’s Nov. 30-Dec. 2 public hearings on the Nov. 2 methane proposal, which would tighten controls for new oil and gas operations and impose first-of-a-kind methane limits for existing facilities. EPA’s proposal ‘demonstrates some of the ambition that is necessary to truly take action against climate change,’ Clean Air Task Force (CATF) attorney Darin Schroeder said in Nov. 30 hearing remarks, underscoring general praise by environmental and other groups for EPA’s proposal.”
EXTRACTION
Reuters: Exxon to hold spending at $20 billion to $25 billion through 2027
Sabrina Valle, 12/1/21
“Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) on Wednesday set annual capital spending through 2027 at $20 billion to $25 billion, allocating money to low-carbon projects and extending its previously projected spending rate for two years,” Reuters reports. “The top U.S. energy producer slashed costs after a historic $22.4 billion loss last year. But an oil-price rebound this year has generated strong profits that let Exxon pay down debt, maintain its dividend and fund a new low-carbon business. The budgets extend a plan Exxon set last year to spend $16 billion to $19 billion this year and between $20 billion and $25 billion to 2025… “Exxon sought to allay fears of overspending. It can now sustain its dividend program with oil prices at $35 per barrel, a reduction from the "well below" $50 per barrel disclosed last month… “Much of the spending will go toward deepwater projects in Guyana and Brazil and in the U.S. Permian shale patch, the company said… “Exxon's spending will include a fourfold increase in low-carbon initiatives spending to $15 billion a year through 2027.”
Bloomberg: Exxon’s new greenhouse gas targets trail competitors’ goals
KEVIN CROWLEY, 12/1/21
“Exxon Mobil Corp. pledged on Wednesday to cut its greenhouse-gas emissions 20% by 2030, marking its most ambitious emissions target to date but falling far short of the sweeping climate commitments from some of its biggest rivals,” Bloomberg reports. “While it’s Exxon’s first explicit commitment to reduce overall pollution, the goals stand in stark contrast to plans by BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc to totally eliminate emissions by the middle of the century. In addition, Exxon’s target only applies to company operations like oil wells and refineries -- known as Scope 1 and 2 sources -- and excludes the much larger volume of emissions from Scope 3 things like burning gasoline. Exxon’s announcement came as part of a revamp of its environmental commitments and long-term strategic outlook after hedge fund Engine No. 1 pulled off a sweeping board shakeup earlier this year that saw a quarter of directors replaced. The victory was widely seen as a warning to the fossil-fuels industry that investors will now hold it to account for environmental issues and reckless spending that destroyed the industry’s returns over the past decade… “Although Exxon’s new targets fall short of net zero, they do mean the oil giant will be meaningfully reducing its emissions on an absolute basis… “Exxon’s new plan calls for limited increases in oil and natural gas production, with new projects mostly offsetting natural declines from older fields.”
OPINION
Toronto Star: RCMP raids on Indigenous land defenders risk causing irreparable damage to our constitutional order
Benjamin Perryman is an assistant professor at the University of New Brunswick Faculty of Law, 11/29/21
“Two weeks ago, torrential rains flooded parts of British Columbia and the RCMP raided Wet’suwet’en territory to remove Indigenous people blocking the construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. The pipeline, if completed, will become a major source of carbon emissions, transporting natural gas under the Wet’suwe’ten’s sacred Wedzin Kwa (Morice River). Building pipelines in the face of climate change seems foolish, but the political and legal response to the RCMP’s actions reveal a deeper problem for Canada’s constitutional order,” Benjamin Perryman writes for the Toronto Star. “The RCMP raid was “concerning” to federal and provincial politicians. But no one was prepared to say the RCMP’s actions are an example of the systemic racism in policing identified in the recent Report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security or to draw a link between this pipeline and Canada’s long history of using force to dispossess Indigenous people from their land… “In this case, the Coastal GasLink pipeline is illegal under Wet’suwet’en law and international law because it does not have the free, prior and informed consent of the hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en nation. On this basis, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has called on Canada to immediately halt construction of the pipeline and to withdraw the RCMP from Wet’suwet’en territory.” “...If left untreated, the ongoing oppression of Indigenous people in Canada risks causing an irreparable blight on our constitutional order.”
Fort Dodge Messenger: Carbon capture will enhance ethanol industry and support Iowa’s corn growers
By Rep. Randy Feenstra, represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House, 12/1/21
“For nearly 30 years, the biofuels industry has been one of the key drivers of Iowa’s economy,” Rep. Randy Feenstra writes for the Fort Dodge Messenger. “Tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity and investment are directly tied to the manufacturing facilities across our state that produce biofuels… “Given the critical importance of this industry here in Iowa, we need to continue taking the steps necessary to ensure that ethanol remains competitive in the years to come – and by extension, ensuring a strong marketplace continues to exist for those that earn their livelihood through corn production. One of the most immediate steps we can take to achieve this goal is to develop and expand infrastructure that supports carbon capture and storage projects. These types of investments have the potential to provide a substantial and long-term boost to ethanol producers by allowing them to access the increasing number of markets that have adopted low carbon fuel standards… “As the conversation continues around infrastructure, I believe we need to look at carbon capture and storage as one of the best and most immediate steps we can take to realize meaningful economic and environmental benefits… “As we continue working to revive our economy after the fallout of the pandemic, it is more critical than ever that we support the key industries that help maintain a vibrant and healthy economy here in Iowa. Carbon capture and storage is one way that we can accomplish this for the biofuels industry — and at the same time support farmers, maintain strong land values across Iowa, reduce emissions, and drive long-term economic growth.”